The "Vygotsky on Education Primer" serves as an introduction to the life and work of the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky. Even though he died almost eighty years ago, his life's work remains both relevant and significant to the field of education today. This book examines Vygotsky's emphasis on the role of cultural and historical context in…

This article explores the thinking behind students' thinking. (Contains 2 endnotes.)

How physiological disciplines can contribute to the study of how people learn mathematics is considered. Manipulative and experiential learning, sequential versus hierarchical organization, declarative versus procedural knowledge, and short-term versus long-term memory are among the points discussed. (MNS)

Discusses Piaget's pre-operational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages and shows how this information sheds light on how children approach computers and computing, particularly with the LOGO programming language. (JN)

Analyzed was the mental activity required to answer Profile Test questions. This was then related to the results of pupils with differing profiles. Most of the mental activity could be reduced to three categories of knowledge: data, short operations, and paths. These categories are then discussed and applied. (MNS)

Observed that teachers and students play reciprocal roles in learning. States that students learn in schemata units, and provides the list of teaching skills required to maximize these methods. Concludes that teachers must understand children's intellectual processes in order to nurture them. (NL)

Written for curriculum developers and vocational education instructors, this publication provides an understanding of cognitive concepts and methods using an information processing paradigm and shows how to apply this knowledge in development of curriculum and instructional plans. Chapter 1 reviews needs and characteristics of vocational education…

A constructivist analysis of the concepts of communication and environment may go against the traditional ideas of realists. Both concepts are treated as subjective constructs of a cognizing agent. It is held that the basis of the constructivist theory of knowing as the idea that knowledge is a mapping of ways of acting and thinking and the result…

Constructive-developmentalism is a theory of learning that incorporates two major concepts: (1) that students construct knowledge by organizing and making meaning of their experiences, and (2) that this construction takes place in the context of students' assumptions about and creation of knowledge. A gap often exists between instructor and…

This book is intended to help educators understand how students learn and what teachers can do to foster student achievement. It explains how diverse developmental needs, such as lack of self-esteem or cultural alienation, can be at the root of a student's learning difficulties. Case studies illustrate the ways educators can assess and resolve…

This report considers how the mathematical knowledge children develop on their own outside of formal school instruction can be used to increase the distribution and level of mathematical knowledge attained by students in grades K-3. Included are preliminary results of an investigation of the counting and calculating abilities brought to…

Reports on a study of the mathematical knowledge, strategies, and representations of 16 socially and ethnically diverse preschool children. Finds that the children bring a wide range of competencies that generally are more advanced than the curriculum content presented at that level. (CFR)

Research findings related to constructivism have been applied to development of the Equipped for the Future (EFF) Framework and Continuum of Performance, a multi-dimensional developmental description of performance serving as a foundation for EFF-based instruction and assessment of learner progress. Acquiring expertise is a complex developmental…

This paper identifies five indicators of exemplary efforts and programs that characterize an emerging model for science teacher education reform. These include: (1) defining basic science as content preparation; (2) assessing students beyond content mastery; (3) providing multiple school experiences; (4) working in a semester-long teacher center;…

This paper discusses five specific features of an emerging teacher education model. They include: (1) developing a rationale for teaching science; (2) providing sufficient time for personal change; (3) developing self-analysis skills concerning teaching and learning behaviors; (4) analyzing classroom climate; and (5) modeling teaching behaviors…