Upshot: Skiing played an important role in Ernst’s life. Time and again he talked about skiing in terms of the second best feeling. In this reminiscence piece a primary school teacher (Montessori), a psychotherapist, a physiotherapist, and a professor at the Faculty of Education at the University of Innsbruck describe their first and only skiing-tour together with him.

Key words: Ernst von Glasersfeld

Excerpt: There is the difficulty in allowing for personal items when focussing on academic interests and in allowing for rational aspects when focussing on personal items for someone who has had the chance to get to know Ernst personally. At least for me the search for apposite words in English is not easy in view of the successful interplay between his philosophical ideas, his handling of everyday problems of life and his ability to cope with difficult situations. But let’s give it a try and look back at one of the most striking experiences we have had together.

Key words: Ernst von Glasersfeld

Purpose: So far, the work of Josef Mitterer has not been widely recognized in philosophy of education, even though it offers many points of contact not only for epistemological and methodological questions but also for empirical and educational issues. Among these points of contact there is an outstanding sentence (see motto), which can be taken as a starting point for conceptual considerations in philosophy of education. The article takes this sentence as a hub for some corresponding investigations. Method: The article seeks to make progress in these investigations through reflecting on Mitterer’s sentence in ten steps, beginning with translational aspects and ending with questions of power relations and inconsistency. The arguments are made through (a) reference to concepts that are currently being discussed in philosophy of education and constructivist discourses, (b) through contrasting various conceptualizations, and (c) through discussion of selected examples. Findings: The article proposes a translation of Mitterer’s sentence that may be from Mitterer. It points out several similarities with and differences to positions related to (presumed) positions of Mitterer. Furthermore, it shows innovative options for argumentations in educational philosophy on that basis. Benefits: The contribution sounds out some interfaces between Mitterer’s philosophy and current debates in philosophy of education. It contributes to differentiated understandings of Mitterer’s sentence and it opens up a new field of discourse.

Key words: philosophy of education, philosophical constructivism, contextualism, non-dualistic philosophy, politics of truth, governmentality

Purpose: The article deals with constructivism and media in two respects: on a general level with some aspects of the role of media in constructivism, and in particular with the role of constructivism in media socialization studies. Context: Media have been taken up as a topic in some parts of constructivist discourses. While some of the authors treat media as a subject of inquiry like other fields to which they are related – economics, society, or psychotherapy – others recognize constitutional aspects of media, too. Approach: The article focuses on various discourse threads in the German-language literature over the last decade. Various constructivist conceptions and assumptions are taken into consideration with a view to surveying their role in media socialization studies. The article will initially justify the need for reflecting on issues of modelling mediality and constructivity and their relation to each other. It points out several conceptual similarities and differences within constructivism and shows their relevance to media socialization studies. Furthermore, it provides an outline of the respective arguments and an introduction to interfaces of constructivism and media socialization. Findings: In line with different constructivist concepts, the fields of investigation are rather scattered and authors only partly pay attention to each other. This article puts some characteristics and capabilities of constructivist discourses up for debate with regard to selected aspects of media socialization. We find that contemporary media socialization studies do not refer to a single definition of media socialization or constructivism. Since the concepts discussed are published in German, it may also be seen as a benefit that they are made accessible to a wider audience.

Key words: mediality, constructivity, constructivist discourses

Context: It is beyond doubt that RC has received a great deal of attention in educational studies and learning theory. But overall, the current situation seems to be rather ambivalent in view of the blurring of the various strands in constructivist discourses and the different ways of distinguishing and foregrounding constructivist positions. Correspondingly, there is a wide range of claims, from the claim that (radical) constructivism represents a mainstream endeavor to attributions of its being outdated, self-refuting or irrelevant. Purpose: The paper seeks to sound out the ambivalent situation of (radical) constructivism between “all” and “nothing” by examples of attributions of meaning to constructivist positions in academic everyday life and by challenging both prevalent criticisms of systemic-constructivist pedagogy and widespread broad classifications in learning theory. Method: The article critically reflects on (1) one-sentence “destructions” of constructivist positions, (2) Pongratz’s criticism of systemic-constructivist pedagogy, and (3) the threefold classification of the world of learning, i.e., behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Results: Both the current criticism of constructivism as a mainstream endeavor and evolutionary suggestions provided by the threefold classification are criticized. Although some constructivist concepts and distinctions are widely accepted today, often these achievements are not recognized as being rooted in constructivist discourses. Implications: As far as mainstreaming constructivism might be related to power politics, selling the “real thing,” and joining the ranks of truth-oriented Isms, it would not appear to be a desirable endeavor for those who rely on viability, circular foundations, relativist philosophy, and relationalist approaches. Nevertheless, clarifications of power relations and the interplay between constructivist analyses of politics and the politics of constructivism might contribute to overcoming the diffuse popularity of constructivist thought towards a better understanding of constructivist contributions to solution oriented, meaningful ways of dealing with urgent problems.

Key words: pedagogy, systemic pedagogy, learning theory, connectivism

Open peer commentary on the article “Constructing Constructivism” by Hugh Gash. Upshot: Hugh Gash’s paper on constructing constructivism is inspiring, insightful, and important in many respects. However, and for that reason, I want to reflect on some critical aspects in terms of metaphorical uses of expressions and ongoing processes of medialization and digitization. Lastly, I am going to point out critical potentials of constructivist thinking as related to education.

Excerpt: Der Beitrag skizziert die Anfänge konstruktivistischer Pädagogik und die Grundlinien einschlägiger Diskurse. Weiters werden aktuelle Themen und Diskussionen sowie kritische Einwände zur Diskussion gestellt. Abschließend werden einige Anhaltspunkte für die Weiterentwicklung der konstruktivistischen Pädagogik gegeben.

Open peer commentary on the article “Amusement, Delight, and Whimsy: Humor Has Its Reasons that Reason Cannot Ignore” by Edith K. Ackermann. Upshot: Ackermann’s target article strikes a chord by thinking together oblique and rational aspects of knowing in constructivism. Her target article points out uses of humor and various ways of making sense of our experience that have been underestimated in constructivist discourse. While I can agree on the main lines of her argument, I want to argue for further differentiation and clarification with respect to some historic and systematic aspects.

Open peer commentary on the article “Towards a Dialogue Among Constructivist Research Programs” by Gastón Becerra & José Antonio Castorina. Upshot: Gastón Becerra and José Antonio Castorina compare a selection of constructivist epistemologies aiming at a general definition of constructivist epistemology. While I can agree on many aspects of their critical analysis, I want to underline some concerns but also argue for enhanced methodological perspectives.