The effects of a constructivist-oriented curriculum on the beliefs and motivations of students and parents toward being successful in mathematics were examined. Specifically, the question of the influence of constructivist activity on individual beliefs in and motivations toward task-orientation rather than ego- or work-avoidance-orientation was…

Traditionally, philosophers have viewed critical thinking as a reasoning tool for guiding and helping people arrive at truth and certainty. Recent feminist theory suggests that critical thinking involves not just doubt but also believing. This paper examines: (1) the traditional views of critical thinking (methodological doubt); and (2) historical…

The concept of diffusion may seem easy enough for many teachers to understand, but when and what do students really understand about diffusion and osmosis? In order to answer these two questions, 116 students (46.6% in the tenth grade, 30.2% in the eleventh grade, and 23.2% in the twelfth grade) enrolled in biology classes were administered tests…

Philosopher and historian R. G. Collingwood developed and elaborated a theory and approach to reconstructing knowledge about the past that relies on the historical imagination. This paper argues that Collingwood's theory offers teachers sound reasons for using constructivist approaches in their classrooms and that his methodological approach can…

This article constitutes a critique from the inside of constructivist pedagogy. It begins with a short history of constructivist pedagogy and its relationship to constructivist learning theory. It then addresses four issues in the ways in which constructivist pedagogy are being approached in research and practice. The first issue recommends more…

In this paper, the author considers the role of teaching values in science education as part of a move from teacher-centred pedagogy to student-centred pedagogy. Taking a constructivist-inspired position, he argues that, as part of their study of the use of scientific knowledge by society, students need to be given opportunities to make value…

This study investigated whether a standards-based portfolio experience could exist harmoniously within a teacher education program that supports constructivism. Student and faculty interviews were conducted over a 2-year period with the results being used for continuous improvement of the portfolio assessment. The portfolio assessment uses…

This paper focuses on how teachers guide construction of knowledge in classrooms. We suggest that guidance hinges on the kind of dialogue teachers choose to engage students in. We propose several classroom dialogue types relevant for the construction of knowledge and suggest that critical dialogue is particularly effective for knowledge…

Instructionism refers to educational practices that are teacher-focused, skill-based, product-oriented, non-interactive, and highly prescribed. Constructivism refers to educational practices that are student-focused, meaning-based, process-oriented, interactive, and responsive to student interest. There is disagreement regarding which curricular…

Irony has been selected as the organizing concept of this book because it offers a link between the authors' five main concerns. Their first concern is to bring to the fore a perspective on organizations that has existed for some time but has remained marginal to the prescriptive leadership and management literature. The second concern is to…

Meaningful learning of social studies content, skills, and values through a constructivist approach is this textbook's approach. The textbook is designed to help teachers facilitate students' development into problem-solvers and decision-makers who take an active role as citizens of their world. It is designed to illustrate the following: the…

This paper challenges traditional perspectives of professional development through a reconceptualization of early childhood professional growth. A review of the early childhood professional development literature reveals the problematic nature of the linear perspectives and deficit models of staff development prevalent in the early childhood…

This paper addresses problems inherent in traditional science teaching and argues that the pitfalls of assimilation and exclusion can be avoided by adopting an anthropological approach: regarding scientists as a sub-cultural group with its own language and ways of thinking about, investigating, and explaining phenomena and events, its distinctive…

This document contains the following full and short papers on networked social learning from ICCE/ICCAI 2000 (International Conference on Computers in Education/International Conference on Computer-Assisted Instruction): (1)" A European Learning Environment: Reflections on Teaching and Learning in a Multinational Virtual Learning…

From the theoretical reference frame of constructivism, much of the rhetoric and positive research findings in support of microprocessor based laboratory (MBL) activities facilitating science learning can be interpreted in terms of the increased opportunities for student-student interactions and peer group discussions about familiar and discrepant…