In this design-based study, an eleven-week curricular module in recent American history was developed that departed from both the epistemology and ideology of traditional textbooks. The curriculum instantiated a constructivist epistemology by having students assess multiple historical narratives and sources of evidence. It instantiated a…

This phenomenological study explores the experiences of non-native English-speaking international students regarding language, culture and identity in the context of their graduate studies. Interviews were conducted with each of the eight participants. Interpretive analysis was used within a constructivist frame. The findings of this study are…

Constructivism is not a new concept. It has its roots in philosophy and has been applied to sociology and anthropology, as well as cognitive psychology and education. The aim of this research is to reveal if there is a significant difference between the means of achievement and retention learning scores of constructivist learning approach applied…

This study broadens the objectives of previous work (Boyer, N., Langevin, S., Gaspar, A. (2008). "Self direction and constructivism in programming education." "Proceedings of the ACM Special Interest Group in IT Education Conference," 16-18 October 2008, Cincinnati, OH) in which we used a survey-based instrument, the Personal…

This paper describes a small-scale, qualitative research project that critically reflects on the process and impact of using both grounded and action research to enhance attainment and enjoyment of reading, in such a way as to raise awareness at an individual and whole school level. The purpose of the project was to ascertain if the selected…

An original study about beliefs, conceptions and discourse analyses of organic chemistry teachers is presented. We used Likert questionnaires and discourse analysis to examine conceptions of the nature of science, learning and teaching at university level. A case study of four female teachers with varying experience and teacher training was…

This paper discusses what chemistry students might see while working with animations found on the Internet and how these electronic illustrations can potentially interact to reinforce rather than resolve misconceptions about chemical principles that a student may possess. The Daniell voltaic cell serves as an example to illustrate the ways in…

This study aims at introducing, explaining and evaluating the revised secondary school (high school) geography lesson curriculum in Turkey. Preliminary studies on the new curriculum started in 2002, and it was implemented in 2005. In this context, the article will focus on the programme development process and approaches, principle components of…

Constructivism has emerged as a very powerful model for explaining how knowledge is produced in the world as well as how students learn. Moreover, constructivist teaching practices are becoming more prevalent in teacher education programs and public schools across the nation, while demonstrating significant success in promoting student learning.…

This study examined the teaching of games via a tactical approach (also known as teaching games for understanding) from the theoretical perspective of social constructivism. A pilot study (of student teachers (STs) and pupils) informed the "main" study which included collecting data on 49 STs, 58 cooperating teachers (CTs) and 1177 pupils. ST data…

This article draws upon a research project funded by the ESRC (R000239387) that tracked the development of adult literacy, numeracy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) from the 1970s to 2000 in England using life-history interviews and documentary policy analysis to compare policy, practitioner and learner perspectives. The article…

This article discusses in its first part three common misconceptions related to the operation of distance education providers in the digital age: The tendency to relate to e-learning as the new generation of distance education; the confusion between ends and means of distance education; and the absence of the teachers' crucial role in the…

With student numbers decreasing and traditional teaching methods having been found inefficient, it is widely accepted that alternative teaching methods need to be explored in tertiary physics education. In 2006 a different teaching environment was offered to 244 first year students with little or no prior formal instruction in physics. Students…

Although constructivist career theory is routinely discussed in the literature, links between theory and practice in education are lacking. The current study focused on the potential of a constructivist curriculum to empower at-risk culturally diverse college students by increasing career self-efficacy and reducing dysfunctional career thoughts.…

Appropriate professional development, including that initial teacher training, is regarded as a cornerstone of the development of inclusive education. This research is concerned with prospective teachers' conceptualisations of terms such as "disability" and "special education". Activity theory is proposed as a lens through which to consider the…