Importance of Community in Constructivist Online Learning Environments

Importance of Community in Constructivist Online Learning Environments

Introduction

In this paper, I will examine the importance of interaction in constructivist online learning environment and how the community affects online learning.

In order to show that the community and interaction are important to online learning and especially to the constructivist learning environments, this paper will first examine the definition of constructivist approach, identify relevant types of interaction and define community as it is understood in online learning environment. In addition the connection between the interaction and community building and the effects of interactions on the community will be examined. This paper will also take a look at the importance of community in the constructivist learning environment, by examining the interaction and community building, and will explain why the constructivist online learning goes beyond information or knowledge delivery.

Constructivist Learning Theory

Constructivism as a paradigm, and a foundation for some distance education theories, asserts that the knowledge is construed by learners based on their own experience and reality. According to constructivist learning theory the instructor doesn’t deliver the knowledge to the student, instead the student interprets and processes the information received, and thus creates an individualized and contextualized knowledge. Another important aspect of constructivist school of learning is the role of the learner and the instructor, where the student becomes central, and the instructor steps back into an advisory and facilitative role (Ally, 2008).

In the learner centered, constructivist learning environment, the instructor and even student role...

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