Analogies are parts of human thought. From them, we can acquire new knowledge or change that which already exists in our cognitive structure. In this sense, understanding the analogical reasoning process becomes an essential condition to understand how we learn. Despite the importance of such an understanding, there is no general agreement in…

This article argues for increased theoretical specificity in the active learning process. Whereas constructivist learning emphasizes construction of meaning, the process articulated here complements meaning construction with disciplinary critique. This process is an implication of how disciplinary communities generate new knowledge claims, which…

For over a century, drawing from observation, at least at the introductory level, has been integral to many secondary and most post-secondary art school programs in Europe and North America. Its place in such programs is understood to develop an ability to see and interpret on a flat surface the real, three-dimensional world; this skill, in turn,…

Starting from difficulties that students of education display when they interpret empirical findings and generate scientific arguments, a problem-based e-learning environment was developed. Based on first evaluation data, an elaboration tool was integrated into the learning environment. The tool consisted of a modelling and an explanation part. In…

Describes a card game designed to teach the scientific method, inductive thinking, and data analysis strategies. The objective is to guess the rule that differentiates the "legal triplets" (set of three playing cards) from the "illegal" ones. Suggestions are provided for a debriefing session in which the players reflect on…

Describes an exercise that uses riddles to expose students to important aspects of the process and experience of scientific thinking. Contends that the exercise allows students to examine their thought processes and to view scientific questions from different perspectives. Reports positive student reaction. (DB)

This study addressed the problem of how a prospective mathematics teacher's active engagement in a scientific inquiry can deepen the meaning of her extant mathematical concepts. We used a constructivist framework to analyze a 2-hour interview with a prospective mathematics teacher as she solved an open-ended problem of graphing a 3-D landform. We…

The teaching of mathematics as a science to elementary school children is promoted. Use of the scientific method in learning is presented as a form of experiential or discovery teaching. (MP)

This essay examines flaws in the standard hypothetical-deduction inquiry model and offers another quite different model of inquiry, the multiple-completing model, for use in the school classroom. In positing this new model of inquiry the assumption has been made that a pedagogical inquiry model need not necessarily be an accurate reflection of…

Outlines 11 rules of critical thinking and offers suggestions of teaching them in biology and environmental science classrooms. (MDH)

Describes Eleusis, a card game invented in the mid-1950s to stimulate various features of scientific inquiry. The analogies between Eleusis and scientific methods are also discussed to illustrate the effectiveness of this game for reinforcing science teaching. (HM)

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…