O n f e r e n c e

 
Background and Rationale 
 
Constructivism 
Constructivism uses a social philosophy in which student collaboration and interaction 
between the student and the teacher leads the students to evolve or “construct”
knowledge (Brandon & All, 2010; Bruning, Schraw & Norby, 2011). A Constructivist 
instructional design uses active learning and helps students construct knowledge that is 
well-connected to other knowledge they already hold (Roehler & Cantlon, 1997).
 
Tasked-Based Instructional Design 
Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) (Candlin & Murphy, 1987) is an outgrowth of 
Communicative Language Theory (Richards, 2006). According to Ellis (2009) TBLT holds 
that the 
task
should be the primary unit of work in a language learning program, as well 
as in individual lessons. Willis (1996) said that in TBLT, teachers employ tasks for 
learners that are purposeful, problem-oriented, or outcome-driven and thus are the 
equivalent of real world activities, in order to promote meaningful communication and 
therefore a positive context for language learning.
As such, TBLT fits well with Constructivist learning theory. Student-centered active 
learning is well established in the literature as producing better outcomes than lecture-
memorization methodologies. TBLT can be seen as an implementation of Constructivist 
theory, providing students with meaningful experiences that parallel the real world of 
language interaction. As such, both Constructivism and TBLT require that these 
experiences/tasks be fundamental to the curriculum and not just a one-time short-term 
experience. 
 
Sustainable Design
Kennedy and Levy (2009) made the point that only when a technology is used over an 
extended period of time and subject to ongoing evaluation can it be fully assessed. They 
contrast this against the current technological environment in which new technologies 
emerge rapidly to great acclaim, but fade equally quickly. They framed three key 
principals for using technological CALL applications: (a) Tailoring the application to serve 
specific identified needs of students, (b) Deep integration of the application into the 
course as opposed to superficial use, and (c) Treating the application as a long-term 
cyclical process of experimentation, evaluation, and enhancement so that the use of 
technology evolves rather than undergoes frequent major overhauls or replacement. This 
concept is called 
Sustainability
or 
Sustainable Design
(Levy, 1997) meaning building 
systematically on past implementations of technology as opposed to jumping on the 
bandwagon of each new technological innovation that appears.