The Constructivist Approach in Education

In the world, which is constantly undergoing change and globalizing as a result of interaction, there is a need for individuals that comprehend and internalize innovations and development and also aware of his/her duty. With the increase of consumption in the developing world, having individuals acquire correct knowledge is not enough to keep up with the modern world. The individual synthesizing knowledge and then producing new knowledge rather consuming it has been set as an objective. In line with this, the duties of schools in society are changing with the changing world and in schools individuals are expected to produce knowledge rather than consume it. In the constructivist approach addressing all these requirements, having individuals think and comprehend more, be responsible for their own learning, and control their own behavior have been emphasized. According to the constructivist approach, learning is achieved through the establishment of correlations between previous knowledge in the mind and new knowledge and by internalizing new knowledge. In constructivist learning environment the roles and duties expected of teachers and students have also changed. The purpose of this study is to introduce the constructivist approach, whose significance is ever increasing education today in a detailed manner. In this scope, knowledge was provided on the philosophical aspect of the constructivist approach, learning and teaching according to the constructivist approach, the roles and duties of teachers and students according to the constructivist approach, and the constructivist learning environment.