This article integrates story and the form of qualitative methodology known as arts-based inquiry. The authors use this approach to provide a case study of Kal, a 15-year-old boy who had unsuccessfully attempted to end his life by "flying" off his apartment balcony. The paper begins with orientation to the background of this case and to…

Constructivist literature has become increasingly prominent in the area of special education. The nature of constructivism and its relevance and limitations for students with special needs is discussed, as is the importance of appropriate research in determining the efficacy of instructional interventions. A search of the literature into the…

Constructivist literature has become increasingly prominent in the area of special education. The nature of constructivism and its relevance and limitations for students with special needs is discussed, as is the importance of appropriate research in determining the efficacy of instructional interventions. A search of the literature into the…

The emergence and rapid growth of computer network technologies are changing the way people live and learn. Computer networks provide new alternatives for the design, development, storage and distribution of, as well as access to, learning materials. Therefore, they present new and formidable challenges for curriculum designers and teachers. In…

In the literature, learners' cognitive development is mainly discussed with respect to changes in learners' content-dependent knowledge (conceptual change or growth). Additional dimensions of time and complexity may also be taken into account to describe cognitive processes in at least three dimensions. We discuss these three dimensions of…

This article presents the case of the South African curriculum reform, which chose--on ideological rather than pragmatic grounds--a radical progressive/constructivist pedagogy model, with the expectation that it would help to redress the educational (as well as political, social and economic) inequalities of the country's inglorious racist past.…

Virginia Richardson, professor and former chair of Educational Studies at the University of Michigan, has recently been recognized for her contributions to teacher education with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). She has previously served as Vice President of Division K for the…

This article presents a reflexive look at a year-long mentoring experience between a university researcher and two third-grade teachers in a lower socioeconomic school. The challenges and rewards of mentoring the teachers in areas of their choice--writing workshop, constructivism, interactive learning methods, and management of cooperative…

As it was initially implemented, e-learning did little other than supply facts and information, offering limited opportunity for interactivity and problem-solving. Designers need to find ways to address past limitations and bring the engagement of classroom training to the web. One method that merits attention is scenario-based learning. The…

The present study aims to investigate whether the learning materials that based on constructivist learning principles have an effect on fifth grade Social Studies students' attitudes, their academic success and their retention. The study was conducted at Sehit Ali Gaffar Okkan Elementary School, Eskisehir. The participants of the study were 5th…

In 2001, in partnership with the Waterloo, Iowa school system, the R.J. McElroy Trust, Janice Freeburg-Cannon, Tri-County Head Start, Allen Health System, the University of Northern Iowa and the Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education created a special model for early childhood education that would eventually become The Freeburg School.…

In 2005, the School of Property, Construction and Project Management at RMIT University, Melbourne, introduced a new curriculum format for all first year students. All students enrolling in one of the four undergraduate degrees offered by the school commenced a common first year programme. This new curriculum was adopted to provide students with a…

This study describes an elementary science model of professional development through mentoring by university science education professors working with teachers at a private elementary school in a regional city in Queensland, Australia. A cross-cultural collaboration involving professors from the United States and Australia resulted in the socially…

This book is a result of a workshop where 14 science educators were invited to draft chapters on the implications that the research studies in a specific content area of science have for its teaching. The relations between social forces and perceptions of purpose and content lay behind discussions in the workshop, and influenced the emergence of…

This study explored how implementing a constructivist approach in a mathematics methods class might change the prospective teachers' conceptions about mathematics and mathematics teaching and learning. The study used qualitative measures: interviews, classroom observation, review of written assignments, classroom interaction, and journal of…