Discusses one component of the Iowa Distance Education Alliance that encouraged science reform through distance education using the Iowa Communications Network. Topics include curriculum and school reform, learning processes, student engagement and involvement, constructivism, the use of interactive television for distance education, and the Iowa…

Discusses engaging preservice teacher education in distance education activities so they could discover and construct meaning. Presents the concept of constructivism and instructional design guidelines. Describes the telecommunications course and learner objectives, including course design, distance learning projects, and learners' frustrations…

Describes the use of constructivism in teaching human anatomy. Provides directions for constructing arm-hand and leg-foot models that include extensor and flexor muscles and that are easily and cheaply constructed. Lists resources that provide ideas for using such models depending upon the curriculum implemented in a school or the course that is…

Argues that current thinking about science teaching and conceptual change needs to be counterbalanced by contextual or cultural constructivist ideas. A collaborative view should include the sociological study of cultural milieus in which scientific ideas arise. The logic of discovery from a sociological point of view implies that conceptual change…

Helping students to make essential connections of science content is often difficult, yet necessary to ensure a true understanding of science. A teacher offers insights on how pyruvic acid can be used to help students make connections in chemistry and biology. (ZWH)

Discusses the need for college faculty and staff to become involved in precollege science education reform. Provides some of the implications that reforms may have on college science, especially in introductory courses. (ZWH)

Describes a middle school teacher's efforts to alter his teaching style from that of an objectivist to a constructivist approach. (ZWH)

This article presents major principles of constructivism for teaching and learning of students with disabilities and those at risk for school failure. It describes three idealized constructivist models (endogenous, exogenous, and dialectical) and explores major issues related to constructivism, including the possibility of integrative stances.…

Some forms of constructivism are emancipatory in intent. The article describes principles of an emancipatory approach to knowledge construction, illustrating the effects of the principles on teachers' knowledge construction and practices with comments by teachers who participated in Hofstra University's Summer Institute for Teachers. (SM)

Describes teacher education practice aimed at promoting reflection in novice practitioners, and reflects on an exercise used in teaching a class of preservice secondary teachers. The author draws on student journal entries data in understanding the students' reflective thinking and demonstrates the efficacy of having students keep focused…

Develops properties of tasks that are pedagogically efficient and allow students to discover mathematical concepts for themselves. Illustrates the structure and philosophy of powerful tasks for the concept of angle. Presents seven examples of powerful tasks, including two involving two-dimensional graphic systems. (Contains 39 references.)…

Presents evidence from data on how well five first-grade classes did without any formal instruction showing that if children's numerical reasoning is strong, then formal instruction of missing addends is unnecessary. Explains the findings in light of Piaget's constructivism and discusses educational implications. (ASK)

Presents Jean Piaget's theory of genetic recognition, one of the first constructivist learning theories. Examines critically the relationship of the theory to present-day teaching and learning research, pedagogical practice, and other forms of constructivism. Asserts that one practical application of Piaget's learning theory would be to teach by…

Describes the reciprocity of relationships between recent educationally relevant psychological conceptions and educationally oriented usages of technologies, analyzing recent theory and methodological developments in educational technology and psychology; showing how technology helps realize psychologically guided pedagogical conceptions; and…

Reports on a study of a physics class in which few interactions occur among students. Concludes, through observations and interviews. that students describe both the social and physical world in different ways. Contains 33 references. (DDR)