Th e philosophical assumptions underlying both the behavioral and cognitive
theories are primarily objectivistic; that is: the world is real, external
to the learner. Th e goal of instruction is to map the structure of the world
onto the learner (Jonassen, 1991b). A number of contemporary cognitivetheorists have begun to question this basic objectivistic assumption and
are starting to adopt a more constructivist approach to learning and understanding:
knowledge “is a function of how the individual creates meaning
from his or her own experiences” (p. 10). Constructivism is not a totally
new approach to learning. Like most other learning theories, constructivism
has multiple roots in the philosophical and psychological viewpoints
of this century, specifi cally in the works of Piaget, Bruner, and Goodman
(Perkins, 1991). In recent years, however, constructivism has become a
“hot” issue as it has begun to receive increased attention in a number of different
disciplines, including instructional design (Bednar et al., 1991).