Constructivist Learning Environments to Enhance e-Learning

Even if there is a lot of potential for e-Learning, there are many instances where it is just a copy of conventional (didactic) learning environments. The emphasis on constructivism as a learning philosophy, epistemology, and pedagogical approach has also grown recently. Constructivist Learning Environments (CLE) have the ability to offer real and interesting settings for e-Learning. Using the cognitive apprenticeship concept and project-based learning, we have offered some guidelines in this work for the creation of one such CLE.

                                      

The approach suggests learning about information systems through actual usage of information systems, with less emphasis on overt lecturing and conventional teaching methods. Information Systems is not learnt by only studying practice, but by really engaging in it for the duration of the module/course. For the sake of concision, students should work on complicated, challenging tasks that mirror real-world complexity. The difficulties should be real and poorly structured, meaning that there should be more than one possible interpretation and "correct" response rather than just one. To reflect the social character of learning, students should actively work to solve the problem in cooperative groups.

 This approach necessitates a change in both the academic and student responsibilities. As a cognitive apprentice, the student investigates and learns about the issue in front of peers. Instead of openly lecturing, faculty now acts as a guide who helps students gain a grasp of the practical application of database design and analysis.

The approach can be utilized to instruct students in the creation of efficient contemporary information systems. Findings reveal that students and teachers responded exceptionally favorably to the strategy and thought it was more engaging and motivating than more traditional approaches to teaching. But the burden was heavier than with more conventional teaching approaches, and scalability was a problem, according to both students and professors. Faculty also believed that this approach called for mature learners and that first- and second-year undergraduates would not be the best candidates.