Most experiential educators acknowledge the centrality of the learner in experiences they facilitate, indicating a constructivist epistemological vision. Yet participant experiences are lost in research using an outcome-focused, objectivist epistemology. Employing a constructivist epistemology in research embraces a broader range of approaches,…

Current relationships between libraries and adult learners are shaped by technology adoption, learner demographics, constructivist learning, and institutional pressures. Future relationships must emphasize learner-centered action over technological efficiency, stronger learning leadership, and greater integration of libraries in educational…

The Web is a medium in which learners can construct meaning through self-directed inquiry or collaboration. Key principles for effective use of the Web for learning include the following: provide access to rich sources of information, encourage meaningful interactions with content, and bring people togther to challenge, support, or respond to each…

Demonstrates that connectionist models described in "Rethinking Innateness" (Elman, et al., 1996) depend on innately assumed representations and do not offer a genuine alternative to nativism. Presents simulation results showing that the models are incapable of deriving genuine abstract representations that are not presupposed. Maintains…

Acknowledges that the term "education for the environment" has generated powerful images and proposes that the term has become a slogan. Identifies anomalies and inconsistencies associated with the use of the term. Contains 41 references. (DDR)

Introduces a college-level ecology course that uses extensive student discussions on selected reading reports. Provides sample reports. (Contains 22 references.) (YDS)

Reviews the use of concept cartoons in support of the constructivist view of learning, and gives two particular examples to show how they can help students' understanding of the formation of shadows. (Author/MM)

Lecturers may provide insufficient challenge when teaching first year university physics courses. Investigates comparisons in learning outcomes between a traditional teaching group and a constructivist-orientated teaching group along with lecturers' and students' perceptions of those courses. The lecturers emphasized the students' poor physics…

Presents research that incorporates constructivism with learning models in environmental education for the preparation and development of teachers. Involves (n=201) teacher trainees at the University of Granada in Spain. (YDS)

Outlines Willard Van Orman Quine's theory of language in the generation of empirical knowledge, gleaned from two works from his voluminous ouvre. Draws connections between Quine's theory and that of Richard Rorty, the American pragmatist philosopher. Sketches how this theoretical perspective can be applied in the technical communication classroom…

Describes the goals and nature of school mathematics reform and the philosophy and nature of the constructivist classroom. Suggests that math teachers who are interested in creating reformed classrooms can look to constructivist theories of learning and content-area literacy theories and methods to provide the structure needed to make reform…

Offers a framework for faculty and planners of distance learning programs to understand the impact of visuals and constructivist methods in distance learning and to guide effective practice and decision-making. Topics include interaction; constructivist learning, including active learning and authentic learning; authentic student assessment; and…

Investigates the experience of 8 teenage participants on a 12-day adventure trip through observation and semistructured post-trip interviews. Reports that the teen participants conceptualized nature as a place out there as undisturbed, natural, unfamiliar, without people, relaxing and with a sense of freedom. Includes 31 references. (Author/YDS)

Ponders whether there exists a knowledge base for teaching others how to teach reading. Discusses the distinction between "social constructionism" and "social constructivism." Notes that literacy teacher educators who conceive of literacy as critical social practice do not deny the cognitive or behavioral aspects of reading, writing, and speaking,…

Discusses objective knowledge and reality; objective experience and objectivity; objectivity without representation; and problems with constructivism. Argues that at issue with Muller, Sokol, and Overton's model is dispensability of the representation concept in an account of knowledge development during infancy. Concludes that a constructivist…