Supporting learning

Education and training institutions around the world used to be driven by a belief that teaching simply involved imparting knowledge to learners. This was based on the notion that a learner’s brain is an 'empty vessel', into which knowledge can be poured, and that if you poured in the right information, in the right sequence, the learner would automatically learn whatever you wanted her to learn. \ud \ud Although most educators would now disagree with this notion, it is still the case that most educators/ trainers in higher education and workplace training are appointed on the basis of their subject knowledge and not their ability to teach in a learner-centred way. \ud \ud In recent years, the concept of constructivism has helped many educators to go beyond traditional rote learning techniques, and to engage their learners more fully in the learning process. In this unit, we take a bird's-eye look at the many ways in which you can support distance learners in their learning from a constructivist perspective