Describes the development and validation of a questionnaire, the Teacher Communication Behavior Questionnaire (TCBQ), that assesses student perceptions of five important teacher behaviors: (1) Challenging; (2) Encouragement and Praise; (3) Non-Verbal Support; (4) Understanding and Friendly; and (5) Controlling. (Contains 49 references.)…

Describes the Florida High School (FHS), an online environment that offers students flexibility in time with courses via the World Wide Web. Highlights include teaching and learning in a virtual school; adapting skills; Gagne's events of instruction; Keller's motivational model; and constructivism in curriculum development. (LRW)

Discusses the development of Web-based courses at the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) and presents a conceptual framework of three models of student learning: the independent learner, the interactive learner, and the collaborative learner. Highlights include the impact of constructivism; reflective practice; situated learning; and…

Differentiates traditional education, progressive education, constructivism, and the Montessori approach. Examines the role of motivation in constructivism and in Montessori's planes of development. Concludes that Montessorians and constructivists are allies in the struggle to liberate children from conventional educational methods, which blunt…

Assessed the impact of elementary science experiences on the development of sixth-graders' epistemological views. Found that, compared to students in a traditional science classroom, those in a constructivist classroom developed an epistemological stance toward science that focused on the central role of ideas in the knowledge acquisition process.…

Highlights the importance of teacher educators co-constructing knowledge with student teachers within reflective environments, examining co-teaching within a social constructivist framework in one teacher education program. The paper examines four primary roles for teacher educators as more experienced colleagues within a learning community:…

Investigates collaborative knowledge building in a graduate level course designed to incorporate specific constructivist learning principles. Results indicated the instructional strategies promoted collaborative knowledge building and the acquisition of key concepts through self-directed learning strategies. Results also indicated types of…

Describes the use of several teaching techniques based on constructivist educational theory. The teaching techniques are used with preservice teachers to enable them to experience active learning strategies in the context in which science is practiced. (Contains 19 references.) (DDR)

Investigates how Catholic schools are making the transformation from national to multicultural schools as they meet the needs of new immigrants in the inner city. Focuses on the concept of mediating institutions, investigating urban Catholic school principals' willingness to experience diversity. Mediating institutions such as Catholic schools…

Discusses the essential elements of Montessori educational philosophy and theory, focusing on the integration, development, and maintenance of the four characteristics of normalization (concentration, work, discipline, sociability) into adulthood. Discusses Montessori's view that development and retention of these positive characteristics could be…

Examines to what extent students participate in designing, justifying, and deciding on their own instruction by referring to a research project on the participation of students in the teaching of specific subjects. Focuses on one example that shows students may pursue aims other than the teacher's without provoking a breakdown of instruction. (CMK)

Describes the Learning Enhancement Action/Resource Network faculty-development model, designed to improve teaching and learning at the College of Engineering at Iowa State University. Argues that teaching should be grounded in students' learning, and supports the constructivist notion that learning is an active process of knowledge construction.…

Uses four children's explanations to illustrate their use of assimilation and inference in a butterfly life-cycle activity. Describes how interviewing young children about their understanding, and recording and reflecting upon their answers, can allow teachers to better understand how students process information and construct knowledge, and…

Discussion of student assessment focuses on issues related to distance education. Topics include purposes of assessment; performance-based assessment; constructivist approaches; examples of alternative assessments, including portfolios, projects, and problem-based learning activities; implementation; and distance education as a catalyst for…

Describes a collaborative instructional design project in a university course using constructivist theory, exploratory and resource-based learning, electronic communities, and integrated information technology immersion. Discusses collaboration between teaching and library faculty, learning outcomes for students and faculty, and future…