In a flight analogy, the constructivists might say that students should
If there is something I have learned in four months of flight lessons it is that learning to fly and learning about flight constantly cause me to reflect on my own teaching practise and question or consolidate what I believe about teaching and learning. Until recently, I was a staunch believer in the constructivist approach. I think that holding students back from bigger problems until the teacher decides they are "ready" is an insult to the intelligence and creativity of the learner. But having now experienced first hand the frustration of approaching bigger problems before smaller skills have been perfected, I'm not so sure.
Neuroscience tells us that the brain learns in wholes and in parts.
At the risk of sounding like a fence-sitter, I may have to concede that both a constructivist and a more traditional, step-by-step, building block approach are necessary for optimum learning. The teacher's (or flight instructor's) challenge is discerning the optimum balance of the two.