Constructing constructivism: how student‐teachers construct ideas of development,knowledge, learning,and teaching

This case study investigates the development of the understanding of constructivist theory among students in a Masters level elementary teacher education program within a particular course. The focus of the study is a seminar entitled ‘Advanced Seminar in Child Development’. The questions explored include: How do students’ ideas of teaching, learning and knowledge develop within the context of their experience in this course? How do they come to understand constructivism? What are their definitions of constructivism? What is the course of the development of this understanding? The nature of the students’ learning processes is examined through three sources of data: dialog journals, videotaped sessions and the instructor’s reflective teaching journal. The study looks both at student development and instructional practice to further understanding of how student‐teachers can learn to apply constructivist theory to their teaching and to understand the learning process, both within themselves and their students. Their development is placed in the context of Korthagen and Kessels’s model of teacher understanding and practice, and within a broader context of principles of practice that emphasize a belief in equity and social justice. The case illustrates how the way student‐teachers are taught theory can help them integrate their own ideas of learning and teaching with constructivist theory in order to think critically about their own practice in an ongoing developmental manner.     

Enhancing Teachers’ Application of Inquiry‐Based Strategies Using a Constructivist Sociocultural Professional Development Model

This two‐year school‐wide initiative to improve teachers’ pedagogical skills in inquiry‐based science instruction using a constructivist sociocultural professional development model involved 30 elementary teachers from one school, three university faculty, and two central office content supervisors. Research was conducted for investigating the impact of the professional development activities on teachers’ practices, documenting changes in their philosophies, instruction, and the learning environment. This report includes teachers’ accounts of philosophical as well as instructional changes and how these changes shaped the learning environment. For the teachers in this study, examining their teaching practices in learner‐centered collaborative group settings encouraged them to critically analyze their instructional practices, challenging their preconceived ideas on inquiry‐based strategies. Additionally, other factors affecting teachers’ understanding and use of inquiry‐based strategies were highlighted, such as self‐efficacy beliefs, prior experiences as students in science classrooms, teacher preparation programs, and expectations due to federal, state, and local mandates. These factors were discussed and reconciled, as they constructed new understandings and adapted their strategies to become more student‐centered and inquiry‐based.     

The effect of a training course based on constructivism on student teachers' perceptions of the teaching/learning process

This study investigates the effect of a training course, based on constructivism, on the student teachers' perceptions of teaching, learning and the roles of teachers and students in the teaching‐learning process. A sample of 188 student teachers (92 of them in the experimental group and 96 in the control group) from the Hashemite University were subjected to a pre‐test that was developed and validated for the purpose of the study, and the experimental group was then trained using a four‐step training course based on constructivist ideas. Results showed that the two groups' perceptions were not consistent with constructivist ideas before the training took place, but after training, there were significant differences between the two groups' perceptions about the four areas. Also, there were significant differences between the constructivist perceptions of males and females, with females' perceptions being more consistent with constructivist ideas than males. The study concluded with recommendations concerning the introduction of constructivist ideas in educational courses that are designed to prepare student teachers for science teaching, and further research to examine the effect of this course on the student teachers' practices in the classrooms.     

Teacher views about constructivist instruction and personal epistemology: a national study in Taiwan

This study investigated the views about constructivist instruction and personal epistemology of the secondary earth science teachers in Taiwan. Participants were assessed through a paper‐and‐pencil survey and a Learning environment preference questionnaire (LEP) designed to explore personal epistemology. On a five‐point Likert scale, teachers, on average, showed a neutral agreement on constructivist instruction. The content analysis suggested that teachers held alternative views about the nature of the constructivist instruction. LEP scores were found to be statistically associated with gender, education, current teaching level and years of teaching; the score distribution indicated that most teachers had not developed a constructivist‐compatible epistemology. By one‐way ANOVA, it was suggested that views about the constructivist instruction were aligned with personal epistemology.     

Balancing Teacher and Student Roles in Elementary Classrooms: Preservice elementary teachers’ learning about the inquiry continuum

Using the National Research Council's inquiry continuum framework, we use a multiple-case study research design to investigate the teacher- and student-directedness of elementary preservice teachers’ planned and enacted science lessons and their pedagogical reasoning about science instruction during a semester-long science methods course. Our specific research questions were (1) What ideas do elementary preservice teachers bring to a science teaching methods course about the inquiry continuum? and (2) How do their ideas about the inquiry continuum change over the course of the semester through engaging in planning, enactment, and reflection upon science instruction? Participants’ course artifacts (journals, reflective teaching assignments, and lesson plan rationales), interviews, and field observations of their enacted science lessons served as data for this study. Findings show that although the preservice teachers began the semester defining inquiry as highly student-directed, their ideas and definitions broadened over the course of the semester to include and embrace more teacher-directed forms of inquiry. Their early science lessons were more student-directed but, as they encountered challenges engaging in inquiry-based instruction and increasingly emphasized students’ learning needs, they began to plan and enact lessons that were more teacher-directed. Teacher education programs need to explicitly emphasize these variations of inquiry as a core component of supporting preservice teachers’ learning to teach science as inquiry.     

Mathematics teaching during the early years in Hong Kong: a reflection of constructivism with Chinese characteristics?

This paper characterizes early mathematics instruction in Hong Kong. The teaching of addition in three pre‐primary and three lower primary schools was observed and nine teachers were interviewed about their beliefs about early mathematics teaching. A child‐centered, play‐based approach was evident but teachers emphasized discipline, diligence and academic success. Observations also revealed practices reflective of both constructivist and instructivist pedagogies. Results from interviews suggest that teachers' traditional cultural beliefs about instruction were challenged by western ideologies introduced in continuing professional development courses and by notions promulgated by the educational reforms. Both consistencies and inconsistencies between teachers' beliefs and practices were identified. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

The difficult bridge between university and industry: a case study in computer science teaching

Recently, there has been increasing criticism concerning academic computer science education. This paper presents a new approach based on the principles of constructivist learning design as well as the ideas of knowledge transfer in communities of practice. The course ‘High‐tech Entrepreneurship and New Media’ was introduced as an interdisciplinary project management lab in which students collaborate in groups to develop software solutions for authentic problems. Main goals were the tighter integration of university and local start‐up companies, an intense knowledge transfer on software engineering methods, as well as the implementation of constructivist learning principles in academic teaching. This paper presents the background and structure of the course as well as the results of a formative evaluation. While being successful in introducing a course based on digital‐media assisted, constructivist learning arrangements, establishing lasting communities of practice between university and industry is still an open issue. After discussing several reasons, the paper concludes with a list of general recommendations on how to improve the approach and its implementation.     

Teaching the teacher: exploring STEM graduate students’ nature of science conceptions in a teaching methods course

ABSTRACT

Graduate students regularly teach undergraduate STEM courses and can positively impact students’ understanding of science. Yet little research examines graduate students’ knowledge about nature of science (NOS) or instructional strategies for teaching graduate students about NOS. This exploratory study sought to understand how a 1-credit Teaching in Higher Education course that utilised an explicit, reflective, and mixed-context approach to NOS instruction impacted STEM graduate students’ NOS conceptions and teaching intentions. Participants included 13 graduate students. Data sources included the Views of Nature of Science (VNOS-Form C) questionnaire administered pre- and post-instruction, semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants, and a NOS-related course project. Prior to instruction participants held many alternative NOS conceptions. Post-instruction, participants’ NOS conceptions improved substantially, particularly in their understandings of theories and laws and the tentative nature of scientific knowledge. All 12 participants planning to teach NOS intended to use explicit instructional approaches. A majority of participants also integrated novel ideas to their intended NOS instruction. These results suggest that a teaching methods course for graduate students with embedded NOS instruction can address alternative NOS conceptions and facilitate intended use of effective NOS instruction. Future research understanding graduate students' NOS understandings and actual NOS instruction is warranted.     

Effect of the 5E Model on Prospective Teachers’ Conceptual Understanding of Diffusion and Osmosis: A Mixed Method Approach

The aim of this study was to explore a group of prospective primary teachers’ conceptual understanding of diffusion and osmosis as they implemented a 5E constructivist model and related materials in a science methods course. Fifty prospective primary teachers’ ideas were elicited using a pre- and post-test and delayed post-test survey consisting of ten two-tier questions of which an explanatory part was integral. Individual interviews were conducted with six prospective teachers at the end of the implementation of the unit using four questions. Test scores were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Post-instructional interviews were analyzed qualitatively. Statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA of student test scores pointed to statistically significant differences between pre- and post- and delayed post-test (p < 0.05). A qualitative analysis of the prospective teachers’ explanations in the two-tier questions revealed changes in their ideas overtime. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest that the teaching activities promoted students’ conceptual understanding. No statistically significant differences were found between post-test and delayed post-test scores, suggesting that the teaching activities based on 5E model enabled students to retain their new conceptual understanding.     

Changing Teachers' Thinking Through Critical Constructivism and Critical Action Research

Abstract

This paper studies attempts to change teachers' thinking towards a construc‐tivist perspective within science education. The contexts surrounding the research are important: ideas of critical constructivism, critical action research and the work of Paulo Freire are brought to bear on teacher education in Recife, northeastern Brazil. A professional development course was designed to explore with secondary science teachers some elements of constructivist thinking, and to shape action research projects within their own classrooms. The course design is described, along with some of the responses of the participants both during and after they undertook their projects within their secondary schools. The responses highlight the tensions of trying to innovate with ‘non‐traditional methods’ within traditional situations, the advantages and drawbacks of ‘freeing up’ classroom discussion and authoritative teaching.     

How do university teachers’ values and beliefs affect their teaching?

Abstract

This study investigated university teachers’ characteristics and their influence on teaching practices: Coming from expectancy-value theory, teachers’ personal value of teaching was introduced as a possibly relevant variable and examined along with constructivist and transmissive teaching beliefs as to how they affect various aspects of university teaching. The sample consisted of 79 university teachers, whose data were combined with the teaching assessment of 2552 students enrolled in their courses and of external observers. Multiple regression analyses showed that value of teaching affected observed structuring, student active involvement, and rapport. Transmissive beliefs impacted the observed quality of instruction, and constructivist beliefs were positively related to student-reported clarity of instruction, the stimulation of student involvement, and rapport. Notably, the predictors displayed a data source specific result pattern. As potential reasons for the link between student-reported variables and constructivist beliefs a general factor in the students’ assessment and a survivor bias associated with teachers’ constructivist beliefs are discussed.     

Instructional approaches: differences between kindergarten and primary school teachers

The article discusses kindergarten and primary school teachers’ preferences for instructional approaches and teaching practices. One hundred and thirty‐three teachers from Estonia completed questionnaires. The results showed that the promotion of students’ comprehension and independence, enhancing practical application and individualisation of instruction are highlighted by kindergarten as well as primary school teachers. The major difference between kindergarten and primary school teachers is in the usage of rote learning practices. Using a person‐oriented approach to data analysis, kindergarten teachers’ instructional patterns were shown to be similar to constructivist approaches, and primary school teachers’ patterns similar to traditional and constructivist approaches.     

Effects of a Pre‐service Teacher Preparation Programme on Effective Instruction

A quasi‐experimental, treatment‐control group investigation was designed to test the effects of a pre‐service training course on effective instruction. Research findings from teacher effects research and cognitive strategy instruction were translated into two direct instructional models: one model for explicit or well‐structured skills and one model for implicit skills or higher‐level thinking strategies. Following a course on effective instruction from their teacher educators, student teachers implemented standardised lessons to apply selected research‐derived teaching behaviours and to increase pupil engagement rates. Based on trained observers’ pre‐and post‐training classroom observations, a significant treatment effect was found for student teachers’ teaching behaviours regarding effective instruction and for pupil engagement rates. Ratings from supervising teachers also showed that the student teachers who participated in the course on effective instruction used the recommended instructional skills after completion of the course significantly better than prior to the course.     

The impact of instruction in enhancing teachers’ knowledge of teaching mathematics in some Lesotho primary schools

The quality of mathematics teaching in Lesotho primary education remains one of the vexing problems in the education system. The study investigated how teachers viewed the impact of instruction on enhancing their knowledge of teaching. Data for the study were elicited from the second-year students enrolled for a Bachelor of Education in the 2009/10 academic year at the National University of Lesotho. Questionnaires and interviews were used for data collection. The findings show that before instruction, the teachers operated with limited knowledge of teaching. At the end of the course the teachers’ knowledge of teaching was enhanced. Significant change was apportioned to engaging in reflection and teaching for relational understanding. Implications of the findings for the course, teacher education and professional development are also discussed.     

Differentiated instruction: Hong Kong prospective teachers’ teaching efficacy and beliefs

Catering for learner diversity is one of the key areas in the recent educational reform in Hong Kong. Pre-service teacher education acts as a fundamental way to equip pre-service teachers ready for accommodating diverse learning needs and to build up pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy. The purpose of the study is to examine prospective teachers’ teaching beliefs toward differentiated instruction and teaching efficacy. Using a sequential mixed methods design that contains a questionnaire, focus group interviews, and individual interviews, prospective teachers undertaking a 13-session course regarding differentiated instruction as offered by a local university in Hong Kong participated in the study from January to April 2013. Changes in teaching beliefs regarding differentiated instruction as well as teaching efficacy levels were found. More positive attitudes toward differentiated teaching were found; however, there existed different concerns including class management and conflicts with personal teaching beliefs. These concerns may be related to practical experiences and confidence as well as expectations upon students. Implications for future course development and research are discussed at the end of the paper.     

Technology Integration in a Science Classroom: Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions

The challenge of preparing students for the information age has prompted administrators to increase technology in the public schools. Yet despite the increased availability of technology in schools, few teachers are integrating technology for instructional purposes. Preservice teachers must be equipped with adequate content knowledge of technology to create an advantageous learning experience in science classrooms. To understand preservice teachers’ conceptions of technology integration, this research study explored 15 elementary science methods students’ definitions of technology and their attitudes toward incorporating technology into their teaching. The phenomenological study took place in a science methods course that was based on a constructivist approach to teaching and learning science through science activities and class discussions, with an emphasis on a teacher beliefs framework. Data were collected throughout the semester, including an open-ended pre/post-technology integration survey, lesson plans, and reflections on activities conducted throughout the course. Through a qualitative analysis, we identified improvements in students’ technology definitions, increased technology incorporation into science lesson plans, and favorable attitudes toward technology integration in science teaching after instruction. This research project demonstrates that positive changes in beliefs and behaviors relating to technology integration in science instruction among preservice teachers are possible through explicit instruction.     

Use of digital video technology in an elementary school foreign language methods course

This article presents a case study of the use of digital video technology with a new pedagogical approach under a constructivist framework in an elementary school foreign language methods course. Data were collected through interviews with the methods course instructor, field notes, analytical notes from videotaped student presentations of their learning from the video clips, students’ mid‐semester evaluation of the use of video clips, and end‐of‐semester student reflections on open‐ended questions regarding the use of video clips. A careful examination of the data identified themes that illustrate the characteristics of the use of digital video technology under a constructivist framework. Those themes include the flexibility and capability of digital video technology, the development of the video clips, students’ ownership of knowledge, feedback from the students, and evaluation of the use of video clips. This case reports the vision of technology integration being realized. It results from the presence of technology, the instructor's pedagogical knowledge, and his or her content expertise.     

论高职院校经济数学课程教学的改革与思考

通过对目前高职院校经济数学的教学现状、高职院校经济数学课程教学改革的必要性进行深入分析,并结合个人教学实践,提出了经济数学课程改革的具体思路,使高职院校经济数学的教学更能适应素质拓展的要求,不断提高高职学生经济数学的应用能力和创新能力.     

Reading Science Text: Challenges for Students with Learning Disabilities and Considerations for Teachers

In science classes, teachers must consider the need for explicit, systematic reading instruction for students with learning disabilities (LD) while navigating the constructivist and activity‐oriented methods typically employed in science instruction. The complexity of scientific information conveyed through print may make reading science texts the greatest challenge that students with LD encounter in school. Fortunately, researchers have established that, by fostering students’ prior knowledge, providing text enhancements, and teaching reading comprehension strategies, students’ understanding of science text is improved. Effective instructional approaches and strategies for reading are reviewed and implications for teaching students with LD noted.