The conceptual connections between aspects of critical thinking described by the Reflective Judgment Model, a theory of adult intellectual development, and a larger set of psychological principles derived from constructivist theories of learning are highlighted. In spite of parallels between these conceptual schemes, as well as the practical…

The structures of meaning preservice teachers perceived and interpreted as a result of field placements in a methods course and through the use of ethnographic tools were studied in an ethnographic design. The study involved 11 preservice teachers. It described how they shaped each other's thinking about teaching and it examined how ethnographic…

This paper explores the process by which mathematical knowledge is socially constructed. Interactional analysis of a lesson on fact families shows how one third-grade mathematics class negotiated the meanings of writing a number sentence for a picture and a fact family. In the course of classroom interactions, teacher and students shifted the…

Function Probe is a multi-representational software for Apple Macintosh computers. It was designed to allow students to approach problems in different ways and/or use different representations. This case study describes a 16-year-old student as he creates a path among a variety of representations of transformations of functions while using the…

This volume explores the theory and practice of scaffolding, instruction that provides students with the intellectual support to function at the cutting edge of their development. Scaffolding means providing support to allow the learner to learn for himself or herself. Scaffolding is a challenging form of instruction, but as the contributors to…

When social science students try to solve statistics problems, the two major problems that they often face are how to get "the machine" to give them results they want and problem identification. The goal of this project at Michigan State University was to provide a supplementary educational tool for political science classes through the…

This study investigates the relationships between student beliefs about the nature of science, student attitudes, and conceptual change about the nature of forces in a traditional high school physics classroom. Students (N=28) in the study were junior-level high school honors students in an introductory physics class. The physics instruction was…

Constructivism is the theory that people learn by constructing meaning through interpretive interactions with the social environment. Constructivist perspectives are a growing influence among educators seeking to help students connect learning with life experiences, making constructivism highly relevant to vocational and career educators. This…

This book presents a case for the development of classrooms based on constructivist pedagogy, which seeks to: (1) pose problems of emerging relevance to learners; (2) structure learning around "big ideas" or primary concepts; (3) seek and value students' points of view; (4) adapt curriculum to address students' suppositions; and (5) assess student…

The goal of this paper is to relate liberation and the teaching of thinking. By looking at the great liberators throughout history, teachers can learn about their own craft. The goal of teaching thinking ought to be to develop individuals who can think for themselves. Such people have some measure of control over the meaning they make of their…

This theoretical paper utilizes cybernetic-­based approaches (Bopry, 1999; Wiener, 1954) and communications theory (Habermas, 1984, 1990; Krippendorff, 1994) to advance knowledge of constructivist learning. I argue that past educational research literature on constructivist learning is partly responsible for limiting how educational designers…

Four epistemological belief and two teaching/learning conception dimensions were identified from a questionnaire study of a sample of Hong Kong preservice teacher education students. The epistemological belief dimensions were labelled Innate/Fixed Ability, Learning Effort/Process, Authority/Expert Knowledge and Certainty Knowledge. The somewhat…

This paper reports on a qualitative research study exploring the socialisation experiences of immigrant secondary mathematics teachers practising in Australia. Teacher perception of differences in the ways their respective home and the Australian (host) cultures value aspects of mathematics teaching and learning was observed to lead to dissonance.…

The traditional approach to education in zoo settings operated under the premise that meaningful learning and improved attitudes toward environmental education would occur by simply exposing children to wild animals. This study was a preliminary evaluation of an innovative environmental education program at a medium-sized Florida zoo. The study…

This study revised the Teacher Beliefs Survey (S. Wooley and A. Wooley, 1999; TBS), an instrument to assess teachers beliefs related to constructivist and behaviorist theories of learning, and then studied the validity of the revised TBS. Drawing on a literature review, researchers added items for the existing constructs of the TBS and added a new…