Principle 2. Prior knowledge:

    According to Rochelle (1995), pre-existing knowledge has a greater impact on what is learned than from the presentation

of new information itself. How is this significant given the latitude learners have in constructivist learning environments to select,

organize, and integrate new information within their pre-existing knowledge base (Mayer, 1999)? Will students know which

information is important and is deserving of learning effort? Will students be able to organize the information into a coherent whole?

In short, will students’ prior-knowledge accommodate new learning?

    Mayer, (2004) stated that while learners’ active participation is a key characteristic of the constructivist classroom, it is not

a goal in and of itself.  Rather, students’ participation in knowledge building requires purposeful attempts to process incoming

information in light of what is already known, and this requires instructor support. Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2005) echoed

this sentiment in their article, Why Minimally Guided Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery,

Problem Based, Experiential and Inquiry Based Teaching. They stated that guided, rather than unguided instructor support enhance student learning.

     How best to account for learners’ prior knowledge to facilitate meaning making is not an easy task.  What opportunities do web 2.0

technologies enable?  Considerations include: How can web 2.0 tools be used to elicit prior knowledge? What role can web 2.0 technologies

play in facilitating the integration of new and prior knowledge?