Computer technology and the constructivism paradigm

There is wide consensus in education that learning is no longer seen simply as the result of a transmission of knowledge. Nowadays pedagogical strategies employed in the current ICT-based learning are linked to constructivism paradigm. According to constructivism, knowledge is considered to be socially and individually constructed; learning is the acquisition of meaningful competences in a realistic context; learning is advanced through interactive and authentic experiences that dovetail with the interests of the student and through active learning. So the focus is on the development of a suitable environment for constructing knowledge rather than for its transfer.

In such an environment the use of ICT can trigger constructivist innovation in the classroom contributing to the realisation of meaningful authentic, active-reflective and problem-based learning, a method that challenges students to "learn how to learn"; students seek solutions to real world problems, which, based on an ICT framework, are used to engage their curiosity and initiate learning, leading so to critical and analytical thinking.

The constructivist education philosophy aims at a school where students learn how to learn, in a learner-centered environment with emphasis on learning through discovery and exploration and on experiences in the development of problem-solving strategies (diSessa et al 1995).

The emerging need for teacher education in ICT-enhanced constructivist learning

ICT-enhanced constructivist classroom practices, however, demand that teachers play a new role. This means that opportunities, like exposure to a number of critical examples and experience in designing ICT-based activities and integrating them in their classroom practice in constructivist ways are of great priority. The aim is to convince teachers for the potentiality of ICT as constructivist learning tool through their own personal experience. For this reason the development and implementation of appropriate courses is very important for the teachers’ professional development and crucial for the success of innovative approaches using ICT.

Teachers need to go beyond traditional approaches (Bhattacharya and Richards, 2001) and become acquainted with new methods in order to get a clear understanding of the educational functionality of technological tools in their educational practices. The approaches to staff training include the need for awareness of the advantages and possible difficulties of the proposed methods for school learning and usage of settings and tools for training similar to those expected to be used in classrooms in the sense of learning by doing and applying the new knowledge in real learning contexts.

Designing ICT-enhanced constructivist learning

Under the pre-mentioned theoretical framework, appropriate ICT-enhanced activities, critical examples and strategies that can be applied both in teacher training courses and in students’ teaching to trigger constructivist innovation, have been integrated in the curriculum of the courses offered by the Educational Technology Lab at the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE) in Patras (Greece). Course participants, who are future teachers, are provided opportunities to examine how ICT can be used to promote a constructivist, learner-centered approach to learning.