Proponents
Jean Piaget, 1896-1980; Stages of cognitive development
Wiliam G. Perry, 1913-1998
Unit of Analysis: Conceptual reorganization (self-organization) of individual's knowledge
Constructivism grew out of the shortcomings of the behavioral theory in recognizing the mental processes. Two underlying assumptions of constructivism are that:
1. Learning is an active process of knowledge construction rather than knowledge acquisition, and
2. Instruction is a process of supporting that construction rather than merely communicating knowledge.
Learning therefore is an activity embedded in a particular context, and in order to understand the individual's learning process, we must examine these situations as a whole. Individuals cannot know what others have constructed - they can only know what he or she has constructed personally.