Effective classroom discussion is improvisational, because its effectiveness derives from the fact that it is not scripted. Instead, the flow of the class is unpredictable, and emerges from the actions of both teachers and students. In this article, I apply principles from training classes for improvisational actors to provide practical…

To what extent can a large-scale national teacher-enhancement project help science teachers employ new pedagogical methods in the science classroom? In this study, data from 13 high school physics teachers who taught 23 classes with 401 students were examined to determine the extent to which a teacher-enhancement project can alter teachers'…

Although research indicates that early childhood literacy programs can be effective for preschoolers, little is known about the effects of programs on college student mentors. This study explored the beliefs of college students about literacy development in preschool children and whether these beliefs change after their involvement in a yearlong,…

This research study investigated the use of technology tools to support constructivist learning experiences in a preservice teacher education reading methods course. Learning opportunities based on Kolb's learning styles model were used to support understanding of course content in the constructivist environment. Technology tools were used during…

Good teachers know that science is more than just a collection of facts in a textbook and that teaching science goes beyond the mere transmission of information. Actively engaging students in the learning process is critical to building their knowledge base, assessing progress, and meeting science standards. This book shows teachers how to…

In this study our purpose is to determine how the teachers are applying the structuralist approach in their classes by classifying the teachers according to graduated faculty, department and their years in the duty. Besides understanding the difference of the effects of structuralist approach and traditional education method on student's success…

The calls for the transformation of how science is taught (and what is taught) are numerous and show no sign of abating. Common amongst these calls is the need to shift from the traditional teaching and learning towards a model that represents the social constructivist epistemology. These calls have coincided with the Internet revolution. Through…

In this paper, an ethnobotany curriculum is used as a case example of one approach to incorporating the insights and needs of the local community into the curriculum development process. This curriculum development was carried out in the "Kiriwong Community" in Nakornsrithammarat Province, Southern Thailand. The ethnobotany curriculum…

This paper presents a methodology designed to explore the role of context in collaborative knowledge construction activity in asynchronous web-based discussion. The discussions of two student groups participating in a web-based teacher education course were compared. The comparison aimed to highlight the differences and similarities between the…

This study examined the assumption that all caregivers have a set of beliefs which represent their own underlying theory of child development and tested one strategy for identifying the beliefs that preschool caregivers hold. In order to classify caregivers' beliefs about children's social development, an adaptation of McGillicudy-DeLisi's (1992)…

This paper focuses on issues of representation and interaction styles that are relevant considerations in the design and analysis of hypermedia learning environments. Analysis is supported by examples from the "HUGH" series of studies involving learners in reasoning about formal hypermedia representations. The representational issues include…

This study was conducted to examine how teachers' beliefs about computer-assisted instruction (CAI) relate to the types of instructional software they use with students, the types of computer related activities they provide for their students, whether they integrate computer usage with other instructional activities, and whether they had received…

Cultural reciprocity refers to the dynamic and material exchange of knowledge, values, and perspectives between two or more individuals of different cultural (e.g., racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious) backgrounds. In this paper, cultural reciprocity is discussed as it pertains to professors of education and their students, based on the…

This publication consists of two reports that were commissioned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization as background for its biennial report on world education. The first paper, "Educational Psychology and Teaching Methods in China: Developments and Trends," by Duan Huifen and others, indicates that…

This booklet examines four philosophical approaches which undergird the tenets of middle school: (1) invitational education; (2) democratic schools; (3) constructivist teaching; and (4) reflective teaching. An introduction discusses the history of the middle school movement, lists characteristics of exemplary middle schools, presents…