Getting Started with Constructionism

Scholarly Resources

For a little more information on the value, applicability, generalizability, and difficulties in the design of controlled experiment, see the following:

Constructionism is a heavily-researched pedagogical technique. Below are some of the most influential readings in the domain, as well as some additional recommended readings.

• Situating Constructionism by Seymour Papert of MIT Media Lab, from Constructionism
• Computers and Computer Cultures, by Seymour Papert of MIT Media Lab, from Mindstorms: Children, Computers, And Powerful Ideas
• The Gears of My Childhood, by Seymour Papert of MIT Media Lab, from Mindstorms: Children, Computers, And Powerful Ideas
• Papertian Constructionism and the Design of Productive Contexts for Learning, by Gary Stager of the University of Melbourne
• Can Educational Be Fun?, by Amy Bruckman of Georgia Tech
• Toward constructivism for adult learners in online learning environments, by Hsiu-Mei Huang of the National Taichung Institute of Technology

Additional Readings

• The MediaMOO Project: Constructionism and Professional Community, by Amy Bruckman and Mitchel Resnick of MIT Media Lab
• Towards a Pedagogy of Online Constructionist Learning, by Gary Stager of the University of Melbourne
• Piaget’s Constructivism, Papert’s Constructionism: What’s the difference?, by Edith Ackermann of MIT
• Monitoring constructivist classroom learning environments, by Peter Taylor of Murdock University
• Bridging the Digital Divide: Sociocultural Constructionism and an Asset-Based Approach to Community Technology and Community Building, by Randal Pinkett of MIT Media Lab
• Community Support for Constructionist Learning, by Amy Bruckman of Georgia Tech
• Robotics & constructivism in education: The TERECoP project, by Dimitris Alimisis, Michele Moro, Javier Ariegui, Alfredo Pina, Stassini frangou, and Kyparissia Papanikolaou
• Constructivism in Computer Science Education, by Mordechai Ben-Ari of the Weizmann Institute of Science
• It Looks Like Fun, but Are They Learning?, by Mike Petrich, Karen Wilkinson, and Bronwyn Bevan of the Exploratorium
• Beyond active learning: a constructivist approach to learning, from Susan Cooperstein of the Loyola/Notre Dame Library and Elizabeth Kocevar-Weidinger of the Longwood University Library

General Media

These sources would generally not be suitable for use in your assignments, but they may provide a useful general overview of the topic if you find yourself struggling with the more scholarly resources.

Constructionism is an overloaded term â€” it has meanings in politics, in philosophy, in education, and in other areas. Here, we’re specifically talking about the learning theory posed by Seymour Papert. Additionally, constructionism is often conflated with constructivism. The difference between the two is subtle: constructivism is a theory of how people learn, while constructionism is a theory of how we should teach. You’ll still see them used interchangeably in some places, so don’t be thrown off when some of the sources below mention constructivism instead of constructionism.

• Constructionism vs. Instructionism, by Seymour Papert of MIT Media Lab
• Constructivism and Social Constructivism in the Classroom, from University College Dublin
• Seymour Papert’s Legacy: Thinking About Learning, and Learning About Thinking, by Paulo Blikstein of Stanford University
• Constructionism, from the EduTech Wiki
• Eight Big Ideas Behind the Constructionist Learning Lab, by Seymour Papert of MIT Media Lab
• Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project Based Learning, from the University of Georgia
• Constructivism vs. Constructivism vs. Constructionism, by Mark Guzdial of Georgia Tech
• Constructivism, from the University of Oregon
• Seeing the wood from the trees: constructionism and constructivism for outdoor and experiential education, by Mark Leather of the University of Edinburgh
• Constructionism (learning theory), from Wikipedia

The following are some of the more visible media articles, video reports, and blog posts about constructionism in action.

• No-Tech Board Games That Teach Coding Skills to Young Children, from MindShift
• Teaching Machines: Learning from the Intersection of Education and Technology, by Bill Ferster of Times Higher Education
• Computing in the Classroom, by Sophia Nguyen of Harvard Magazine
• Constructionism for Adults, by Mark Guzdial of Georgia Tech from the Computing Education Blog
• Creating CS Meetups for Constructionist Adult Education, by Mark Guzdial of Georgia Tech from the Computing Education Blog
• Seymour Papert in 1983 (Video)
• Learning by Making: An Introduction to Constructionism, from Educator Innovator