Constructivism is presented as the inexorable denouement of the qualitative versus quantitative paradigm war. Postmodernism is equated with constructivism, then deconstructed and critiqued in light of rhetorical strategy. The problem of universals is discussed and the solution is elaborated into objectivist pedagogy. Elkind (2005) is cited as an…

Constructivism has become a widely understood and broadly accepted learning theory. Constructivism contends that each of us makes sense of our world by connecting new experiences to our existing understandings. Learners, as they encounter new situations, attempt to meld incoming information with their existing understandings. Constructivist…

This paper provides an insider account of a cohort-based doctoral programme. It shows how undertaking doctoral study exposes candidates to confronting unfamiliar levels of conceptualization. The conceptual framework, a regularly occurring difficulty for many candidates, became the specific focus for tutorial discussions and informal attention…

This qualitative study examines the writing and writing experiences of six bilingual (Spanish-English), immigrant university students. Immigrant students are a growing segment of university populations, but explicit/implicit language policies often overlook their unique characteristics and needs. The study draws on the continua of biliteracy model…

The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between fidelity of project-based curriculum implementation and foreign language teachers' beliefs in teaching and learning as constructivist or behaviorist. Quantitative data on teachers' beliefs was collected using a self-administered survey. Quantitative data on fidelity of…

This study examined the teaching practices of 227 college instructors of introductory statistics (from the health and behavioral sciences). Using primarily multidimensional scaling (MDS) techniques, a two-dimensional, 10-item teaching practice scale, TISS (Teaching of Introductory Statistics Scale), was developed and validated. The two dimensions…

Conducted over a three-year period, this multiple-case study examined the previous professional backgrounds, transitional issues, and intellectual transformation of four Afghan university teachers during their graduate study in language education at a large Midwestern research university. An intellectual transformation coding scheme synthesized…

The overall purpose of this action research study was to explore the experiences of ten middle school science teachers involved in a three-year partnership program between scientists and teachers at a Department of Energy national laboratory, including the impact of the program on their professional development, and to improve the partnership…

This article integrates previous research findings and theory to reflect on the limitations of traditional career counselling for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. It highlights the many challenges faced by students as they adjust to the university environment, and proposes a constructivist approach as more appropriate for career…

This study is based on field data originally collected for a PhD research project in a small district of Zimbabwe. The study attempts to answer the question about how AIDS orphaned children in a selected context in Zimbabwe construct their concept of self as members of their changed and recomposing families, and as members of their school and…

Most mathematics teachers and literacy teachers believe they live and function in separate worlds. This paper presents a professional development project designed to encourage middle school mathematics teachers and literacy coaches to work collaboratively within a constructivist model to explore how mathematics and literacy skills and strategies…

Although not all teachers can invite scientists into classrooms on a regular basis, they can invite them into their students' worlds through literature. Here the author shares how she used the nonfiction selection, "Science to the Rescue" (Markle 1994), as an opportunity for students to investigate socially significant problems and empower them to…

Inciting a deep approach to learning in students is difficult. The present research poses two questions: can a constructivist learning-assessment environment change students' approaches towards a more deep approach? What effect does additional feedback have on the changes in learning approaches? Two cohorts of students completed questionnaires…

Catheryn Cheal describes student reactions to a course she and Vagner Whitehead taught in Second Life. The course required students to research a topic about virtual worlds, write a paper, and illustrate their findings by building an environment in Second Life. Negative student responses to the course coupled with the observation that students…

This article reports on a case study from a design-based research project that investigated how students make sense of the disciplinary tools they are taught to use, and specifically, what personal, interpersonal, and material resources support this process. The probability topic of binomial distribution was selected due to robust documentation of…