Constructivism in the Shadow of a Dead God

Abstract

Objectivism and/or positivism are dead, leaving constructivism as the dominant philosophical position in the SoTL and educational development communities. Yet the death of objectivism has not been fully accepted, nor have the full implications of constructivism been recognized. As a result, the effects of constructivism’s dominance in the minds of scholarly teachers and educational developers have been bewilderingly superficial. Thoughtful constructivists now find themselves facing situations in which constructivist pedagogies lead to counter-intuitive consequences – for instance, students forced to take surface learning approaches out of desperation. This unwelcome situation of absurdity is explored through a philosophical analogy, which unearths causes and indicates necessary changes to bring into practice a full and committed constructivist education.

Keywords

• Constructivism
• Deep and surface learning
• Student workload
• Philosophy of higher education