Running head: KNOWLEDGE AS CONSTRUCTED ACTIVITY 1

Knowledge as Constructed Activity

Thought Paper 3

Andrew Yeung

University of British Columbia

ETEC 512-66A
Running head: KNOWLEDGE AS CONSTRUCTED ACTIVITY 2

Regarding von Glasersfeld’s quote on page 37, evaluation for accuracy requires

knowledge of flawless truth, existing beyond reach with sensory information limited through

experience as only contact knower has with reality (von Glasersfeld, 2008). Being unable to

reliably interpret messages, objectivity in representation of external world remains questionable,

with scientific measurement limited by equipment precision. Assessment becomes subjective

determining the extent cognitive structures match learning intensions, predicated on individual

constructions deeming rightness as fitting established framework.

Regarding von Glasersfeld’s quote on page 48, knowledge cannot be reduced to an inert

stock of transferable facts, but operated towards solving novel problems just outside experience

shaped by prior interaction. Replacing traditional cycles of encoding, remembering and

retrieving, knowledge as construction fosters intrinsic motivation through self-generated

reinforcement achieving set goals. Teachers shift from dispensing absolute truth to facilitating

mental organization, directing learners to actively contribute knowledge towards multiple

destinations. Constructivists scaffold knowledge with participatory students instead of training

specific performance (von Glasersfeld, 2008), developing metacognitive awareness realizing

satisfaction as elegance fitting personal conceptualizations.

Constructivism does not invalidate passive reading and listening skills, but guides

inexperienced explorers to make sense of the world, interpreting observations through unique

experience and peer communication. Knowledge representations are compatible but never

identical as cognitive dissonances prompt self-regulation and rational logic. Language efficacies

and words for example convey opportunities rather than containers (von Glasersfeld, 2008),

organizing the world accepting what I know might differ from what actually exists. Teaching
Running head: KNOWLEDGE AS CONSTRUCTED ACTIVITY 3

involves subjective associations, promoting imagination and visualization abstracting from

experience, resulting in diverse mutually beneficial constructed activity.

Running head: KNOWLEDGE AS CONSTRUCTED ACTIVITY 4

References

Von Glasersfeld, E. (2008). Learning as a Constructive Activity. AntiMatters, 2(3), 33-49.