The main tenets of constructivism are:
1. knowledge is always actively built by the cognizing subject
2. the function of cognition is adaptive, tending towards fit or viability
This means we are all always constructing...all the time. There is no such thing as a NON-constructivist classroom. In short, constructivism "says" nothing about pedagogy or how to teach. So...lecture, lab, investigation, research, whatever...students are always constructing knowledge for themselves.
Then all of this led me to question, "what are the principles that guide my pedagogy and my work with students?" If constructivism says nothing about how to teach, then why do I teach the way I do? Several things that have happened to me recently led me back to thinking about autonomy as the aim of education. Piaget said that moral and intellectual autonomy should be the goal of education. That means that students/people should be governed by themselves in terms of what is right and wrong (moral) and what is true and untrue (intellectual). My action research over the last two years has made me very convinced that our work with students very much plays a role in their development of autonomy. When not properly nurtured, students lose trust in their ability to think...mostly as a result of our attempt to teach things to students...to get them to think like we think.
I have so much more that I am thinking that I just can't figure out how to put in words right now. So, to be continued...
In the meantime, go read this post...it makes more sense than mine.