The Constructivist View: A Fashionable and Fruitful Paradigm for Science Education Research and Practice

Contemporary constructivism is not a totally new idea. On the contrary, there is a long-standing tradition of constructivist ideas in philosophy, in the philosophy and practice of education, and also in empirical research on students' preinstructional conceptions in science. Steffe (1990b) briefly outlined some aspects of the history of constructivism. For instance, he pointed out that Kant (1724–1804) held major constructivist ideas. Jung (1985) interpreted Bacon's (1561–1626) ideas in Novum Organum within such a framework.