Constructivism is a philosophical perspective that posits that knowledge is mediated by cognition and that humans construct meaning of their experiences and situations. In this perspective, humans are considered to be active organisms seeking meaning. The mind produces mental models that explain what has been perceived. An assumption is that all humans conceive of external reality somewhat differently, based on each individual's unique set of experiences with the world and beliefs about those experiences, but that there is substantial overlap in individual meaning making, which is the essence of socially constructed knowledge. This perspective is indebted to the work of Jean Piaget in developmental psychology and to Berger and Luckmann in their classic work The Social Construction of Reality. In evaluation, this philosophical orientation is ...