From Behaviorism to Constructivism: A Philosophical Journey from Drill and Practice to Situated Learning

Abstract

Both behaviorism and constructivism stem from centuries of philosophical musing concerning the nature of reality, our perceptions of reality, and even whether reality, as we perceive it, actually exists. The first and third of these issues are perhaps more than we might want to discuss here, but the second seems fair game. It allows us to progress from philosophy to experimental psychology and, finally, to what we might say about one aspect of constructivist thinking, namely, the situation of learning in authentic experiences. This chapter suggests that constructivist prescriptions for situated learning may be derived from our philosophical roots, empirical findings from experimental psychology, and experiences with situated-learning environments that rely on simulations. Much of the empirical support that is reported here derives from the use of simulation in military training, but let’s start with some philosophers.

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