Beyond active learning: a constructivist approach to learning

Guided by four principles – learners construct their own meaning; new learning builds on prior knowledge; learning is enhanced by social interaction; and learning develops through “authentic” tasks – constructivist learning moves from experience to knowledge and not the other way around. In a constructivist classroom, the activities lead to the concepts; the students construct the meanings. Learning happens! Abstract concepts become meaningful, transferable, and retained because they are attached to the performance of a concrete activity. This article discusses the elements of constructive learning and describes ways to apply those elements to library instruction to create truly “active” learning. An appendix contains sample exercises.