Which beliefs guide the constructivist paradigm? Select all that apply.
A. There are multiple realities.
B. The truth is objective.
C. Context does not matter as much as truth.
D. The participant (subject) is an active part of the study.
E. Knowledge is gained through facts.
Correct Answer: A, D
Constructivism implies that reality is constructed through human interaction. Knowledge is a human product and is socially and culturally constructed. Individuals create meaning through their interactions with each other and with the environment in which they live. Social constructivism emphasizes the importance of culture and context in the process of knowledge construction and accumulation.
Option A: In social constructivism, human interests are important for research purposes and knowledge is constructed through social interaction. Such knowledge is shared rather than an individual experience. According to constructivists, reality is a subjective creation. There is no single reality. Race, for example, is a social construct. Claiming that people are different based on the skin of their color is a (subjective) social construct.
Option B: The aim of constructivist research is to understand particular situations or phenomena. Rich data is gathered from which ideas can be formed. The interaction of a number of people is researched, mostly to solve social problems of the target group.
Option C: Learners add to and reshape their mental models of reality through social collaboration, building new understandings as they actively engage in learning experiences. Scaffolding, i.e. guidance and support, play an important role in the learning process. Research is, of course, largely a learning process and researchers on any level can use it to gain knowledge and to structure their research.
Option D: Social constructivism is based on the principles of constructivism. Like positivism, social constructivism also uses observation to gather information. Different from positivism, the researcher is part of what is being observed in social constructivism.
Option E: Positivism and constructivism are not the same. Both are epistemologies that present a different idea of what constitutes knowledge. However, positivism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes that knowledge should be gained through observable and measurable facts, whereas constructivism states that reality is a social construct.