The dominant learning paradigms conceive of learning as the construction of something, which, depending on the particular bent of the researcher, may be "meaning", "knowledge", "conceptions", or "conceptual frameworks". However, some recent studies conducted from very different theoretical perspectives…

Traditional (e.g., constructivist) accounts of knowledge ground its origin in the "intentional construction" on the part of the learner. Such accounts are blind to the fact that learners, by the fact that they do not know the knowledge to be learned, cannot orient toward it as an object to be constructed. In this study, I provide a…

Situated learning theories such as communities of practice provide a rich conceptual framework for analyzing the processes by which newcomers become full participants in the communities they enter. However, some research shows that these concepts have shortcomings for theorizing learning in formal educational settings especially when it comes to…

Existing studies report on secondary school students' misconceptions related to climate change; they also report on the methods of teaching as reinforcing misconceptions. This quasi-experimental study was designed to test the null hypothesis that a curriculum based on constructivist principles does not lead to greater understanding and fewer…

There are some fundamental--i.e., "essential"--differences between conceptual change theory and a rigorously applied discourse approach to the question of what and how people know. In this rejoinder, I suggest that the differences are paradigmatic because, among others, the units of analysis used and the data constructed are irreconcilably…

Over the past three decades, the literature in science education has accumulated a tremendous amount of research on students' conceptions--one bibliography currently lists 7000 entries concerning students' and teachers' conceptions and science education. Yet despite all of this research and all the advances in the associated conceptual change…

Describes an epistemological framework and an associated research method. The framework focuses on the structural relations of individual and setting as experienced by the individual. The analysis consists in zooming to identify patterns that simultaneously occur at multiple levels. Uses data from a physics classroom where students learn to…

Discusses Vee mapping, a technique to assist students in categorizing the relationship between the conceptual and procedural aspects of science. Presents a study to investigate elementary education majors' (n=27) use of the Vee heuristic and concept mapping for the construction of knowledge; attitudes toward learning science in collaborative…

Reanalyzes pretest and posttest interviews from a large classroom study using a situated cognition framework. Concludes that cognition is a dynamic process that changes in different ways over shorter and longer time scales. Contains 40 references. (DDR)

Argues that much of the conceptual-change literature does not study change per se, but infers, often from interviews, changes in students' conceptions and discourse during learning. Concludes that what is needed are descriptions of learning trajectories. Contains 17 references. (DDR)

Among the conclusions from an microanalysis of 29 high school physics student's concept mapping behaviors were that concept maps lead to sustained discourse on the topic and improved declarative knowledge. On the negative side, concept maps let scientifically incorrect notions become ingrained and go unchallenged. (PR)

Illustrates how a well-designed curriculum can lead students to construct an unwanted conception. Concludes that the conceptual-change-cum-discourse perspective has the potential to integrate the affordances of both methodological approaches and past empirical accomplishments. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

Provides a neurocomputational account of knowing and learning and grounds situational cognition theory in a neurocomputational model of neuronal activity. Presents the advantages of this theoretical approach. Contains 60 references. (DDR)

Forty-six students enrolled in a high school physics course participated in a study designed to portray student views on, and understanding of, collaborative concept mapping. Students demonstrated a good understanding of concept maps and emphasized their usefulness as a learning tool. (56 references) (ZWH)

A study of the processes by which 24 grade-12 Australian physics students brought order to their observations and practices shows that the phenomena students construct from their laboratory work (not always accurate) develop from connections among the embodied practices of language and physical action, their world, and social relations. (SLD)