Constructionism (Seymour Papert)

Seymour Papert is the guiding philosopher emphasis on children as designers of their own activity involving new technological tools for learning. He describes both a theory of learning and a new strategy for education section. The theory of constructionism is based on the constructivist theory of Jean Piaget, a psychologist who studied children's learning development.

Piaget argued children construct their knowledge during learning and it is not simply transferred from one person to another (biological transfer). Whilst Papert expends Piaget's idea by stating that a good way to construct new knowledge is by constructing tangible objects that children can reflect and share with others.

If it is good for children to engage in design activities, then a good construction kits or tools should be provided to them. One of the earliest environment was LEGO/Logo. The environment combined two types of design - using LEGO blocks as the mechanical design tool and Logo programming as the software design tool.

The idea to integrate physical activity with programming has explored different aspects of benefits in learning:

1. engage children as active participants by giving them greater sense of control and responsibility over the learning process

2. encourage creative problem solving and suggesting multiple strategies and possible solution

3. facilitate personal connections to knowledge and develop a sense of ownership for their ideas that they design

4. offer interdisciplinary activities and bridging together the concepts in maths, science and arts lesson

5. provide a context for reflection and discussion to enable children to gain deeper understanding of the ideas underlying hands-on activities