Le constructivisme ne résout pas tous les problèmes

Abstract

Constructivism cannot solve all the problems , Maria Arcà Silvia Caravita Constructivist theories origin from nineteenth century empirlsm, but the more recent developments derive from genetlcal epistemology and contemporary cognitive science. The underlying model is of a biological type : the organism as an active protagonist constructs and organizes a knowledge which is appropriate for understanding its environment but which does not correspond to the true nature of facts. What problems do emerge when one tries to apply constructivism to school context ? The dynamic of learning processes may differ from the various cognitive dynamics of pupils, and classroom implicite contracts may impede self construction of knowledge at school. However the three key phrases of school constructivism (“children are the authors of their own knowledge", “knowledge is always built on the grounds of previous knowledge", “knowledge is built through conflicts") have deeply Influenced teaching practices. Yet a constructivist renewal of the teaching system could only take place within Institutional structures able to sustain teachers training, to organize hierarchically subjects contents and to evaluate teaching and learning processes.