THE BASIC TENETS

OF
CONSTRUCTIVISM
MARIANNE DAMASCO
Knowledge is not passively accumulated,
but rather, is the result of active
cognizing by the individual
ex:
Imagine a student studying
for a test.
Cognition is an adaptive
process that functions to
make an individual’s
behavior more viable given
a particular environment
ex:
When a person learns to
avoid touching a hot stove
after getting burned once.
Cognition organizes and
makes sense of one’s
experience, and is not a
process to render an
accurate representation of
reality
ex:
Imagine two people
attending a concert
together.
Knowing has roots in both
bioloigical/neurological construction,
and social cultural, and language-
based interactions (Dewey,
1916/1980; Garrison, 1997, 1998;
Gergen, 1995; Maturana & Varela,
1992).
ex:
A child learning to ride a
bicycle.