Educational reforms in many Asian countries, particularly in China and Vietnam, have highlighted the pivotal role of the constructivist approach. However, the implementation of constructivism into the classroom is still very challenging for teachers. Although there is a wealth of research on constructivism, few studies have focused on the…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a constructivist method of instruction aligned with the science educational reform movement to increase scientific literacy for all Americans. As such, PBL instruction is an increasingly popular topic for professional development workshops offered to teachers in secondary learning environments. This research…

Many types of learning require the mapping of information across situations. The proposed organizational framework extends the cognitive study of mappings across problems to include mappings across representations, solutions, and sociocultural contexts. I apply one-to-one, one-to-many, and partial mappings to analyze representative cases that…

Student performance on critical-thinking applications on standardized tests in a southwestern U.S. state has been low for several years. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore how one school district prepared students for critical-thinking applications on standardized tests. The study was informed by cognitivism and…

Teacher educators have suggested that mentoring has the potential to help novices learn to teach in reform-minded ways. This suggestion implies a change in the nature of mentor-novice relationships as conceptualized in the existing literature and an understanding of the complexities of mentoring relationships. Based on critical constructivist and…

Major changes in educational and psychological theories that have come about since the cognitive and affective taxonomies of educational objectives were published in 1956 and 1964 are traced. The changes emphasize the need to understand thinking in the context of students' beliefs and self-directed cognitions. (SLD)