Constructivism in pharmacy school

Constructivism is a theory about learning and not a teaching strategy or method. It states that students must actively construct their own knowledge. Learning according to the philosophy of constructivism should be student-driven by having he or she create and answer his/her own hypotheses. More emphasis is needed to develop student skills necessary to becoming eager and effective lifelong learners and to concentrate on increasing student confidence in his/her own critical thinking skills. According to this philosophy, teachers are guides and facilitators and cannot do the learning for the student. Hence, the current traditional lecture-based style of education is ineffective and can increase the chance of misconceptions occurring in our students. Health care programs currently emphasize memorization, imitation, and acquisition rather than spending classroom time on dispelling misconceptions, building upon knowledge, and honing in on key principles that can be applied to various situations. This article is a brief overview of the philosophy of constructivism. It also provides strategies and methods based on the constructivist philosophy to use in the classroom.