Presents an interview with Dr. Constance Kamii on mathematics education. Based on her beliefs about the constructivist approach to elementary arithmetic, she advocates: reformulating goals and objectives, reconceptualizing the teacher role, de-emphasizing competition, eliminating workbooks, and relying instead on a curriculum made up predominately…

An elementary school teacher changed his teaching approach to one based on John Dewey's philosophy that science should be taught as a method of inquiry, not as a fixed body of knowledge. Students were encouraged to formulate scientific questions and work together in establishing experimental procedures. (LP)

Describes a step-by-step procedure that enables teachers to develop lessons that effectively use software or special calculators in the classroom. Problem-solving strategies and questions are determined that correspond to the technology through which students are able to construct their own knowledge. Illustrates the procedure using spreadsheets,…

Describes the development of an alternative preservice teacher education program that helped students realize that children learn through constructing ideas about the world and themselves and demonstrated the belief that learning to teach is a process of constructing meaning. The program encouraged student teachers to explore their potential for…

Investigated primary school children's scientific understanding and the conceptual change that occurs when using an interactive approach to teaching science. Discourse analysis of classroom conversations indicated three different types of teacher-child and child-child interactions. (Contains 53 references.) (MDH)

Describes six activities from the "History Alive" program. These include an interactive slide lecture on the Great Depression, a photographic analysis regarding Mexican and Southwest culture, an experiential exercise concerning life on the assembly line, collages on Chinese belief systems, a response group on women's rights, and poetry writing.…

Surveys rural teachers about their attitudes, proficiency, and use of technology; the supporting infrastructure in terms of equipment, software, and technical assistance; and constructivist practices. Contains 31 references. (DDR)

Identifies two frameworks that limit teachers' vision: (1) a transmission perspective on learning; and (2) a limiting conception of and anxious approach to technology. This study helped teachers break free of these restraints by providing an opportunity to become learners in a technological context based on developmentalist views of teaching and…

Considers the nature of classroom-management problems while examining the interaction of two contrasting epistemological treatments of science in a high school physics class, and subsequent classroom-management techniques influenced by these beliefs. Concludes that differences in epistemological stance can invoke antagonistic interactions that may…

Describes a study that investigated preservice elementary teachers' decisions about teaching strategies and their attitudes toward mathematics and computer-related technologies in a constructivist-centered methods course which included the use of problem-solving multimedia. The effectiveness of these strategies in developing more positive…

Reports on a study that examined undergraduate student pairs carrying out an electronic discussion task in a synchronous computer mediated communication system. Discusses collaborative argumentation; focusing; knowledge construction; learning processes; comparative analyses of dialog between tutor and student; and peer coaching. (Contains 33…

Reports on an innovative program that allowed preservice and classroom teachers to have personal experience with a constructivist approach to learning science. Preservice and classroom teachers collaborated to prepare, implement, and evaluate a simple hands-on science-teaching project that focused on learner acquisition of knowledge through active…

Considers cultural diversity in Web design and traces the design processes involved in the development of an online learning environment for indigenous Australian learners entering university. Highlights include culture, constructivist learning and situated cognition; cultural pluralism in instructional design; and ten design principles for…

Two university projects linked constructivist theory with effectiveness practices. One group of preservice teachers completed journal entries about their math class. Another used e-mail for collaborative learning activities. The projects showed the many benefits of using e-mail as a constructivist tool in both content and field-based classes. (SM)

Interviewed 22 children, ages 7-9, in a mixed-age classroom about their conceptions of peer interaction and collaboration and about what it means to teach someone something. Found that children know they can teach their peers and are able to shift between acting as teacher and as learner in the active role. (DLH)