Constructionist learning is inspired by the constructivist theory that individual learners construct mental models in order to understand the world around them. Constructionism advocates student-centered, discovery learning where students use information they already know to acquire more knowledge.[1] Students learn through participation in project-based learning where they make connections between different ideas and areas of knowledge facilitated by the teacher through coaching rather than using lectures or step-by-step guidance.[2] Further, constructionism holds that learning can happen most effectively when people are active in making tangible objects in the real world. In this sense, constructionism is connected with experiential learning and builds on Jean Piaget's epistemological theory of constructivism.[3]
The goal is to use computational thinking to forge ideas that are at least as "explicative" as the Euclid-like constructions (and hopefully more so) but more accessible and more powerful. In the next section I illustrate the idea by using Turtle geometry to give the theorem about angles subtended by a chord greater perspicuity, a more intuitive proof and new connections to other ideas.