A study involving 42 students enrolled in a physics course was conducted to document students' epistemologies and their concurrent views about knowing and learning. Analyses revealed a spectrum of epistemological commitments commensurable with positions from objectivism to relativism. Implications to classroom environment are discussed. (ZWH)

Considers how participation in the Writing Project Summer Institute is reflected in classroom practice in the teaching of writing. Argues that the experience of learning as a construction of knowledge produces converts to such a model of learning that is reflected in the classroom. (HB)

Discusses the design debate in instructional technology among behaviorists, cognitivists, and constructivists as they design computer software programs for education. (SR)

Describes an interviewing activity that teaching methods instructors can use to help students break away from archaic, entrenched notions of teaching and learning. (PR)

Investigates whether students can use a series of self-generated analogies to bring about change in their understanding of a given scientific phenomenon and the nature of the change in the understanding. Eleven individuals in a teacher education program were audiotaped and videotaped as they attempted to understand a piston/cylinder device. (PR)

Analyzes the so-called mechanical theories of learning that underpin the transmission view of teaching that so permeates education and schooling. Promotes a neuroscientific basis for resolution of the impasse in psychological theories. Implications for the transmission-of-knowledge approach to teaching are addressed. (PR)

Examines the doctrine of "constructivism" as presented by Ernst von Glasersfeld. Part 1 attempts to elicit a clearer statement of the concepts, positions and arguments for constructivism. Part 2 discusses the problem of intersubjectivity in constructivism. Part 3 ventures an explanation of at least some on the weaknesses in the doctrine.…

Supports the assertion that constructivism is a sound theory that explains the practice of science and science pedagogy, and responds to critics of constructivism. Offers a constructivist account of some long-standing epistemological issues. Contains 40 references. (DDR)

Argues that the paradox of mathematical knowledge--that mathematics cannot be separated from empirical experience and yet cannot be explained by empiricist epistemology--can only be resolved if the causal interactions between knower and environment are accepted. Contains 26 references. (DDR)

Presents a review of research into alternative conceptions about the weather. Exposes the need for further research into secondary students' understandings. Argues that some misconceptions are the result of the imprecise use of terms. Contains 16 references. (DDR)

A language education professional examines the ways in which constructivism has been applied in the science classroom, and examines several well-known approaches to language teaching that contain elements of constructivism, including the direct method, Total Physical Response, and the Silent Way. Specific ways in which constructivist principles…

Explores relationships among school students' (n=189) acquisition of meaningful understandings of protein synthesis. Analysis of student-generated analogies revealed unique patterns in students' understandings of this topic. Contains 41 references. (Author/WRM)

Describes the Cognitive Constructions Coding System (CCCS) designed to study family members and their descriptions of their difficulties. CCCS codes the context of a Problem Elaboration Episode, a segment of psychotherapy discourse. Discusses four studies that explore the validity and reliability of the CCCS. (MKA)

Investigates, by conducting individual clinical interviews of 97 children ages 3 to 6, the criteria preschool children use to distinguish members of a class of shapes from other figures, emphasizing identification and descriptions of shapes and reasons for these identifications. Concludes that young children initially form schemas on the basis of…

Examines current literature on the pedagogy of counseling. The authors offer a critique of current counselor education practices and suggest constructivist methods for educating reflective practitioners. (Author)