Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, Volume 31, Number 4

Much has been advocated in recent years to shift the focus from teacher-centered to student-centered teaching methods for effective learning. The focus on engaging students in learning is rooted in a constructivist view of learning (Hein, 1991; Tam, 2000): Learning is attained when learners actively construct their own set of meanings or understandings. Moreover, learning is conceived of as a process in which learners construct their own representations of knowledge through continuously extending and refining their understanding with the knowledge and experiences they have newly acquired (Phillips, 2000; von Glaserfeld, 1996). Modern constructivist thought also cites Vygotsky’s social learning approach (Tam, 2000), which strongly emphasizes the construction of knowledge through interaction and discourse with others (Baviskar, Hartle, & Whitney, 2009; Chen, 2001; Hickey, 1997).