Complex Constructivism: A Theoretical Model of Complexity and Cognition

Education has long been driven by its metaphors for teaching and learning. These metaphors have influenced both educational research and educational practice. Complexity and constructivism are two theories that provide functional and robust metaphors. Complexity provides a metaphor for the structure of myriad phenomena, while constructivism provides a metaphor for learning. In the synthesis of these two powerful metaphors lies a new metaphor—complex constructivism. The reality of complex constructivism is one in which the non-linear, adaptive, and constructive nature of learning is embraced. Complex constructivism views learning as the active construction and adaptation of one's internal models of reality based on the interaction between oneself and one's environment (including other persons), such that the functioning of one's internal models exceeds the sum of the models' components.