The more I contemplate it, the more Constructivist Realism seems to make the most sense to me as a theory for understanding the world. It does not (dogmatically) deny the existence of an external world (as Radical Constructivism does), and allows for change in our constructions -- and our understanding -- as new evidence is revealed through our explorations of the world. It almost makes me wonder why Radical Constructivism is so insistent on neither affirming nor denying the existence of an external world, for without something to experience... how can we have experience?
Interesting as this question is to consider, though, I have begun to wonder where the intersection lies between these theories and pedagogy (the subject of the course). I can see, certainly, where Constructivist Realism (or Trivial Constructivism, as has been used elsewhere) are useful in the classroom, particularly where it takes the useful parts of Radical Constructivism (experiencing the world) and dispenses with the extraneous parts, those that distract us from living (the dogmatic insistence on "metaphysical agnosticism"). It seems almost as though this debate over how far to take constructivism is getting us away from teaching and learning as we dive into the minefields of this particular contemporary philosophical debate.
I do not question the importance of reaching a reasonable conclusion on this particular debate. Indeed, hammering out this distinction will be useful for addressing other questions, like what methods are most appropriate to teaching, what subjects should be taught, when to teach them, etc. But other key questions -- of pragmatic as well as philosophical issues -- lie in a separate world, questions of morality, of compulsory education, of state-support vs. private industry, and the value of certain subjects to education. I think that at least touching on these topics is vital to do our course on the Philosophy of Teaching and Learning justice, and I fear that we may not get to touch these as we continue to debate Radical Constructivism vs. Constructivist Realism vs. Realism. I hope that my fears are unfounded.
To end with a question: How vital is the question of metaphysics to education?
