ABSTRACT
Understanding the relationship between the role of the individual learner and the social context in which learning takes place is not a trivial task. A constructivism derived either from Piagetian or Kellyan perspectives has been adopted in much of mathematics or science education as the ‘catch-all’ rationale for teaching and learning. While this has focused attention on the active role of the pupil, many current constructivist approaches do not sufficiently take into account notions of interaction and the place of ‘others’ in supporting learning; the model of the learner is predominantly one of an explorer discovering knowledge in isolation.
