The "Research in Practice Series" is published four times each year by Early Childhood Australia. The series aims to provide practical, easy to read, up-to-date information and support to a growing national readership of early childhood workers. The books bring together the best information available on wide-ranging topics and are an…

Whole language reading education is a constructivist view of learning with particular emphasis on the development of literacy. Constructivism asserts that human beings develop concepts through their own intellectual interactions and actions with the world. In whole language reading classrooms acceptance of learners means that the whole language…

This study involved students using simulation software in all phases of the learning cycle. Research on the use of simulations in science education has shown that the simulations can be used effectively in preinstructional and exploratory activities. Preinstructional and exploratory activities elicit and challenge students' alternative…

While much has been written about the theoretical basis for constructionism attempted in more traditional school settings, the Constructionist Learning Laboratory at the Maine Youth Center (the state facility for adjudicated youth ages 11-21) offers the first opportunity to document a full-scale implementation of constructionism in an…

This paper discusses strategies with the potential to enhance student learning, teacher collaboration, building management, and joy within the rural school setting. With the goal of fostering education that makes sense to students, three general categories of strategies are considered: curriculum, classroom management, and building management.…

This paper examines literature relating to research into educational technology in New Zealand published since 1996. The literature ranged from conference presentations to journal articles, both printed and online, and from collaborative international research to the reporting of teaching experience. The study looks at the relationship between the…

The purpose of this study is to review the changes that computers have on mathematics itself and on mathematics curriculum. The study aims at investigating different applications of computers in education in general, and mathematics education in particular and their applications on mathematics curriculum and on teaching and learning of…

This is one of six innovative sessions proposed for the AHRD Scholar-Practitioner Track and coordinated by the AHRD Scholar-Practitioner Committee. It examines a suite of novel e-learning design options and how to implement an action-based approach to online learning. Participants have the opportunity to hear about these innovative approaches to…

Constructivist approaches to mathematics instruction based on the standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) have been widely advocated and are expanding in use. However, many educators express a need for constructivist approaches that provide specific student materials, assessments, teachers' manuals, professional…

This paper considers how establishing and maintaining the student-teacher relationship can be epistemologically transforming for both college students and faculty. The paper draws on a constructivist-developmental theory of self and cognitive development, knowledge construction, and the author's own teaching experiences. First, underlying…

This research study examines the nature of socio-cognitive influences on general chemistry students' learning and success. In this study, "learning" means gaining critical thinking skills and "success" means good academic grades. From a social constructivist and postmodern perspective, learning and success are considered functions of enculturation…

Two elements of constructivist pedagogy warrant attention with respect to second language (L2) learning: collaborative dialogue and learner decision-making. These two elements in instruction bring about experiential and task oriented classrooms. The constructivist approach to the L2 classroom foregrounds conceptual development focused on…

This study sought to promote increased understanding of teachers' personal beliefs and philosophies about teaching and learning and the impact of these beliefs and philosophies on action in the classroom. Subjects were 17 elementary school regular and special education teachers who participated in an inservice course, videotaped themselves…

This is an age of backlash, as illustrated by many developments in the field of education. Backlash against performance assessment is very evident, but it must be remembered that backlash has its uses. It forces advocates to rethink, reformulate, and restate why they put so much faith in the program under attack. Events have pushed advocates to…

In this book, it is argued that the so-called crisis in education is really a crisis in childhood and that the unit of change is not the school but rather the larger community. Schools inherited from the industrial age are structured to develop a mass of students who, at best, are equipped with basic skills and the ability to follow orders. The…