The transition from generic mentoring to specific mentoring practices can provide a stronger focus for developing preservice primary teachers (mentees) in subject-specific areas. Constructivist theory and a five-factor model towards specific subject mentoring are proposed as ways to develop mentees' teaching practices. Firstly, constructivist…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the use of an existing instrument, the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES)(Taylor, Dawson & Fraser, 1995; Taylor, Fraser & Fisher, 1993, 1997), for providing insights into the classroom learning environments of beginning science teachers. In the first year of the study, the CLES was…

The purpose of this paper is to describe how and why a primary science methods classroom was conceived, designed, and developed for preservice and inservice teachers. Just as science educators believe that students learn best by constructing their knowledge of the natural world with the aid of a teacher and colleagues, science educators also…

The traditional educational approach with students as passive recipients has been the subject of criticism. A constructivist learner-centered approach towards education has been argued to produce greater internalization and application of knowledge compared to the traditional teacher-centered, transmission-oriented approach. Nevertheless,…

This article discusses a framework for the development of tasks in a synchronous online environment used for language learning and teaching. It shows how a theoretical approach based on second language acquisition (SLA) principles, sociocultural and constructivist theories, and concepts taken from research on multimodality and new literacies, can…

"National Science Education Standards" (1996), published by the National Research Council, recommends that students learn to explain Moon phases and eclipses by the time they graduate from eighth grade. It is clear from the research literature, however, that misconceptions about Moon phases and eclipses are widespread and resistant to change, even…

This article discusses the role of a multimedia learning environment in teaching foreign languages to engineering students. Arguing for a subject-specific and skills-oriented approach in teaching Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) in the university, it outlines possible targets and skills for a language course for engineers. The paper goes on…

Science is at heart a rational activity. Reasoning, being an important component of critical thinking has been successfully taught using Socratic methods. As an approach, the instructor or designer of instruction models an inquiring and probing mind focusing on providing questions and not answers. The main aim has been to allow learners to…

Objective: To describe the use of "draw, describe and write", a tool for exploring how adolescents perceive and explain their understanding of the world of drugs, as used in the development of the Blueprint project. Design: A cross-sectional study using a specifically designed research tool, including drawing and open-ended questions, used with…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of a web-based constructivist learning environment, which was developed based on a course given to students in the Faculty of Creative Multimedia (FCM) on student learning. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, a web-based multimedia-mediated project was developed based on an Internet…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of one year of regular "LEGO" training on pupils' performances in schools. The underlying pedagogical perspective is the constructivist theory, where the main idea is that knowledge is constructed in the mind of the pupil by active learning. The investigation has been made in two…

South African Universities are tasked with increasing student throughput by offering additional academic support. A second task is to teach students to challenge and question. One way of attempting to achieve these tasks is by using Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The focus of this paper is to examine the effect of using an ICT…

Although many nations are struggling with social studies, especially when addressing basic goals, ideas of citizenship, and developing and understanding global perspectives, it is New Zealand that provides an interesting case regarding social studies for social efficacy and global understanding. In this article, the author investigates the…

This paper has two purposes: (1) to explain briefly in terms of Piaget's theory why relationships are fundamental for constructivist teachers; and (2) to show how constructivist teachers can think about relationships in classroom activities. In a nutshell, the message is that the process by which children are constructing their intelligence,…

This study investigated the impact of a three-week pilot practicum experience in an Aquarium setting on secondary pre-service biology teachers' epistemologies and pedagogies of teaching and learning. A qualitative case study methodology was employed to examine the experiences, views of teaching and learning, and teaching development of a small…