The educational technology course for preservice teachers at Texas A & M University incorporates a constructivist model for professional development. A study of this model examined how it helps teachers change from disseminators of information to facilitators of learning and how it underscores differences between preservice and inservice…

Discusses whether teachers should teach what they believe to be mathematics, teach the mathematics of students' backgrounds and aspirations, or teach the mathematics they think society expects them to teach. Suggests that teachers define mathematics and share those definitions with students. (DDR)

Describes the use of computer-mediated communication to develop a cooperative learning community among students in a Web-based distance education unit for practicing science and mathematics educators in Australia and Pacific Rim countries. Discusses use of the social constructivist and constructionist conceptions of teaching and learning.…

This case study uses activity theory to analyze the conceptualization of teaching for an elementary school teacher in her first full-time job teaching a kindergarten/first-grade class. Findings center on teacher's use of integrations and the decentering of the classroom. Rather than sustaining concept of constructivist teaching, the teacher…

Reports the findings of a study that examined discourse patterns and the ways in which such patterns affected student learning in a 6th grade mathematics classroom. (KHR)

Focuses on the use of cognitive mapping within sociology. Describes an assignment where students created a cognitive map that focused on names of theorists and concepts related to them. Discusses sociological imagination in relation to cognitive mapping and the assessment of the assignment. (CMK)

A computer-assisted learning/teaching model is conceived with implications of constructivist theory and an analogy between the traditional art form Shuanghuang and the teaching/learning environment. The virtual character of the model interacts with the learner, in the form of human behavior and speech supported by recognition biometrics,…

Describes some of the many conceptions of learning that have guided the field of instructional design in two main periods: one focusing on learning from an objectivist perspective, which lasted most of the 20th century, and one focusing on learning from cognitive and social constructivist perspectives, which has dominated the past decade. (AEF)

Focuses on major themes in Vygotsky's theory of learning and development; compares the theoretical and practical implications of these major principles with those of Montessori. Considers both Vygotsky's and Montessori's views on the mechanisms of child development and methods of study; the relationship of teaching, learning, and development;…

Provides background information on constructivism. Focuses on Alexander Calder and includes teaching activities. Offers a reproduction of Alexander Calder's work "Flamingo," information on Calder's life and career as an artist, and details of the featured sculpture. (CMK)

Proposes reform in education from an "assembly line" to a "provider-client" approach. Swanton High School (Ohio), winner of GTE's Pioneering Partners program, which used Learning Management Systems to track student progress and testing, satellite courses, videodiscs, Hypercard, QuickTime video, and Internet connections, is…

Beliefs about mathematics teaching of (n=4) preservice elementary teachers who served as mentors of first-grade students were compared with beliefs of (n=103) students who were not involved in the project. The intervention group professed significantly stronger beliefs in a socio-constructivist instructional environment. (42 references)…

Uses transcripts to present two very different approaches to helping children remember rules, reflecting very different sociomoral atmospheres that will influence children's development positively or negatively. Explores grouptime, decision making, and conflict resolution as they occur in constructivist classrooms characterized by mutual respect…

Argues that there are two misunderstandings of John Dewey's pedagogical and philosophical views: the erroneous assumption that Dewey favored an activity-oriented, child-centered approach to learning; and Dewey's view on the role of experience in knowledge acquisition. The article focuses on the practical and theoretical consequences that follow…

Findings from several social science research studies support the view that knowledge is socially constructed and based on the experience and interpretation of events. Results of this study demonstrate that a multimethod approach has greater explanatory power when traditional and contructivist methods are combined. (Author/AEF)