Constructivism as a Theoretical Foundation for the Use of Technology in Social Studies

Abstract The National Council for the Social Studies has explicitly advocated technology integration into the social studies classroom to transform the teaching and learning of key social studies content and skills. While the call for technology integration into the social studies classroom is clear, the application of technology within the realm of social studies has traditionally been theoretically underdeveloped. One theoretical foundation that has promise for framing the discussion of technology and social studies integration is constructivism. Within this paper the current relationship between social studies education and technology is explored, the nature of constructivist philosophy, theory, and pedagogy is delineated, and principles for the integration of technology in social studies that supports an explicit constructivist foundation are posited.