Learning theory from a constructivist perspective

(Transl. by Olha Honcharenko)

Abstract

The lecture is dedicated to substantiating the constructivist paradigm in didactics as a necessary condition for the theoretical integrity of modern education. The lecture shows that pedagogy, deprived of an interdisciplinary foundation, loses its ability to explain the complexity of the learning process, since any educational concept is based on certain assumptions about the nature of cognition, thinking, language and communication. The philosophical origins of constructivism are examined – from ancient tradition to Kant and contemporary cognitive science – and it is emphasised that constructivism is not synonymous with relativism, but is based on intersubjectively shared structures of cognition. The lecture critically analyses the traditional, quasi-behaviourist model of education, which assumes the transparency and measurability of intellectual processes, reducing learning to externally controlled results. Instead, the constructivist approach is interpreted as a process of active construction of meaning, in which language, ideas, beliefs, and social mechanisms of interpretation play a key role. Sperber and Wilson’s relevance theory is considered an important tool for analysing the cognitive processes that accompany learning. Based on the concepts of Bruner, Glasersfeld and Klus-Stanska, the principles of the work of a constructivist teacher are outlined, who creates conditions for independent activity of students, the formation of hypotheses, conceptual restructuring and reflection. The lecture substantiates the need to form a coherent constructivist paradigm capable of integrating contemporary didactic discourse and ensuring the scientific explanatory power of educational theory.