Social Constructivism - You Know this Stuff!

Wikipedia:

Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge according to which human development is socially situated and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. Like social constructionism, social constructivism states that people work together to construct artifacts.

So, in common language we can all understand, what is Social Constructivism?

Social constructivism teaches that all knowledge develops as a result of social interaction and language use, and is therefore a shared, rather than an individual, experience. Knowledge is additionally not a result of observing the world, it results from many social processes and interactions. The work of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are featured - both are integral in Constructivist Theories; Piaget focusing primarily on the person (cognitive development in one's brain) and Vygotsky focusing more on the social elements playing on one's development. 

Social constructivism stresses the need for collaborative learning. Learning is promoted through collaboration among students, and between students and teachers. Some examples of collaborative learning activities are group problem solving, group inquiry, simulations, and debates.

The central idea of constructivism is that human learning is constructed and that learners build new knowledge upon the foundation of previous learning. This view of learning sharply contrasts with one in which learning is the passive transmission of information from one individual to another, a view in which reception, not construction, is key.

Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory can provide adult ESL/ELL students with the ability to construct their own meanings by critical thinking. Social constructivism is a learning perspective founded on the assumption that learning is focused on learners and promotes their active participation as they manage to construct their own knowledge depending on their own reality.