Constructivist theory must choose between the hypothesis that felt perturbation drives cognitive development (the priority of felt perturbation) and the hypothesis that the particular process that eventually produces new cognitive structures first produces felt perturbation (the continuity of process). There is ambivalence in Piagetian theory…

Argues that teaching should be based on Piaget's constructivism because it explains the nature of human knowledge; explains children's knowledge construction from birth to adolescence; and informs educators how Piaget's distinction among physical, social, and logicomathematical knowledge changes the way many subjects should be taught. Elementary…

Examines two conflicting educational theories: constructivism and positivism. Constructivism sees human knowledge of the external environment as constructed and based upon the subjective observer, whereas positivism sees knowledge as fixed for scientific testing. Discusses their implications in the field of instructional development and recommends…

The concepts of social cognition and cognitive structures are important aspects of constructivism and human communication theory. By asking students to listen to different musical selections and fill in a simple rubric, different schemas become apparent. This creates an opportunity to discuss how cognitions relate to communication. Students who…

Constructivist theory argues that students construct knowledge for themselves and that each knows the world in a different way. The problem for education is how students can construct an "objectified" knowledge. Outlines an integrative framework for the description of information and problem-solving procedures and a problem-solving…

Considers effective dialogue between teacher and student essential for promoting meaningful learning in the classroom. Effective dialogue enables teachers and students to be active in the construction of shared understanding by making explicit the overlap between the perspectives held by students and teachers. Suggests that concept maps provide a…

Reviews five methods of representing cognitive structures: (1) free word association; (2) controlled word association; (3) tree construction; (4) concept map; and (5) flow map. Discusses the applications as well as the limitations of these methods by comparing the types of analysis that are generated. (Contains 37 references.) (Author/YDS)

Explores the central pragmatist and feminist philosophical assumption that knowers cannot be separated from what is known, that there is a dialectical relationship between social beings and ideas. Argues for embracing pluralistic and democratic commitments on epistemological and moral grounds. (KS)

Writing can be a powerful tool for learning biology. Writing assignments in biology could help students personalize and understand the biology knowledge they are studying. In this article, the authors present the "Botanical Sense of Place" (BSP), a convenient and easy-to-use writing template that they developed to elicit and probe students' prior…

Examines the qualities of hypermedia information systems that enable them to facilitate learning and knowledge construction. Discusses the background of current learning theories, and describes a possible hypermedia system based on constructivist learning principles that could be developed through the use of intelligent autonomous agents.…

Describes the Novice-Expert (Novex) Analysis, a nine-step approach to instructional design aimed at effecting the shift from novice to expert by creating a series of learning activities to enable novices to construct an expert knowledge base. The "Dimensions of Processing Model" diagram illustrates how learning processes influence…

This conference paper describes methodological tools being used to examine teachers' cognitive lives and to describe the meaning that teachers make of teaching, learning, and students in classrooms. Methodological difficulties with the "subsequent recall" approach and the "stimulation of current thought" approach are discussed. A set of techniques…

Argues that although Jewish all-day schools aspire to a curriculum integrated between Jewish and general studies, they have not succeeded. Offers a working model of this integration. Uses evidence from the curriculum of a Jewish day school in Great Britain to show that students can succeed with an integrated approach. (CAJ)

Proposes a theory for organizing information and activities in educational hypermedia systems and evaluates theory effectiveness based on implementation of a multimedia learning environment. Results suggest that self-paced interactive learning environments, multimedia information access, and constructive activities organized into cognitive media…

This paper attempts to create a vision of what it would be like to teach for understanding, to adopt the view of learner as constructor of his or her own understanding, and to share in the creation of an environment for reconstructing students' understanding and reasoning. Such a program is based on assumptions about the cognition of learners,…