Provides a model for curriculum development using constructivism to help democratize science education. Illustrates how to put this model into practice, focusing on: (1) expressing current conceptions; (2) sharing and learning new conceptions; and (3) applying and testing conceptions. (CMK)

Discusses challenges facing teacher librarians to plan a future for the information-knowledge environments in schools and suggests that action and evidence-based, learning-centered practice focusing on a constructivist inquiry approach are important. Topics include perceived lack of support and understanding; funding; professional development; a…

Examines the paradigm debate over established (behavioral and cognitive) and alternative (constructivist) models of instructional design (ID). Discusses instructional strategies and principles, new terms versus new meaning, "straw man" and personalized arguments, expert-determined goals, research-based versus "brand-X" models,…

Understanding children's experience is increasingly a key purpose of much educational research. In contrast to traditional approaches to the study of children that emphasized the socialization of children through various stages of development, researchers within the social constructionism perspective begin with an insistence that childhood is a…

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an organization development (OD) philosophy that utilizes and builds on past successes, using these as positive momentum for future change. AI provides student affairs with an alternative and generative approach to improving their organizations' processes and culture. As student affairs professionals look to the future…

This book is about the Computer Clubhouse--the idea and the place--that inspires youth to think about themselves as competent, creative, and critical learners. So much of the social life of young people has moved online and participation in the digital public has become an essential part of youth identities. The Computer Clubhouse makes an…

Individuals need communicative competence for personal fulfillment and development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment. Aim of the research is to work out English for Academic Purposes activity organization model and its introducing sequence for promoting communicative competence. Content: the search for English for Academic…

Purpose: Research on the nature of blended learning and its features has led to a variety of approaches to the practice of blended learning. The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative practice model, the TSOI hybrid learning model (HLM) to enhance the blended learning experiences in science education. Design/methodology/approach: The…

This paper explores the case method as a model for teaching education students about play. The case method may contribute to an examination of the barriers to children's play expression within school and create more effective classroom practice. Within the model, students can consider cases which have been carefully constructed from actual…

This Digest discusses Problem-Based Learning (PBL), a method developed by H.S. Barrows (1986), and originally created to prepare medical students for real-world problems by letting them solve medical problems based on real cases. The Digest contends that PBL can situate language learning in the real world by posing problems like those found in…

Like all models, the new model is also based on a theoretical foundation; constructivism, which emphasis is placed on the learner or the student rather than the teacher or the instructor. Students learn by fitting new information together with what they already know. People learn best when they actively construct their own understanding. The new…

This study reports the cognitive processing of a Year 8 female student (Kerri) during a test, and during her subsequent homework as she consolidated as part of abstracting; a topic of recent research interest. This case adds to the body of knowledge about how constructing and consolidating can occur simultaneously. The analysis captured the…

Discusses three ways that instructional design theories can change over time: (1) revision via evolution of models to reflect the outcomes that are being achieved with its current use; (2) revision to reflect current understanding of technology; and (3) complete replacement of present theory with another more powerful theory. Describes the…

Examines and identifies students' mental models of an abstract mathematical concept regarding intuition. Observes how students think reflectively on their mental models in a whole-class discussion in terms of logical thinking. (DDR)

Begins with an overview of the constructivist perspective and the pedagogical theory development upon which a constructivist teaching experiment with 20 prospective elementary teachers was based. Derives a theoretical framework for mathematics pedagogy with a focus on decisions about content and mathematical tasks. (49 references) (Author/DDD)