Its Philosophical Roots and Relevance to Science Teaching and Learning

The goal of this paper is to sketch the epistemological roots of constructivism, to clarify certain implications of Piaget's constructivist theory for science education, and to explicate the issues surrounding a specific research study and its replication. Constructivist epistemology is described in terms of its emergence from rationalist, empiricist, and romanticist views of knowledge. Implications for science teaching are derived from Piaget's descriptions of social. physical, and logico-mathematical experiences as sources of knowledge. A study which exemplifies the confusion surrounding constructivism is then discussed. Support is given for the use of discovery methods on the grounds that they foster the construction of logico-mathematical knowledge better than do more direct methods. Twenty-seven references are provided. (Author/ML) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document.