Addresses the problem of psychotherapy coming to understand itself formally as a conversation in which healing of distortions and breakdowns in communication occurs. The paper proposes making concepts the basis for the psychotherapy conversation by linking psychotherapy to second-order cybernetics and utilizing Pask’s conversation theory. The first part describes cybernetics as the context for the study of the distortions and breakdowns in communication. The second part discusses conversation theory as a formal description of the procedures of psychotherapy, as a way to converse in psychotherapy, as a way to talk about psychotherapy and as a way to change the conversation of psychotherapy. The final part discusses four distinctive characteristics of the evolving conversation of psychotherapy where psychotherapy composes itself as a conversation. These characteristics are what psychotherapy is (its definition), what it is about (its object), how it proceeds (its methods), and what it is for (its value).

Key words: cybernetics, epistemology, psychotherapy, communications, interaction, language.

A transcendental interpretation of decoherence theories is presented, as a middle way between the realist and empiricist interpretations. From a transcendental standpoint, the latter interpretations are both biased. The realist one is biased in favor of formal constructs taken as descriptive of a reality more real than phenomena; and the empiricist one is biased in favor of phenomena, thus forgetting that they acquire their meaning from the formalism in which they are embedded. By contrast with these two positions, transcendental epistemology sees decoherence as one step in a stratified process of constitution of objectivity adapted to microphysical phenomena.

The aim of this paper is to detail a recent paradigm shift in the field of cognitive science (the so-called embodied or enactive approach to cognition) and to demonstrate how its unique approach to understanding life, the mind, and cognition might facilitate peaceful and compassionate coexistence. The paper is divided into three parts: first, it examines the so-called autopoietic theory of life, as proposed by Maturana and Varela. According to the embodied/enactive approach, there is a deep continuity between the structure of life and the structure of the mind, so before delving into the realm of the mental, it is important to acquaint ourselves with the fundamentals of the so-called bio-logic (the dialectical logic of living systems). Second, having elucidated the general anatomy of life, this paper goes on to discuss how the dialectical principles of bio-logic translate to the dialectical principles of neuro-logic and provides an outline of the fundamental nature of human beings as embodied organisms embedded in their environment. Third, drawing on the idea of co-determination of self and the world, which lies at the heart of bioand neuro-logic, it is argued that the dialectical structure of life and mind manifests itself in empathic openness towards the other and is thus not merely a theoretical postulate, but an experiential (realizable) actuality that can be cultivated through the application of various meditative/contemplative and therapeutic practices. This, as it turns out, is of utmost importance for the possibility of a sustained (auto)poiesis of peace, for it is only when one actually lives (en-acts), and not merely thinks, the co-determination (nondistinction) between one-self and the other that peaceful coexistence (genuine inter-being) can arise and propagate.

Key words: autopoiesis, embodiment, enactivism, non-duality, empathy, compassion, Buddhism, mysticism, psychotherapy

The primary purpose of this chapter is to clarify the basic tenets of activity theory and constructivism, and to compare and contras instructional approaches developed within these global theoretical perspectives. This issue is worthy of discussion in that research and development programs derived from these two perspectives are both vigorous. For example, the work of sociocultural theorists conducted within the activity theory tradition has become increasingly influential in the United States in recent years. One paradigmatic group of studies conducted by Lave (1988), Newman, Griffin, and Cole (1089). and Scribner (1984) has related arithmetical computation to more encompassing social activities such as shopping in a supermarket, packing crates in a dairy, and completing worksheets in school. Taken together, these analyses demonstrate powerfully the need to consider broader social and cultural processes when accounting for children’s development of mathematic cal competeuce.

Key words: mathematics education, activity theory, mathematical activity, mathematical practice, instructional development.

Within the context of mathematics education, the current view of evaluation is open to criticism first, in terms of the rather behavioristic classification of the learning outcomes it identifies, and second, with regards to the prevalent mode of obtaining information, the written test. A constructivist approach affects our perspective of both the learner’s and the teacher’s role in a didactical situation, and also that of the subject matter’. In such s perspective, the need for formative evaluation becomes crucial since in order to follow the student’s thinking, the teacher requires feedback from him. To this effect, we have developed a new tool, the mini-interview. This paper describes an experiment investigating the problems involved in training teachers in the use of this tool for formative purposes.

A large number of students enter college each year not knowing basic mathematical concepts such as fractions, decimals and percents. Although many students take mathematics for twelve years in elementary school, junior high school and high school they lack the fundamental processes necessary to be successful in college level mathematics courses. In this paper a teaching model is outlined that will benefit those students in the learning of mathematics and mathematical processes. This model is based on the tenets of constructivism as put forth by von Glasersfeld (1983).

A current hypothesis among many mathematics educators is that it is helpful, and perhaps necessary, for students to be able to represent mathematical ideas in several equivalent ways. This sentiment is embodied in Dienes’ Multiple Embodiment Principle. From a constructivist perspective, if manipulatives are effective, it is due to the their constraints on students actions and thereby the greater number of occasions where students are prompted to reflect on their understanding in relation to their goals. This study investigated the hypothesis that the more pronounced in students’ experience is the constraining nature of a notational system, the more likely they are to conceive of notational algorithms as deriving from adaptations to the system’s constraints.

Excerpt: Call for reform in our nation’s education system typically shifts public and legislative focus to student achievement and teacher productivity, with reform efforts driven by the popular paradigm of tightening curricula and increasing standards of expectation and measurement in K-12 schools (Clark & Austuto, 1994). What Clark and Austuto (1994) overlooked in this paradigm is the impact that pedagogy and building effective relationships between teachers and students might have on elevating student motivation and success. Perhaps we need look beyond K-12 programs and into the classrooms of university teacher education programs to discover a better focal point for educational reform.

Excerpt: I believe that input from a wide community of constructivist scholars and teachers will profoundly improve biology education by developing future biologists and biology teachers who have a much better understanding of scientific investigation through their own development and use of investigative software, laboratory, and field activities. This community of teachers and scholars should have biologists of many varieties, researchers in science education and educational technology, computer scientists, and philosophers of science. Based on my commitment to transforming the nature and quality of science education, I believe that exploratory environments on microcomputers will empower many co-learners (teachers and students) primarily by conflating these two previously polar roles. Computer exploratoriums are not a panacea (in particular, this approach alone can do little to change who per se it is that does science), but they can provide an environment in which students can have ample opportunity to develop their confidence and competence in problem posing, long-term inference making, and contextualized problem solving through experiential and collaborative learning. ||