Constructivism is a family of learning theories that treat knowledge as something learners build, not as a packet transferred from teacher to student. New ideas are fitted into what the learner already understands, or they force that understanding to change.
It is not behaviourism (observable stimulus and response) and it is not the same as cognitivism (information processing, memory, cognitive load). Last reviewed: 31 August 2026.
What it claims
Learners are active. They interpret tasks using prior knowledge, language and social setting. Teaching that only presents information, without a chance to use it, is a weak fit for this view.
Two strands are often mixed and should not be:
- Cognitive constructivism (often linked to Jean Piaget): the individual reorganises mental structures as they meet new experience. Piaget’s stage labels are a historical developmental model, not a classroom timetable.
- Social constructivism (often linked to Lev Vygotsky): learning is mediated by other people, language and tools. The zone of proximal development is what a learner can do with help that they cannot yet do alone.
Classroom use
Start from what learners already know. Set a task that requires them to explain, make, compare or justify, not only recall. Use talk, models and worked examples as support, then remove the support. Check the product against criteria so “construction” does not mean “any answer will do”.
What it is not
- Not unguided discovery as a default. Complex new material usually needs guidance first.
- Not learning styles.
- Not connectivism. Networks and digital nodes are a later, different claim. See connectivism.
Related: behaviourism.
Sources
- Piaget, J. Work on the construction of knowledge and developmental stages. Treat age bands as historical theory.
- Vygotsky, L. S. Social mediation of learning and the zone of proximal development.
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