Teaching to Transform Learning Pedagogies for Inclusive, Responsive and Socially Just Education

In this chapter, we will inquire into a common definition of constructivism that acknowledges cognition (learning) not as a passive process of receiving information, but as an active process of making meaning, a mental construction that reframes our existing understandings from our different experiences (Olusegun, 2015). In addition, we will explore the historical roots of constructivism to identify common themes in these models through examining insights from key theorists, its strengths and possible limitations. Furthermore we will present a rationale for a ‘flipped PBL’ constructivist pedagogy that provides learners with discourse through authentic problems that enable situational and ongoing cognitive motivation by way of mastery of key concepts and the application of conceptual knowledge to a range of contexts. The uniqueness of this pedagogical approach employs flipped learning experiences to build expertise, depth of learning and problem-solving across a range of contexts to ensure breadth of application. To gain a deeper understanding of this approach, we will also look at some examples of its application in a primary and secondary context and examine the implications for its use.