Some Interrelationships between Constructivist Models of Learning and Current Neurobiological Theory, with Implications for Science-Education

Recent advances in the neurosciences have begun to elucidate how some fundamental mechanisms of nervous system activity can explain human information processing and the acquisition of knowledge. Some of these findings are consistent with a cognitive view of constructivist models of learning and provide additional theoretical support for constructivist applications to science education reform. Current thought at the interface between neurocognitive research and constructivist philosophy is summarized here and discussed in a context of implications for scientific epistemology and conceptual change processes in science education.