ABSTRACT

This chapter explores transactional constructivist perspectives on learning that combine the psychological constructivist and sociocultural positions. The sociocultural perspective provides a rich source of new insights about the dynamics of learning environments in university classrooms. It highlights many issues that are especially relevant to higher education and its relationship to the larger society. Yet it is also clear that adopting a strong sociocultural view that rejects a focus on the development of portable abstractions would be unacceptable to most professors. I believe a useful model that draws on the strengths of both perspectives must maintain a focus on ideas and make a clear statement about the status of cognitive structures and their relationship to social structures.