Millennial Expectations and Constructivist Methodologies: Their Corresponding Characteristics and Alignment

Abstract

In recent years, much emphasis has been placed on constructivist methodologies and their potential benefit for learners of various ages (Brandt & Perkins, 2000; Brooks, 1990). Although certain aspects of the constructivist paradigm have replaced several aspects of the behaviorist paradigm for a large contingency of stakeholders (particularly, schools of education and national learned societies), this large-scale shift has not been apparent among many key participants in public education. A variety of suspected reasons exist for this lack of transition, including the lack of clarity in defining constructivism (Null, 2004; Woolfolk, 2008), potential difficulties in application (Perkins, 1999), and previous generations' expectations about education (Howe & Strauss, 2000). However, this article suggests that the current Millennial Generation's expectations of learning strongly align with tenets of constructivist methodology and that these constructivist expectations (client demands) should broadly affect the educational practices of university and public school personnel in the near future.