Prior to reading this article, the only time I had heard the term "constructivism" was in in our EDUC 602 class. It was discussed in terms of using technology to provide an educational opportunity for students to construct their own learning event (collaborate or create an invididual project in a very hands-on experience). In our EDUC 602 discussion, the classroom teacher became less of a transmitter of knowledge and functioned more as a guide for the students through the process. So the discussion in this article about "the good, the bad, and the ugly" in constructivism made me realize that this theory has many different interpretations depending on who is presenting their thoughts.
There is a range from those who believe that it is a function of the cognitive process of each individual learner to those who believe it is a function of the "public subject-matter domain", which is human knowledge. The most important question raised in the article seems to sum up the debate fairly well - is knowledge made or discovered? We have compared the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky in two classes, but this article really places them both on the same side of the fence. They both believe the individual learner constructs his own knowledge, although they have different theories about how this is done. John Locke, who we learned in ECED 631 first proposed the "mind is a blank slate" theory, is also described in this article as viewing the the mind as a "receptacle" for storage. This article makes it seem as if he considers it a fairly passive process, not an active reaching out for knowledge.
Another consideration is that even if all construction of knowledge is active, there is a wide range from those who perceive it as an individual context to those who believe it is "social and political" in process. Dewey would place the learner (knower) as an integral part of the process about which he is learning, creating his own knowledge. Another view is knowledge is developed over time by the impact of social and political factors on intellecutual data. This last concept became especially clear to me when reading the last section. Harding's theory is "constructivist epistemological considerations lead directly to the important issue of social empowerment".
After reading the article, I can now see where there could be so many distinctions made about the use of the term "constructivism" and it can be applied in so many different contexts.
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I am relieved that I am not the only one who was introduced to the term and idea of constructivism in Dr. Jones' technology course! It is interesting how all of our courses tie together and build upon each other. As you pointed out, Piaget and Vygotsky are lumped together in this text, and for valid reasons. What we have read and learned about from Drs. Ferguson and Winter seemed to put them in different camps for valid reasons. Quite a few times in the past few months, I have stopped and thought "in which course did I learn that?" In actuality, I am learning things from the whole MAT ECE program and not from a particular course.
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