This paper considers alternative assessment, feedback and cybernetics. For more than 30 years, debates about the bi-polarity of formative and summative assessment have served as surrogates for discussions about the workings of the mind, the social implications of assessment and, as important, the role of instruction in the advancement of learning.…

Utilizing an effective literacy program as a case study, the social-constructivist approach to family literacy is discussed in this article. The role of literacy programs as mentor to the apprentice family and the consequent transformation of family to child-mentor is described. Through review of an effective faintly literacy program, it is…

The Quality of Working in Groups Instrument (QWIGI) was used in this research to measure students' fluctuating psychological need states as well as their situational interest online. Based on previous research with the QWIGI, it was predicted that the variance in university sophomores' situational interest in each of the five different topics of…

Discourse regarding student perceptions of their communication competence was collected from students in geographically diverse university systems in the U.S. These student discourses were analyzed for patterns that revealed shared topics, ideas, and values regarding communication competence in a variety of situations. Three characteristics of…

Recent research on children's historical thinking has produced rich descriptions of instruction. However, the research literature is largely lacking a theoretical model of learning. This article asserts that developmental constructivist theory informs research design and interpretation, provides explanatory power, and promises more useful…

Over 2,000 years ago, Aristotle wrote a treatise on ethics in which he proposed that there were both intellectual and moral virtues to be developed in the human being. Virtue ("aristeia") was roughly equivalent to the English word "excellence" and the unifying virtue that was both a moral and an intellectual virtue was…

The article analyzes a constructivist view of music education. A constructivist music classroom exemplifies deep learning when students formulate questions, acquire new knowledge by developing and implementing plans for investigating these questions, and reflect on the results. A context for deep learning requires that teachers and students work…

Academic language is the linguistic glue that holds the tasks, texts, and tests of school together. If students can't use this glue well, their academic work is likely to fall apart. According to the author of this article, "academic language" is defined as the set of words and phrases that (1) describe content-area knowledge and procedures; (2)…

One of the most important facets of collaborative learning is the interaction between individual and collaborative learning activities--between divergent perspectives and shared knowledge building. Individuals bring divergent ideas into a collaborative environment. While individuals bring their own unique knowledge and perspectives, the second…

Pattern recognition is a critical component of success in mathematics. Students at all levels should be provided with opportunities to investigate and uncover patterns throughout their mathematical careers. Further, they should be allowed to explore situations in which pattern recognition plays a vital role in the construction of important…

This article explores the central role that description of experience, on the part of both teacher and students, plays in reflective practice. In particular, it highlights the power of students' description of their own learning as revealed to teachers in dialogue, a process I call "descriptive feedback." Descriptive feedback is neither…

Understanding children's experience is increasingly a key purpose of much educational research. In contrast to traditional approaches to the study of children that emphasized the socialization of children through various stages of development, researchers within the social constructionism perspective begin with an insistence that childhood is a…

The hijab, the veil worn by Muslim women, can be a touchstone issue to give students an entry into the complex nature of Islam. It allows students to discover for themselves how symbol is used as a political, social, and cultural expression of Islam by different groups, both inside and outside the religion. By starting with their own experiences…

This article discusses the processes of interaction among learners in higher education using a model of content analysis to examine their social construction of knowledge through computer-mediated communications. We examined students' conference transcripts for evidence that their collaborative communicative acts generated constructions of new…

The current emphasis on flexible modes of mathematics delivery involving new information and communication technology (ICT) at the university level is perhaps a reaction to the recent change in the objectives of education. Abstract algebra seems to be one area of mathematics virtually crying out for computer instructional support because of the…