Describes how Mexican-American language-minority students construct biology concept meanings based on extant linguistic skills. Provides an instructional activity that engages students in constructing meanings through mediational means. Contains 35 references. (DDR)

Reports on the application of technology in elementary and secondary education. The report is based on a review of the research literature and on written submissions and oral briefings from a number of academic and industrial researchers, practicing educators, software developers, and government agencies. (DDR)

Offers a critique of American schools to provide helpful insight to teachers, researchers, and reformers of national systems who struggle with deeply rooted cultural divisions. Contains 36 references. (DDR)

Examines the role of educational technology from a constructivist perspective. Discusses the subset of computer-based technologies, especially the Internet, that are changing the way interactivity is defined, and examines how these technologies interface with constructivist approaches to pedagogy. Explores the place of constructivism as a…

Examines changes in preservice elementary teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics and their ability to provide mathematics instruction that is based on children's thinking. Reports that, after participants were introduced to Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI), significant changes in their beliefs and perceptions about…

Because traditional instruction ignores students' personal construction of mathematical meaning, mathematical thought development is not properly nurtured. Several issues must be addressed, including adults' ignorance of math- and student-learning processes, identification of math-education research specialists, the myth of coverage, testing…

Identifies and clarifies an interpretation of scientific discourse that can be used as a lens for viewing problems of teaching science. Discusses why reform visions for science education are reasonable, desirable, and yet problematic in lower track classrooms. Presents data to explain and characterize lower-track science-classroom discourse.…

Reports on the effects of constructivist versus traditional teaching approaches on university students' learning about osmosis and diffusion. Students understood diffusion and osmosis more deeply in the constructivist-informed classroom, which used small discussion groups rather than traditional large lecture groups. Suggests ways to improve…

Describes the implementation and evaluation of a constructivist course for science teachers in which teachers are inducted into "critical constructivism" through their own action-research projects. Illustrates the induction process and professional development of one biology teacher of 13- to 15-year olds in Brazil. Contains 23…

Investigates conceptions of the geosciences held by a university geology instructor and five students before and after a teaching intervention. Argues for the use of repertory grids to elicit personal constructs. Advocates targeting the societal aims of geological education within a constructivist framework. Contains 54 references. (Author/WRM)

Young pupils find collaborative learning hard to sustain, even though it is recommended by developmental psychology and classroom intervention theories. Investigates the effect of two role attribution strategies on communication in peer groups of different gender composition in 8th grade science classes. Confirms the effectiveness of social role…

Describes the difficulties that high school and university students have in thinking about force, identifying forces, and drawing force diagrams. Finds that students using a computer tutoring program made limited progress in learning to construct free-body diagrams because of their alternative conceptions and faulty teaching methods. Offers…

Explores the tension between subject knowledge and pedagogic content knowledge in elementary teacher education by documenting students' and inservice teachers' learning about forces in the context of floating and sinking. Describes significant features of the learning process and examines subject-specific aspects of learning by demonstrating how…

Reviews three learning models (objectivist, collaborative, and constructivist) and information technologies that can be used to support the effective application of these learning models in construction engineering education. The effectiveness of an information technology is analyzed through the appropriateness of the technology in supporting a…

Reports on a qualitative study of the learning environment of a biology class. Suggests that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation--which could lead to deep involvement in science learning--are constrained by teacher-centered methods. Contains 31 references. (DDR)