From Misconceptions to Constructed Understanding • Page 1 From Misconceptions to Constructed Understanding The Fourth International Seminar on Misconceptions Research (1997) Article Title: Constructivism in health education programs

Abstract: Constructivism is an educational philosophy, strategy, and methodology that has gained a foothold in mainstream educational literature. It has been applied to an androgogical population in higher education. Current educational trends are focused not so much on evaluation as they are on developing criticism within learners. Higher education is beginning to promote a refocus on knowledge construction. Constructivism promotes an understanding of the learner in the context of the learning environment where the learner is an active participating member that is constructing, reconstructing, and deconstructing knowledge constantly. With this in mind, constructivism seeks to find the balance between the learners ’ and the instructors ’ responsibility for designing, implementing, and evaluating the learning ‘experience ’ where knowledge emerges. There is a lot of discussion in educational literature of the health professions today regarding the use of clinical reasoning, problem-based learning, or the plethora of other curriculum design strategies that seek to develop the intuitive mind of the clinicians (Boelen