This paper is a report of a study conducted with preservice elementary teachers at the University of Wyoming during the summer of 1993. The study had two purposes: (1) to observe the effectiveness of using a constructivist approach in teaching mathematics to preservice elementary teachers, and (2) to focus on teaching probability using a constructivist approach. The study was conducted by one instructor in one class, The Theory of Arithmetic II, a required mathematics class for preservice elementary teachers.

Key words: educational methods, teacher education, concept formation, constructivist teaching, preservice teacher education, problem solving, classroom techniques, mathematical concepts, teacher education programs

In the past decade, there have been ample interests in the assessment of cognitive and affective processes and products for the purposes of meaningful learning. Meaningful measurement has been proposed which is in accordance with a humanistic constructivist information-processing perspective. Students’ responses to the assessment tasks are evaluated according to an item response measurement model, together with a hypothesized model detailing the progressive forms of knowing/competence under examination. There is a possibility of incorporating student errors and alternative frameworks into these evaluation procedures. Meaningful measurement drives us to examine the composite concepts of “ability” and “difficulty.” Under the rubric of meaningful measurement, validity assessment (i.e. internal and external validities) is essentially the same as an inquiry into the meanings afforded by the measurements. Reliability, measured in terms of standard errors of measurement, is guaranteed within acceptable limits if testing validity is secured. Further evidences of validity may be provided by indepth analyses of how “epistemic subjects” of different levels of competence and proficiency engage in different types of assessment tasks, where affective and metacognitive behaviors may be examined as well. These ways of undertaking MM can be codified by proposing a three-level conceptualization of MM, where reliability and validity are central issues for an explication of this conceptualization.

Key words: testing, philosophy, educational methods, constructivism, humanism, construct validity, scaling, cognitive processes, problem solving

The idea that the student participates actively in the development of his knowledge is certainly not new. In the past fifty years, Piaget, Bruner, Wallon, Kelly, Gagné, Ausubel, Novak have in turn developed this theme. It is true that this idea was already found with a certain constancy in the pedagogical literature since the Renaissance. Montaigne, Rabelais, Rousseau, Fénelon, Kant, and then Cramaussel, Claparède, Montessori, Decroly, Ferrière, Dewey, Freinet had already emphasized the importance of the child and of its methods of learning, without however giving themselves the actual means to know these methods better. The work on the conceptions of the learners goes however much further when it comes to the mechanisms in play in the act of learning. It renews the question of cognitive learning. I t refutes certain well-established ideas of contemporary psychology, notably showing certain limits of constructivism. Since then, scientific education could no longer target the acquisition of knowledge (contents and modes of reasoning) without concerning itself with the field of significance of that knowledge to the learner. By the same token, it could no longer evade the frameworks and the referential practices which conditioned these acquisitions and their ulterior mobilization. In this context, new models have been produced, for example the allosteric learning model, which we have corroborated in classrooms. As well as providing some insights into the functioning of thought, it puts the accent particularly on a environment which facilitates the learning.

Excerpt: It is argued that laboratory experiences may be a worthwhile or essential aspect of science education, but the literature relating to research in this area does not always support these assumptions. While the laboratory may have value for nurturing positive student attitudes and for providing opportunities for students of all abilities to demonstrate skills and techniques (Bates, 1978), it appears that students fare no better with a laboratory experience than without one in developing understanding of chemistry (Novak, 1984)

Key words: educational methods, philosophy, research methodology, instructional design, classroom techniques, concept formation, constructivism, control groups, qualitative research

The subject “energy of chemical reactions” has been referred/reported as a theme in which the students demonstrate several difficulties of an adequate understanding (Johnstone, 1980; Finley, Stewart and Yarroch, 1982; Granville, 1985; Lawrenz, 1987; Shaibu, 1988). Some alternative conceptions in this area have been identified and are discribed (Cachapuz and Martins, 1987; Martins, 1989). For example, high school students may think that in some chemical reactions one of the reactants may play a more important role than the other(s), the so called “principal reactant” (PR) (Cachapuz and Martins, 1988). The idea of “principal reactant” is probably a specific case of a more general difficulty on the part of students in perceiving a chemical system in its entirety and it may be considered as a contemporary version of the duality between the sulphur and mercury principles used by 13th century Alchemists to explain natural phenomena. As referred by historians of science (Caron and Hutin, 1964) the sulphur principle would explain the active and warm properties of materials (hence the idea of “principal reactant”) whereas the mercury principle would explain passive and cold attributes.

Key words: concept formation, teacher education, philosophy, concept formation, misconceptions, concept teaching, teaching for conceptual change, constructivist teaching, constructivism

In September 1991 on the Pedagogical Faculty in Ljubljana, Slovenia, a Tempus project with the title Primary Science Development has begun in which preservice and in-service education of primary teachers is being developed with the help of three institutions: Centre for Educational Studies, King’s College, London, England; National Institute for Curriculum Development SLO, Enschede, Netherland; and Department for Didactics of Physics, Karlsruhe University, Germany. For in-service training, a 20-day course is being prepared by science teachers of the Pedagogical Faculty and advisers of the Board of Education which constitute the Tempus working group in Ljubljana.

During the past decade ‘Constructivism’ or one of its many variants has become the dominant ideology in science and mathematics education. A casual, disinterested observer might be shocked at the rate at which this school of thought has permeated research communities across the globe and at the grip that it holds on their work. In this paper, I wish to concentrate on the notion of Constructivism prevalent in science education as defined by the the Generative model of learning (Osborne and Wittrock 1985), Driver’s (1985) account of a constructivist approach to curriculum development and White’s (1988) position on the learning of science.

Key words: philosophy, educational methods, concept formation, epistemology, realism, learning motivations, cognitive style, curriculum design

This paper reflects on the implications of a five year programme of research and development with non-specialist teachers of science in primary (elementary) classrooms in England. Within a constructivist framework defined by University-based researchers, groups of teachers explored the viability of a range of methods of eliciting children’s ideas prior to helping children to develop their thinking in the direction of conventional scientific understanding. This research led to the development of curriculum materials, (Nuffield Primary Science) generated in a similar manner, with groups of teachers operating under normal classroom conditions. The outcomes and implications of this programme of research and curriculum development are described and critically discussed. Particular reference is made to the needs of teachers wishing to operate within a constructivist orientation, bearing in mind the constraints of normal classroom conditions.

Key words: philosophy, educational methods, concept formation, epistemology, realism, learning motivations, cognitive style, curriculum design.

The implications of constructivist epistemology and conceptual-change ideas have received less attention in teacher education than in the case of teaching science to pupils. However, some paradoxes mentioned in the literature apply to teacher education in special ways: 1. Even if we accept the validity of a constructivist epistemology, does that imply a specific teaching strategy? 2. If we say we want learners to construct their knowledge, but we define success according to whether they change their conceptions in a certain direction, are we trying to have it both ways? These questions have two layers of meanings in the context of teacher education: what to “tell” teachers about instruction, and how to “tell” them. Teachers continually construct their views of the nature of learning and teaching science. These views are major determinants of how they carry out their teaching functions. How the informal and formal experiences of teacher education influence thses views in an important issue.

Key words: teacher education, concept formation, educational methods, constructivist teaching, cognitive restructuring, constructivism, inservice teacher education, preservice teacher education, emppowering students

FOCIS is a recently-completed five-year project to develop a program that integrates science instructional planning and teacher enhancement. Separate modules of videotaped and printed materials have been developed (1) for use by science methods instructors in college-based courses for teachers and teacher candidates and (2) for inservice teachers and their local curriculum coordinators or workshop leaders in school district-based programs for teacher enhancement and curriculum design. The underlying FOCIS intention is to help teachers approach their curriculum planning and teaching in ways that restructure their own understanding, as well as their students’ understanding, of the science topic. From a constructivist perspective, the primary planning strategy employs studying the structure and evolution of students’ ideas on the science topic – with assistance from a science consultant who has expertise on the topic and from a “learning activity” consultant who has experience and expertise on teaching the topic by means of activities that help to challenge and refine students’ ideas in the direction of scientists’ ideas on the topic. Concept mapping and associated interviews constitute the main FOCIS strategies for studying student ideas. The primary FOCIS teaching strategy employs accessing, analyzing, and challenging student ideas. The paper emphasizes the nature and use of the FOCIS videotape/print modules for teachers (and teacher candidates) and their “science methods” instructors and for in-service teachers and their in-service leaders.

Key words: teacher education, philosophy, concept formation, constructivism, scientific concepts, concept mapping, constructivist teaching, inservice teacher education, methods courses