Explores social education and the nature of social knowledge, focusing on reconstructivism, John Dewey's criticism of reconstructivism, the two developments that unraveled the reconstructionist counter-socialization argument, and the current emphasis in social education on the loss of respect for the core values and objective methods for…

Discusses the limitations of experimental studies of learning and the emergence of alternative paradigms such as constructivism. Examines the growth of teacher research and its historical influences, including Montessori, Dewey's Progressive Movement, and Lucy Sprague Mitchell. Discusses current trends in teacher research, asserting that it is…

Proposes a socioconstructivist environmental education. Explains that the challenge of environmental education is to enable students to gain a more complex representation of the sciences. Contains 35 references. (DDR)

Describes World Englishes (WE) that are global varieties of English and provides a rationale for teaching WE. Explores suggested activities and materials for teaching about WE, such as learning WE from videos, teaching the history of English, using international newspapers and guest speakers, and having students conduct a country study. (CMK)

Focuses on the use of storytelling as a means of teaching history. Explores the ideas presented by Charles McMurry in his handbook "Special Method in History" that addresses the use of stories in teaching. States that McMurry thought history could be interesting and tangible for even the youngest child. (CMK)

Points out that constructivist approach to science education is recognized as a valuable approach for building deep student understanding of scientific content and inquiry. Introduces a constructivist approach in two teacher training courses in the Spring 2000 semester and assessed their resulting content knowledge with examination-based…

Discusses a theoretical framework to educate bilingual learners that links the communicative approach and the constructivist approach to learning with the transfer of knowledge from one language to another. The framework is illustrated in the communication, constructivism, and transference of knowledge (CCT) model where bilingual students use…

Provides a rationale and framework for promoting critical reflection in teacher preparation, focusing on what critical reflection is, whether and how reflective practice can be taught, constructivist methods, dialogue as a form of teaching, action research to nurture reflective practice, and writing as a tool to encourage connections between…

Describes the use of an intervention stressing the metacognitive, regulatory, and strategic aspects of knowledge co-construction. Finds that eighth grade students who received the intervention gained in metacognitive knowledge about collaborative reasoning and ability to articulate their collaborative reasoning processes compared to students in…

Examines role that constructivist teachers play in fostering moral development in young children. Traces development of perspective taking, autonomy, and self- regulation, and examines effects of different teaching and parenting practices on children's character development. Provides suggestions for teachers to promote optimal moral development by…

Focuses on the storyline strategy which uses the components of a story (setting, characters, and plot) to organize concepts in a lesson. Provides a lesson on the Kiribati new year celebration using the storyline strategy. Offers alternative ideas for a storyline unit on Kiribati. (CMK)

Discusses the use of technology to teach middle school social studies and history. Explores how technology can be used to address experiential learning styles by applying constructivist principles, while Microsoft PowerPoint presentations can enrich teacher-centered approaches and reach verbal, kinesthetic, and visual learning styles. Describes a…

Student teachers (n=40) worked in pairs on a structural design problem-solving activity. Their preconceptions about such concepts as strength and force were challenged and reconstructed in the process. Stronger links between scientific thinking and teacher knowledge were urged. (Contains 45 references.) (SK)

This study examines the perceptions of teachers, administrators, parents, community members, and high school students about the science learning environment. The participants were active members of a grant project aimed at creating community action teams. Varrella and Burry-Stock's (1997) Beliefs About Learning Environments (BALE) Instrument was…

Following a constructivist view on learning and based on the work of Adey and Shayer a group of teachers and lecturers in geographical education from northeast England developed some successful strategies to stimulate pupils' thinking skills. At the start of this century the ideas reached The Netherlands. This article presents the results of a…