Offers perspectives on mathematics education from an instructional design viewpoint through an overview of the conflicting ideological paradigms and three case studies illustrating those models. Presents a personal narrative of the importance of social and cultural realities as a professional engineer. (54 references) (MDH)

Describes a study of high school students that investigated the use of MediaText, multimedia composition software, for student-developed multimedia documents. Research and theory of multimedia in education is reviewed, including student composition; a constructionist model is considered; and assignments in several curriculum areas are examined.…

Administered questionnaires to 35 science teachers to test the hypotheses that teachers holding constructivist beliefs are more likely to detect alternative conceptions, have a richer repertoire of teaching strategies, use more effective teaching strategies for inducing conceptual change, and report frequent use of effective teaching strategies.…

Argues that, by not considering examples drawn from students' everyday lives, a teacher is detracting from science itself. A challenge is made to Conceptual Change Learning Model advocates and users to embrace the idea of conceptual fitting based upon context as well as conceptual change when considering how students learn. (ZWH)

Describes a constructivist, interactive approach for teaching undergraduate mathematics, abstract algebra in particular, using computer constructions programmed in ISETL to induce students' mental constructions and collaborative learning to help students reflect on these constructions. (18 references) (MKR)

Begins with an overview of the constructivist perspective and the pedagogical theory development upon which a constructivist teaching experiment with 20 prospective elementary teachers was based. Derives a theoretical framework for mathematics pedagogy with a focus on decisions about content and mathematical tasks. (49 references) (Author/DDD)

A study involving elementary teachers was conducted to investigate whether the conditions of the accommodation of a science conception could be applied to pedagogical conceptions of science and, using this application, determine whether a group of elementary teacher candidates in a conceptual change methods course accommodated their didactic…

A reflection-construction model of relations between social perception and social reality is presented that explicitly specifies several ways in which social perception may relate to social reality. Evidence supporting this model also supports a weaker version of the social-constructivist view. (SLD)

In a simulation, the lesioning of a connectionist model that maps orthographic inputs onto semantic features produces several counterintuitive behaviors that are also shown by acquired-dyslexic patients. The similarity strengthens the suggestion that the connectionist approach captures a key aspect of human cognitive processing. (SLD)

Disillusionment with professional/scientific knowledge and trust in practitioner knowledge have led to renewed interest in action technologies. Action research, action learning, participatory research, popular education, and collaborative inquiry can bridge the gap between theory and practice. (SK)

Discusses one component of the Iowa Distance Education Alliance that encouraged science reform through distance education using the Iowa Communications Network. Topics include curriculum and school reform, learning processes, student engagement and involvement, constructivism, the use of interactive television for distance education, and the Iowa…

Discusses engaging preservice teacher education in distance education activities so they could discover and construct meaning. Presents the concept of constructivism and instructional design guidelines. Describes the telecommunications course and learner objectives, including course design, distance learning projects, and learners' frustrations…

Describes the use of constructivism in teaching human anatomy. Provides directions for constructing arm-hand and leg-foot models that include extensor and flexor muscles and that are easily and cheaply constructed. Lists resources that provide ideas for using such models depending upon the curriculum implemented in a school or the course that is…

Argues that current thinking about science teaching and conceptual change needs to be counterbalanced by contextual or cultural constructivist ideas. A collaborative view should include the sociological study of cultural milieus in which scientific ideas arise. The logic of discovery from a sociological point of view implies that conceptual change…

Helping students to make essential connections of science content is often difficult, yet necessary to ensure a true understanding of science. A teacher offers insights on how pyruvic acid can be used to help students make connections in chemistry and biology. (ZWH)