Students in a grade 2-3, two-way bilingual classroom increased their understanding of scientific practice through a model-based methodology for science instruction. Students collaborated with peers and teachers to create computer models, construct physical models, and talk about their models in the classroom. Aspects of second language usage in…

Responds to the article "Opportunities Lost: Teachers Learning about the New York State Social Studies Framework" by S. G. Grant. States that Grant loses an opportunity to provide the type of social analysis needed to extricate teacher educators from their complicity in New York State's regulation of teaching by misconstruing…

Calls for social science researchers to make the leap from understanding to action. Explains action and why it must replace classical disinterestedness and objectivity. Discusses the new criteria for educational research and the new methods for interpretive researchers. Addresses the implications for higher education. (CMK)

The project approach to learning engages students' natural bent for discovery through observation, play, hands-on tasks, and real-world challenges. Project-based learning complements systematic instruction in basic skills by making discrete bits of information relevant. Teachers must design projects that provide enough latitude for student…

These four articles discuss constructivist practices for social studies in middle schools and high schools. Highlights include simulations; collaboration between teachers and librarians; the use of HyperStudio for collaborative interdisciplinary projects; using online primary source materials; and Web resources that help provide background…

Framed by theoretical and empirical research on cognitive and intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), this commentary explores two areas. The first focuses on lack of conceptual clarity of the proposed constructivist stance and its related constructs. The second deals with similarities between the proposed stance and existing approaches documented in…

Highlights points that guide the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education: the learner is a social being who possesses rights and is an active constructor of knowledge; the instructors' role is one of collaborator and co-learner, guiding and facilitating, as well as researching; and knowledge is socially constructed, encompassing…

Determined expert and student physical education teachers' constructivist views of pedagogical content knowledge and their practices while teaching educational games based on the movement approach. Found that both groups of teachers demonstrated an adequate constructivist view of pedagogical content knowledge and that student teachers did not use…

Provides recommendations for the implementation of the communication, constructivism, and transference of knowledge (CCT) model in the education of English language learners (ELLS). Describes how the CCT model is identified in research studies and suggests specific recommendations to facilitate the implementation of the model in the education of…

Community-oriented pedagogy, or place-based schooling, uses schools as a source of community renewal, not community disintegration; allows students to construct their own understandings through interaction with the community environment; creates creative and critical thinkers who can also meet academic standards; and addresses our society's…

Focuses on using a holistic learning approach in music education. Offers two lessons that were influenced by an instructional model called 4MAT and studies of modality and brain research in order to implement holistic learning. Explains that hands-on learning and action are both fundamental concepts in music education philosophy also. (CMK)

Describes three multimedia resources, produced with an emphasis on the use of images, by a consortium headed by the University of Exeter for initial teacher education. Discusses the educational framework within which the resources were designed, including an integrative approach, constructivism, prior knowledge, user expectations, and affective…

With corporate sponsorship, a suburban school in New Zealand developed a Wellington City Site program to teach students how to work in context. The classroom houses a richly personalized program that builds strong relationships between students and business and arts organizations. Freedom, ownership, responsibility, and openness are underlying…

Applies the depth of cognitive processing construct to a social constructivist analysis of students' collaborative knowledge-building in science. Discusses the interplay of depth of sociocognitive processing with motivational, cognitive, and discursive elements of groups' interactions and the relationship between accuracy of ideas and depth of…

Focuses on authentic performance in history education when teaching with technology and utilizing a constructivist approach. Explores ways that technology can be used, such as computer simulations or modeling. Bases the article on four different books that offer suggestions for using electronic tools using the constructivist approach for authentic…