The notion that people build/construct their own knowledge and their own representations of knowledge from their own experiences and thought is called constructivism or the constructivist theory of learning.

It is a theory not an instructional strategy and we do our best to implement it through various instructional approaches. - through inquiry learning, through models, discrepant events, and through analogies.

Main points inferred from this theory:

1. We internalize (filter) new knowledge through past experience or knowledge constructs we have established.

2. The role of the teacher is to enable children to make their own connections that result in valid internalized meanings unique to each child.

3. The teacher identifies prior learning of children through questioning, observing, and listening.

4. The teacher establishes exploratory activities or experiences enabling children to investigate and come to their own conclusion as to what is happening.

5. The teacher interacts with each child to see how she/he is constructing his/her new information and helps the child through questioning to formulate sound conclusions by aiding each child in restructuring the information in ways that are both valid and meaningful to that child.

6. For learning to take place, the new "model" must make more sense than prior models or beliefs.