Education

Professional scientific practice focuses on the production of discoveries about the physical world. Traditional perspectives depict this process as a matter of the diligence and skill of scientists in knowing where and how to observe to uncover the secrets of nature. More contemporary views, however, cast knowledge production as a process of invention in which the scientific community ultimately determines whether and what is “discovered.” This is a cultural view; that is, it represents scientific practice as thought and activity patterned in particular ways through the social processes of interaction within a community drawn together by shared values and beliefs. If our current desire is that science instruction provide students with opportunities to learn in ways that mirror the activity of actual scientific communities, which underlies the national standard of inquiry-based science teaching, then contemporary views of the nature of science suggest that we need to think in fundamentally different ways about science instruction.

Computer-based technology is increasingly becoming available for students at all grade levels in schools, and its promise and power as a learning tool is being extolled by many. From a constructive perspective, if individuals actively construct meaning from their experiences, then simply having particular tools to work with via a computer doesn't ensure that desired learning will result. Thus, it is important to examine how students construct meaning while using such tools. This study examined what fourth grade students learned from the use of two computer-based tools intended to help them understand sound and music: software that emulated an oscilloscope and allowed students to view sound waves from audio input; and software that turned the computer into an electronic keyboard, which provided students with standard pitches for comparison purposes. Principles of selective attention and pior knowledge and experiences—foundational ideas of a constructivist epistemology—were useful in understanding learning outcomes from inquiry with these tools. Our findings provide critical information for future instruction with the goal of supporting learning about sound and music from such tools. They also indicate the need for more studies examining learning from computer-based tools in specific contexts, to advance our understanding of how teachers can mediate student activity with computer-based tools to support the development of conceptual understanding.

Computer-based technology is increasingly becoming available for students at all grade levels in schools, and its promise and power as a learning tool is being extolled by many. From a constructive perspective, if individuals actively construct meaning from their experiences, then simply having particular tools to work with via a computer doesn't ensure that desired learning will result. Thus, it is important to examine how students construct meaning while using such tools. This study examined what fourth grade students learned from the use of two computer-based tools intended to help them understand sound and music: software that emulated an oscilloscope and allowed students to view sound waves from audio input; and software that turned the computer into an electronic keyboard, which provided students with standard pitches for comparison purposes. Principles ofselective attention andpior knowledge and experiences—foundational ideas of a constructivist epistemology—were useful in understanding learning outcomes from inquiry with these tools. Our findings provide critical information for future instruction with the goal of supporting learning about sound and music from such tools. They also indicate the need for more studies examining learning from computer-based tools in specific contexts, to advance our understanding of how teachers can mediate student activity with computer-based tools to support the development of conceptual understanding.

A study involving upper elementary school students (n=30) was conducted to examine conceptual change and constructivism. It is argued that a constructivist view of learning is antithetical to a vision of conceptual change in which teachers act in a diagnostic and remediate manner to help students rid themselves of their inaccurate ideas. It further asserts that this vision, which has been premised on the results of studies which depict students' ideas as highly resistant to change and interfering with the construction of accepted scientific knowledge, stems from methodologically flawed work from a constructivist perspective. This study presents the methodology and findings used to refute the notion that students' ideas are highly resistant to change. Also discussed are the implications of the results with respect to: (1) characterizing knowledge construction; and (2) conducting research on student learning within a constructivist framework. (ZWH)