Teacher leadership has been shackled by archaic definitions of leadership and timeworn assumptions about who can lead. Such ideas have situated leadership in the hands of a few formal leaders. Teachers have not seen themselves reflected in these prevailing notions, nor invited into the process. This article argues that a new definition of…

This work is grounded in a constructivistic conception of the learning of science, more particularly on the model known as teaching-learning as oriented research. In accordance with this theoretical basis we have developed an empirical research project to investigate the teaching of electrostatics in high schools. The designs developed have…

This article traces the development of a contextual approach to the teaching of science (physics) subsequently called the Large Context Problem (LCP) approach. This approach is based on the general observation that learning could be well motivated by a context with one unifying central idea capable of capturing the imagination of the students. The…

This paper provides an overview and research summary of Direct Instruction (DI) mathematics programs, specifically "DISTAR Arithmetic I" and "II" (Engelmann & Carnine, 1975, 1976), "Corrective Mathematics" (Engelmann & Carnine, 1982), and "Connecting Math Concepts" (CMC; Engelmann, Carnine, Kelly, & Engelmann, 1996a). A comparison of the…

Demonstrations have long been part of postsecondary science teaching. Teachers understand that in today's constructivist classroom, students must be involved in their learning. This need for active student involvement extends to all aspects of instruction, including learning from demonstrations. Active demonstrations that engage students and…

This paper gives insights into the beliefs of 85 German first year chemistry student teachers about chemistry teaching and learning at the beginning of their teacher education. The study is based on student teachers' drawings of themselves in a typical classroom situation and four open questions. The approach evaluated: (I) Beliefs about Classroom…

This paper presents the design, features and pilot evaluation study of a web-based environment--the SORTING environment--for the learning of sorting algorithms by secondary level education students. The design of this environment is based on modeling methodology, taking into account modern constructivist and social theories of learning while at…

This article reviews content analysis studies aimed to assess critical thinking in computer-mediated communication. It also discusses theories and content analysis models that encourage critical thinking skills in asynchronous learning environments and reviews theories and factors that may foster critical thinking skills and new knowledge…

This article reports on a study carried out twice on an online second language course that was set up between a Canadian University and a German University. In that course, students of German in Canada and students of English in Germany exchanged 2,412 messages in 2004 and 1,831 messages in 2005. A list of processing criteria for assessment was…

This study was conducted to explore the relationship between Internet self-efficacy and preferences toward constructivist Internet-based learning environments. The sample included 365 college students in Taiwan who all majored in early childhood care and pre-school education. Some of them were preservice pre-school teachers (n=185), and the rest…

Purpose: The purpose of this scientific monograph is to show new and creative approaches to different school subjects in primary and secondary level. Methodology: Interdisciplinary and international comparative approaches were used. Now according to the 7th Framework Program, the preferred form of Science Education (www.scientix.eu) is preferred…

The "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB, 2001) required schools to make adequate yearly progress, use disaggregated data in planning, and employ highly-qualified teachers. The school leaders became those responsible for the success of the school. In South Carolina the Department of Education has recently sought to address adequacy needs…

This paper discusses the implementation of a new e-learning environment that supports non-rote learning of exploratory and inductive statistics within the pedagogical paradigm of social constructivism. The e-learning system is based on a new computational framework that allows us to create an electronic research environment where students are…

This study is aimed at presenting a critical overview of recent research studies on the use of educational online games as collaborative learning environments in Tertiary Education (TE), namely higher education and vocational training, with a view to identifying: a) the elements that online games should include in order to support fruitful and…

In education, STS too often is viewed as a new kind of course--new material for use in teaching. However, this view of STS is fraught with the same kind of problems as traditional teaching of natural science and technology. This major problem is that information is merely transmitted to students by lecture, discussion, verification laboratories,…