Th e constructivist designer specifi es instructional methods and strategies
that will assist learners in actively exploring complex topics/environments
and that will move them into thinking in a given content area as an expert
user of that domain might think. Knowledge is not abstract but is linked to
the context under study and to the experiences that the participants bring
to the context. As such, learners are encouraged to construct their own
understandings and then to validate, through social negotiation, thesenew perspectives. Content is not pre-specifi ed; information
from many sources is essential. For example,
a typical constructivist’s goal would not be to teach
novice ID students straight facts about instructional
design, but to prepare students to use ID facts as an
instructional designer might use them. As such, performance
objectives are not related so much to the
content as they are to the processes of construction.
Some of the specifi c strategies utilized by constructivists
include situating tasks in real world contexts,
use of cognitive apprenticeships (modeling and
coaching a student toward expert performance), presentation
of multiple perspectives (collaborative learning to develop and
share alternative views), social negotiation (debate, discussion, evidencegiving),
use of examples as real “slices of life,” refl ective awareness, and
providing considerable guidance on the use of constructive processes.
Th e following are several specifi c assumptions or principles from the
constructivist position that have direct relevance for the instructional
designer (possible ID applications are listed in brackets [ ] following the
listed principle):