Constructivism Strengths, Limitations, Implications

Limitations

Strengths

• Constructivism happens best in collaborative, social settings, which are not always available to learners.

• Developing scaffolding resources can be time consuming.
• Students can become dependent on scaffolding.
• Every student's ZPD will be unique, which can make it challenging to tailor instruction.

• Learning through social interactions and dialogue can foster diverse learning experiences.

• Learner has agency in concstructing their own knowledge.
• Can foster instrisic motivation because the student is engaged, exploring, and given agency as a participant.

Implications

• In social learning environments, developing trust among learners is key for everyone to feel that they can fully participate and share.
• Instructors must work to know their students, so to be able to help them through their ZPD and scaffold for the learner's unique needs.
• Learning objectives with action words such as "reflect," "reason," and "justify" can help learners frame their knowledge in their own terms.