Most science instructors in classes for prospective teachers emphasize the learning of basic facts and definitions in science from textbooks and lectures. Relatively little emphasis is placed on understanding science knowledge and how to use it in daily life. Most students in these classes tend to learn science, probably without understanding,…

Technology adoption concerns are increasingly important to understanding constructivist learning environments and learning communities. As instruction begins to move toward more open, participatory models, "end users"--both teachers and learners--are asked to take more responsibility in the learning process. Issues such as the variable…

The goals of this study were to explore students' perceptions of how teachers' science teaching matched students' understanding and needs levels, report on the development and validation of a questionnaire to probe these perceptions, and compare junior high school students' perceptions from Taiwan and Australia. Descriptions of both the pilot…

The goals of this research project included noting the importance that primary teachers placed on student ideas in planning and delivering science lessons for the topic of snails, and comparing the importance teachers afforded student ideas-and instruction based on student ideas-with the perception their students had of the importance of their…

Most restructuring efforts focus on changing the "how" of education. The articles in this book argue that redesign of the curriculum--the "what" of education--should be the main component of school revisioning. The book proposes a new framework for learning communities that views life as an intellectual and personal quest for knowledge and…

This paper describes the effects of the implementation of constructivist techniques with interactive computer simulations on conceptual understanding of plant nutrition and critical thinking skills in heterogeneously grouped secondary biology classrooms. The study focused on three strategies for teaching plant nutrition: (1) traditional; (2)…

At the same time that educators and researchers are identifying ways in which major reform and restructuring is needed in schools, research on student learning in science (and other subjects) from constructivist and conceptual-change perspectives is suggesting the potential for significant improvements in students' understanding of science and…

Project META (Metacognitive Enhancing Teaching Activities) is a 3-year naturalistic case study designed to explicitly enhance the metacognitive capabilities of learners in order to illuminate the nature of metacognitive interactions among elementary students and to describe the impact this type of enhancement has on the formation of students'…

The assertion that there is a social component to children's construction of knowledge about natural phenomena is supported by evidence from an examination of children's classification schemes for plants. An ethnographic study was conducted with nine sixth grade children in central Texas. The children classified plants in the outdoors, in a…

This paper focuses on teaching and learning in educational administration and the challenges constructivism and reflective practice suggest for professors about their roles as teachers and learners. The paper takes four glimpses into a classroom (the studio of instructional leadership) where students seeking administrative certification learn the…

Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer generated, multi-dimensional, inclusive environment that can build axioms of algebra into the behavior of the world. This paper discusses the use of VR to represent part of the algebra curriculum in order to improve students' classroom experiences in learning algebra. Students learn to construct their knowledge…

The influence of theory on instructional-design models of the future is explored on the basis of the theoretical developments of today. Anticipated model changes are expected to result from disparate theoretical thinking in areas such as chaos theory, constructivism, situated learning, cognitive-learning theory, and general systems theory.…

All that you need to assist the low-achieving students in your school are the six intervention strategies from this well-researched guide. Drawing from 118 studies of students at-risk of failure, David Snow guides you through the evidence-based strategies that are proven to be effective with students who are performing below standards: (1)…

Students with or without disabilities often experience difficulties with abstract math concepts. This paper is intended to help solve the mystery of math concepts through origami construction, a hands-on activity. Students are involved in constructing and deconstructing concepts by folding and unfolding a piece of paper which eventually leads to a…

The purpose of this applied dissertation was to examine the effects of constructivist pedagogy when addressing the issues associated with below proficiency scores in basic skills in mathematics on the state exit exam. Scores of thirty-four 11th and 12th grade students who did not perform at the state-mandated levels of proficiency in basic skills…