ABSTRACT
In recent times, arguments for moving university teaching away from a so-called ‘instructivist’, lecture-centred mode towards a more student-centred ‘constructivist’ approach have become highly influential. This chapter identifies and examines two ways in which higher education students are positioned within these arguments, drawing on a case study of an online learning initiative where constructivist ideas were a key pedagogical driver. It argues that students are imagined in these debates as both engaged constructivist learners, but also as vulnerable students in need of explicit direction and additional support. In the case study in question, institutional leaders and lecturers emphasised their desire to encourage students to engage in constructivist ways, but also worried about what their students were capable of, and ultimately designed subjects around rigid assessment expectations and highly directed activities as a result. The case study is used here to highlight the tensions arising between the two constructions of students, the problems raised by positioning students in deficit ways, and the potential for this to undermine opportunities for constructivist engagement in university teaching.
