In the last twenty years, constructivism has garnered a position of influence in pedagogy and the field of Instructional Design. Social constructivism evolved from works by Vygotsky whose work focused on social interactions, language, and culture, and how, when integrated, impact learning. He contends that learning comes from productive conversations with others with the same or different perspectives based on their own life experiences and from sharing those experiences in shared communities. The three foundational concepts of social constructivism are (the):

  • Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) – when a learners concepts are conceptualized at an expert level;

  • Intersubjectivity – when an agreement occurs between learners that they have accomplished effective communication;

  • Enculturation – when a learner can learn and accept the norms of values or the society in which they live (Woo and Reeves, 2007).

The interconnectedness of the concepts of social constructivism is more natural to grasp. Therefore one can understand that learning occurs through intersubjectivity in the enculturalized zone of proximal development (Woo and Reeves, 2007). Learning is a constructive process (Woo, Reeves, 2007); however, knowledge acquisition is a process that is both social and individual (Rutherford and Kerr, 2008). Interactivity is defined by Bannan-Ritland (2002) as the active involvement of a learner in instructional activities and technologies that include social interactions and networks. Chou et al. (2010) described three types of interactivity that must be present in online personalized learning environments:

  • Interaction Type – which includes activity between learner and self, learner and interface, learner and content, learner and instructor and learner and other learners;

  • Interactivity Dimension (element of interaction type) – includes user ease of use which consists of the inclusion of information, adaptability, information monitoring, user responsiveness, and interpersonal communication facilitation, etc.;

  • Interactive Function – includes technical functions related to interactivity dimensions (Samah, Yahaya, and Ali, 2011).

Educators acknowledge that individuality is a benefit in education, and` designers should consider individual differences of students, these could include their learning styles, learning orientations, learning rates, talents, cognitive styles, multiple intelligences, preferences, and needs (Samah, Yahaya, and Ali, 2011). According to Vygotsy’s theory, learning is how learners assimilate into knowledge communities; therefore, it is the individual learner differences that propel and encourage learning in those communities (Woo, Reeves, 2007). By considering individual differences, learners are more responsible for their learning, retain information longer, and simplifies the application of knowledge, thereby increasing interest in learning materials and increasing positive feelings towards the materials (Samah, Yahaya, and Ali, 2011).

The Web and, by extension, e-learning can support and improve effective learner-to-learner interactions grounded on social constructivist theory. Web 2.0 technologies such as E-mail, listservs, and discussion boards allow learners to collaborate. Online instructors can provide necessary guidance through the various tools which align with both synchronous and asynchronous advice, coaching, and feedback (Woo and Reeves, 2007). Interactive activity in learning is essential to knowledge acquisition and the development of cognitive and physical skills (Samah, Yahaya, and Ali, 2011).

Individual differences must be considered in the learning environment to ensure learner satisfaction and achievements through the appropriate application of learning styles, learning orientations, needs, and preferences (Samah, Yahaya, and Ali, 2011). Regardless of the learning theory used, it is essential to understand that inclusion of social constructivism theory is haphazard without implementing an instructional design model that cultivates the learning theory being utilized (Woo and Reeves, 2007).

 Finally, The ADDIE model should not be used as an outline on how to manage e-learning projects. The instructional design field requires carefully interconnected methodologies to manage the intricacies of e-learning design and development (Brandon, 2004).

References

Brandon., Bill (2004). Closing the loop in e-learning development: How to reconnect instructional design and project management. Retrieved on November 7, 2012, from http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/283/closing-the-loop-in-e-learning-development-how-to-reconnect-instructional-design-and-project-management

Germain-Rutherford, A., & Kerr, B. (2008). An inclusive approach to online learning environments: Models and resources. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education TOJDE, 9(2). Retrieved from http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde30/pdf/article_2.pdf

Samah, N. A., Yahaya, N., & Ali, M. B. (2011). Individual differences in online personalized learning environment. Educational Research and Reviews, 6(7), 516-521.

Woo, Y. and Reeves, T. (2007) Meaningful interaction in web-based learning: A social constructivist interpretation. The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 10, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 15-25, ISSN 1096-7516.