The aim of this research was to investigate the way in which parents of Grade One learners in a traditionally black school facilitate learning to help their children acquire mathematical skills and knowledge in mathematics, and also to help them become confidently involved in and give meaning to mathematics learning in Grade One. A questionnaire,…

Elementary education students enrolled in an experimental mathematics course participated in this study. The course is taught using a social constructivist approach and is designed to improve students' mathematical problem-solving ability and deepen their understanding of mathematics. The research question for the present study is as follows: In…

One critical learning theory that has survived is once again being acclaimed. Subject-scientific theory requires learners to be taken seriously. Their reasons and resistance need to be brought into the open. This requirement was too radical for schools since it does not allow a fixed syllabus. It has borne fruit, however, in continuing education.…

This article presents the experiences of 89 members of the academic staff at a new university that emerged from a merger of two historically disadvantaged tertiary institutions located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The authors examine the responses of these participants to new pedagogical strategies that emphasize learner-centered…

Our primary goal is to design a micro world which aspires to research thinking-in-change about distribution. Our premise, in line with a constructivist approach and our prior research, is that thinking about distribution must develop from causal meanings already established. This study reports on a design research study of how students appear to…

Purpose: Investigating the social structure in online courses helps in designing for and facilitating student support and retention. Aims to provide data showing how course design and use of social software technologies provided social and collaborative learning opportunities for online students. Design/methodology/approach: A study of…

The most familiar form of evaluation in Western theatrical dance is aesthetic judgement, which considers dance performances as objects of art. This is how dance critics usually approach dance. However, there is more to evaluation than this. It also plays an integral part in learning: it can help a student develop skills in choreography as well as…

Thirty-six children (half 6-8 years old and half 10-12) in Northeast Brazil heard three hypothetical dilemmas featuring a choice between telling the truth and keeping a promise. Each dilemma was initiated by a different kind of lie: an exculpable pro-social lie (teasing), a lie in the personal domain (hiding) and a lie in the service of an…

The study examined the integration of science and mathematics methods courses and preservice teachers' understanding of constructivism. The participants were 50 preservice teachers who were enrolled in early childhood education mathematics and science methods courses, and an early childhood practicum. The two methods courses were integrated and…

Social work is committed to promoting social justice, inclusion and the empowerment of people. Qualitative research methods offer exciting possibilities for operationalizing this commitment. Drawing predominantly on constructivist and/or critical paradigms for understanding, qualitative research fosters a rebalancing of power within the…

Genuine artistic activity in any medium provides a lens through which to examine the world as well as to express a reaction to it. Opening a wide variety of subjects to artistic explorations also opens the door of learning, specially to students with varied levels of ability. It was with these thoughts in mind that the two authors met to revise a…

Project AIM, a Schools Partnerships program of the Center for Community Arts Partnerships at Columbia College Chicago, partners Teaching Artists with classroom teachers in eight Chicago public schools. Funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund to Improve Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), the project has an ambitious…

Semantically rich domains require operative knowledge to solve complex problems in real-world settings. These domains provide an ideal environment for developing authentic constructivist e-learning environments. In this paper we present a framework and a methodology for developing authentic learning environments for such domains. The framework is…

The role and numbers of teaching assistants (TAs) in English schools has grown dramatically in recent years. This is associated with professional development which could give access to Qualified Teacher Status. This part-time, school-based route is consistent with the growth of alternative routes into teaching that are based on an…

Teachers who frame the curriculum around purposeful playful activities that allow children to work at their own pace and allow children to make choices rather than be coerced into their work are indirectly committed to becoming researchers in their own classrooms. The art teacher-researcher is a participant observer of what goes on in the…