Striving for authentic social constructivism in online learning

Examples from postgraduate Law & Humanities

Abstract

Constructivist and social constructivist processes have long been promoted to foster deep learning opportunities for students as active contributors to their learning. A separate but related focus reminds tertiary educators to promote authentic learning in the age of virtual experiences. However, such learning experiences are not always easy to design in online settings. This paper brings these learning concepts together through sharing examples of authentic social constructivist learning designs in the online space, with subjects from the disciplines of Law and Humanities and taught into an interdisciplinary Master of Cybersecurity degree. The learning design examples of the respective subjects are presented and discussed in an authentic social constructivist context.