Extract: The May 1991 issue of Educational Technology focusing on constructivism also contained a spirited disagreement between Merrill (1991), speaking for the instructional systems design (ISD) community, and the constructivists. Interestingly enough, the controversy does not appear to be between Merrill and the papers he claimed to be commenting on, but rather between his views and those in a book chapter by Bednar, Cunningham, Duffy, and Perry (1991). Time and time again Merrill references that chapter for his sharpest disagreement, rather than any of the articles he was discussing. Scientific controversy is probably as motivating an event as any of the alternatives proposed by the constructivists, or the Jasper discs discussed by the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt University (1991). I would guess that participants in these controversies are even more aroused than readers, so I am grateful to the editors for pulling me in from the sidelines to give an eclectic’s comments on the issues raised by the constructivist-ISD controversy.

Excerpt: The purpose of this chapter is to comment on some of the themes sounded in the volume from an eclectic perspective, that is, rather than being either a critic or a supporter of constructivist approaches, I want to endorse, whenever possible, practices supported by research results. As suggested while commenting on a similar controversy between constructivists and advocates of instructional systems design, it is important that controversies generate research so that data, rather than stirring rhetoric, may be brought to bear to clarify issues that are in dispute. A further purpose of this chapter was to evaluate the different positions from the perspective of a number of issues of importance to the controversy. Finally, specific suggestions for further research are made throughout the chapter.

Excerpt: The design of effective learning environments is taking on increasing importance with the growing dissatisfaction with our education systems at both the pre-K–12 and the post-secondary levels. There have been wide fluctuations in strategies at both levels, but over the past two decades arguably the dominant approaches to the design of instruction have been driven by the conceptual frameworks and theories called “constructivism.” The purpose of this book is to discuss the present status of constructivism, applied to teaching and the development of instructional materials.