Details an activity in which students are challenged to consider real-world problems. Students collect and organize data on two fish species, examine the data mathematically, draw conclusions about the organisms with which they work, and extrapolate the results to other environments. (DDR)

Attempts to elucidate the relationship between physics achievement and psychological constructs. Concludes that cognitive factors and interest contribute relatively stable components in all the path analyses. Contains 27 references. (DDR)

Provides three different accounts of a gender equity project in a grade 10 science class. Illustrates different rhetorical forms for representing research and different assumptions about gender, equity, pedagogy, and the representation of data. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

Presents a graduate course targeting the improvement of teaching and learning with regard to professional development. Argues that practicing teachers need opportunities to interact with one another and other individuals in the research community. Examines how private research and development works. (Contains 23 references.) (YDS)

Discusses the differences between cognitive and social constructivism. Suggests a planning process that integrates cognitive and social constructivism to help social studies teachers make curriculum and instructional decisions that result in meaningful learning experiences. Addresses social studies education for the twenty-first century. (CMK)

Provides a brief overview of the history, research, and theory related to play. Research from education, psychology, and anthropology suggests that play is a powerful mediator for lifelong learning, and the design of hybrid learning environments is suggested based on the constructivist concept of microworlds and supported with games and…

Describes the Novice-Expert (Novex) Analysis, a nine-step approach to instructional design aimed at effecting the shift from novice to expert by creating a series of learning activities to enable novices to construct an expert knowledge base. The "Dimensions of Processing Model" diagram illustrates how learning processes influence…

Describes a teacher's experience with students during their first- and second-grade years. Claims that meaningful learning in a variety of curricular areas occurs when children are interested in a topic. Suggests that teachers capitalize on these situations and create learning experiences that reflect those outside the classroom. Suggests the use…

Discusses reasons why inservice workshops often fail to impact science teaching. Describes restructuring of a workshop series so that teachers become real science learners, struggling with their own ideas about different scientific concepts as they design experiments and share theories with their peers. (JRH)

Pasadena (California) High School's Puente Pilot Project encourages Hispanic students to pursue college and return home as leaders and mentors. A bilingual counselor, community liaison, and English teacher engage students in an integrated curriculum relevant to their life experiences. Portfolio exhibitions involving oral presentation and…

Describes the development and validation of a questionnaire, the Teacher Communication Behavior Questionnaire (TCBQ), that assesses student perceptions of five important teacher behaviors: (1) Challenging; (2) Encouragement and Praise; (3) Non-Verbal Support; (4) Understanding and Friendly; and (5) Controlling. (Contains 49 references.)…

Describes the Florida High School (FHS), an online environment that offers students flexibility in time with courses via the World Wide Web. Highlights include teaching and learning in a virtual school; adapting skills; Gagne's events of instruction; Keller's motivational model; and constructivism in curriculum development. (LRW)

Discusses the development of Web-based courses at the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) and presents a conceptual framework of three models of student learning: the independent learner, the interactive learner, and the collaborative learner. Highlights include the impact of constructivism; reflective practice; situated learning; and…

Differentiates traditional education, progressive education, constructivism, and the Montessori approach. Examines the role of motivation in constructivism and in Montessori's planes of development. Concludes that Montessorians and constructivists are allies in the struggle to liberate children from conventional educational methods, which blunt…

Assessed the impact of elementary science experiences on the development of sixth-graders' epistemological views. Found that, compared to students in a traditional science classroom, those in a constructivist classroom developed an epistemological stance toward science that focused on the central role of ideas in the knowledge acquisition process.…