This article examines whether the ubiquitous presence of technology in schools negatively affects democratic learning by promoting instrumental rationality and, hence, reifying social reality. The author suggests that structural critiques of educational technology ignore the considerable impact of human agency on shaping related learning outcomes.…

For over thirty years, teaching the United States history survey course has been the focus of the author's professional life. At both the high school and college level, he has introduced students to the sweep of American history from Jamestown to Watergate. During those years, he has grappled with the conundrum of how to make this often-unwieldy…

In this article, the author shares her experience working with preservice teachers in a hands-on museum exhibit. The preservice teachers' responses suggest that the experience of working in a hands-on museum exhibit can be a valuable part of an elementary social studies methods course. Adequately preparing elementary social studies methods…

The use of cognitive flexibility theory as a theoretical framework for designing hypertext has been found to be beneficial for learning in ill-structured domains. However, little is known of what role the learning task plays in the effectiveness of this approach. The present study examined the relationship between task, navigation, and learning…

The early childhood curriculum is informed by a complicated array of developmental and learning theories. In recent times these theories have been most readily articulated in approaches to curriculum planning emerging from the Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) guidelines and the project work in Reggio Emilia. Drawing on a common…

A generic teaching format in which students actively participate in a whole-class collaborative-learning experience is described. The entire class, divided into groups, made a joint effort to overcome a hypothetical outbreak of a new plant disease. High scores on an examination question concerning the project indicated successful assimilation of…

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that in spite of some superficial similarities the current mathematics reform in the US based on constructivist principles differs substantially from mathematical education based on Vygotskian cultural-historical theory (V.V. Davydov's mathematics program), and to illustrate the manner in which Davydov's…

During the summer and fall of 2006, approximately 260 students enrolled in an educational foundations course were responsible for writing their own textbook using the Wikibooks protocol. These students were surveyed in order to determine their perceptions of the process, how the process impacted their involvement in the course and its content, and…

This article situates geospatial technologies as a constructivist tool in the K-12 classroom and examines student experiences with real-time authentic geospatial data provided through a hybrid adventure learning environment. Qualitative data from seven student focus groups demonstrate the effectiveness of using real-time authentic data, peer…

The "Community of Inquiry" (COI) theoretical framework suggests that successful higher education experiences are supported by the presence and interaction of cognitive, social and teaching elements. Since the COI model has been widely used for examining quality of asynchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) educational interactions, its…

This article describes a classroom project using one-to-one desktop videoconferencing to enhance the development of second language (1.2) oral skills. Eighteen university students worked collaboratively with expert speakers to complete task-based activities. The author gathered data from video-recording samples, reflections, and oral interviews to…

In this classic essay, first published by the "Harvard Educational Review" in 1986, Vivian Gussin Paley details the beginnings of her career as a teacher and author. The article describes her methods of tape-recording and analyzing her students' daily engagement in the "three Fs: fantasy, fairness, and friendship." Her careful analysis provides…

This article is based upon two studies applying a life history approach, letting 15- to 16-year-olds reconstruct their own childhood in preschool and school, to see what meaning and importance children's experiences have in forming their self-concepts and philosophy of life. A combination of methods was used: written life stories, round tours in…

As the use of digital technologies in teaching and learning becomes more institutionalized in pre-service teacher preparation, it becomes increasingly necessary to incorporate content specific technology experiences to enable career and technical teachers to seamlessly integrate the diversity of digital tools available to today's learners. Using…

Web 2.0 software, in particular wikis, have the potential to allow students to become active contributors to the Internet and, as a result, restructure traditional learning environments. In this study, the effects of student-created wikis were evaluated through measures of student engagement, cognitive benefits, and student learning in both the…