The second is learners build their own meaningful knowledge supported by authentic tasks and social experiences. Piaget did not believe social interaction was the only method in learners constructing new knowledge. But believed that social interaction is important by combining the two together in the construction of knowledge (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). The teacher needs to be aware of cognitive structures and assume the role as the facilitator in successful constructivist teaching approaches.
A significant issue in the scenario was Carol's failure to present the activity of map reading with its incorporation of mathematics. This is apparent in Piaget's developmental theory and personal constructivism (Piaget, 2008), as the learners did not exhibit any previous knowledge relating to the class activity. Carol constructed this understanding through the response Louis gave in her class, that the students were not able to assimilate the information about scale on their map or how it worked. Piaget's developmental constructivist theory suggests that Carol should have modified her learning approach to actively facilitate a more constructed learning method for the students to build upon. Piaget's perspective was less concerned about correct representations and more interested in meaning as constructed by the learner (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). .
Another issue that can be highlighted from the scenario indicates that social interactions play an important role in the knowledge construction learning processes (Taber, 2011). Exhibited in the scenario is Carol's initial approach with the activity. Carol gave the students a map and expected the students to already know how to measure real distances using map representations. This can be related to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, according to Piaget "our cognitive development is influenced by social transmission, or by learning from others"" (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013, pp.
