Showing papers on "Meaningful learning published in 1999"

Revitalizing instruction in scientific genres: Connecting knowledge production with writing to learn in science

Abstract: This article explores the history and theoretical paradigms associated with writing to learn in science, including the debate surrounding the teaching of traditional scientific genres that has received attention in Australia and the United Kingdom. It is asserted that unique features of writing in traditional scientific genres, such as experiment, explanation, and report, promote reflection and the production of new knowledge, espe- cially through the formation of meaningful inferences for data. The author presents sample data illustrating the potential for meaningful learning associated with writing in commu- nicative genres, considers the limited potential of creative writing for developing scientific understandings, and recasts a description of scientific genres in light of contemporary classroom practices. q 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 83:115- 130, 1999.

Investigating a grade 11 student's evolving conceptions of heat and temperature

Abstract: Many students enter physics courses with highly intuitive conceptions of nonobservable phenomena such as heat and temperature. The conceptions of heat and temperature are usually poorly differentiated and heat is often confused with internal energy. This article focuses on one student's cognitive and affective changes which occurred during the Grade 11 topic of heat and temperature. The instruction used an inquiry approach coupled with concept substitution strategies aimed at restructuring alternative conceptions identified using pretests. A constructivist perspective drove both the teaching and research, and Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning augmented the interpretive framework. The qualitative data comprising transcripts of all classroom discussions, student portfolios containing all of each student's written work, and teacher/researcher observations and reflections were collected and interpreted to generate a case study for one student named Ken. Ken's initial conceptual framework was undifferentiated with respect to heat and temperature. The course activities and concomitant use of concept substitution helped him differentiate these concepts and integrate them in a more scientifically acceptable way. A degree of affective and epistemological change was also identified as the course progressed. In-depth examination of the student's prior, formative, and final conceptions showed that during this unit, the student progressively accepted greater responsibility for his learning, was willing to take cognitive risks, and became more critical and rigorous in both written and verbal problem solving. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 55–87, 1999.

Integrating Technology for Meaningful Learning.

Abstract: Textbook details: Integrating Technology for Meaningful Learning, Second Edition Grabe, Mark (Professor and Head, Department of Psychology, University of North Dakota and Grabe, Cindy (Technology Facilitator, Grand Forks Schools, North Dakota) 1998, Houghton Mifflin Company, 222 Berkley Street, Boston, MA 02116 USA (ISBN 0 395 87136 0) Pages, 451; parts, 3; chapters, 11; glossary; references; chapter summaries; and graphics.

Does Computer Technology Improve Student Learning and Achievement? How, When, and under What Conditions?

Abstract: There have been widespread claims that technology can make learning easier, more efficient, and more motivating. This article argues that ease and efficiency should not be the leading criteria for advocating and implementing computer technology in schools. The authors assert that to produce more meaningful learning, computer technologies need to be designed according to sound learning theories and pedagogy. When administrators, teachers, and parents understand that different computer technologies serve and augment different learning experiences, they can make informed judgments about which technologies are best suited to enhance student learning and achievement.

Learning Through Children's Eyes: Social Constructivism and the Desire to Learn

Abstract: Understanding Social Constructivism as a Basis for Meaningful Learning and Intrinsic Motivation Accessing Students' Thinking and Deepening Understanding of Social Constructivism Envisioning Classroom Practices that Flow from a Social Constructivist Stance Considering Possibilities and Challenges of Seeing Learning Through Students' Eyes. Appendices: Sample Consent Form for Children's Thinking Project Peer Review Checklist for Children's Thinking Project.

Biotechnologies as a context for enhancing junior high-school students' ability to ask meaningful questions about abstract biological processes

Abstract: Junior high-school (seventh-ninth grade, 13-15 years of age) students are expected to acquire some knowledge of 'abstract' biological processes that take place in the cells of living organisms. The concepts used to describe and explain them are usually drawn from the domain of biochemistry, which is esoteric to ninth graders. Based on the idea of showing the processes in action, a new approach is suggested in this study: the outcomes of many biotechnologies, and the intervention of the scientists, which brought out the outcomes, can be demonstrated at the 'macro' level (production of foods, medicines, etc.), or at last in ways which are understandable to 14- to 15-year-old students. Between the intervention and the outcomes, there is a 'black box' (the biochemical process), which will become the focus of the students' questioning. The development of students' ability to ask meaningful questions about intra-cellular processes, and the resulting meaningful learning of relevant biological concepts will be ou...

Perils on an Essential Journey: Building School Community.

Abstract: In a caring school community, students can experience a developmentally appropriate version of the just and caring society we hope they will create a generation hence. But this essential opportunity will be lost to them unless we get serious about education for citizenship as well as for competence. STUDENTS' experience of school as a community as a place where they belong and their voices are heard is not just an amenity. Research suggests that students' academic motivation, commitment to democratic values, and resistance to problem behaviors all depend on their experience of the school as a community.1 But even as evidence on the benefits of school community mounts, our work with elementary schools seeking to build community (as part of the Child Development Project) reveals several perils. Here we discuss both the power and the pitfalls of building students' sense of community in school. What Do We Mean by Sense of Community? The Child Development Project (CDP) is a comprehensive, whole-school improvement program that the Developmental Studies Center has developed and evaluated over nearly two decades, in collaboration with selected elementary schools across the United States. CDP seeks to foster children's cognitive, ethical, and social growth in a systematic, integrated way, by helping schools to provide all students with engaging, challenging learning opportunities and to create a strong sense of community among students, teachers, and parents. CDP defines "sense of community" as the student's experience of being a valued, influential member of a group committed to everyone's growth and welfare.2 In assessing CDP's effects, we periodically measure students' sense of community in the classroom and in the school at large, using a questionnaire that asks them to agree or disagree with statements such as "People care about each other in this school"; "I feel I can talk to the teachers in this school about things that are bothering me"; "My classmates care about my work just as much as about their own"; and "My school is like a family." Our research shows that increases in sense of community are causally linked to students' later development of * intrinsic academic motivation, * concern for others, * democratic values, * skill and inclination to resolve conflicts equitably, * altruistic behavior, * intrinsic prosocial motivation, * enjoyment of helping others learn, * inclusive attitudes toward outgroups, and * positive interpersonal behavior in class. Why does sense of community benefit students in these ways? Motivational researchers believe that autonomy, belonging, and a sense of competence are basic human needs.3 A school high in sense of community helps students meet all three needs by giving students a "say" in shaping their environment, enabling them to make positive connections with peers and adults, and offering them opportunities to contribute to the school and to engage in meaningful learning. In turn, because school meets their needs, students come to care about school and to take its values seriously. Like a good family, a school with a strong sense of community forges affective bonds that are essential to students' motivation, character, and citizenship. What practices help create a caring community in the classroom? Our studies suggest the importance of the routine use of: * activities that help students and teachers get to know one another as people and build a sense of "unity"; * class meetings in which children help shape classroom norms and practices, plan future activities, and solve problems that arise; * collaborative learning that emphasizes respectful, helpful treatment of fellow students as well as challenging academics; * disciplinary approaches that play to students' desire to do what is right, rather than that rely primarily on rewards and sanctions; and * thoughtful discussion of the ethical issues at the heart of literature, history, and other academic subjects. …

Impact of the problem-based learning curriculum on the learning styles and strategies of medical students at the University of Transkei.

Abstract: Objectives . This is a longitudinal cohort study of the learning styles and strategies of medical students in a problem-based, community-based curriculum as they progressed through tpe medical course. The purpose was to monitor and evaluate· whether the programme was fulfilling the objective of producing self-directed and lifelong learners. Methods . The short version of the Lancaster Inventory of Learning Styles was administered to the stu9-ents on admission and thereafter on a yearly basis through the first 4 years of the medical course. Data were fed onto a database and subsequently analysed using a commercially available statistical package. Results . 140 students (falling to 106 by year 4) were interviewed and followed up through the study period. Of . the students 75% were black and 25% were of Asian descent. On admission the students had high scores for individual achievement motivation, and for meaningful learning. They had moderate scores for reproducing learning, comprehension learning, operation learning and versatile learning. They had low scores for learning pathologies, especially globetrotting and improvidence. There was no sexual difference in learning styles. Asian students had significantly higher scores for meaningful learning and for versatile learning. The effect of the problem-based curriculum was to reduce the score for individual achievement, decrease the score for fear of examinations, increase the score for operation learning, increase the score for versatile learning, increase the score for syllabus boundness, and decrease the scores for learning pathologies, especially for improvidence and globetrotting.. By year 4, there was similarity in the learning styles of black and Asian students; Conclusion . The problem-based curriculum had a positive effect on the learning styles of the students, especially the black students.

Promoting Argumentation in Middle School Science Classrooms: A Project SEPIA Evaluation.

Abstract: Effective argumentation is the distinguishing feature of a classroom that employs discovery teaching and student inquiry methodologies. In the long term, the objective of the program is to understand how to design learning environments and curriculum, instruction, and assessment models that promote student self-reflection. The study evaluates the effectiveness of the Science Education through Portfolio Instruction and Assessment (SEPIA) curriculum-instruction-assessment learning environment design features in developing learners' abilities to reason about and evaluate scientific claims. (Contains 38 references.) (YDS) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Promoting Argumentation in Middle School Science Classrooms: hup://www.educ.sfu.ca/narstsite/conference/duschletal/duschletal.html 1 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY R. Dusch I Promoting Argumentation in Middle School Science Classrooms: A Project SEPIA Evaluation Richard A. Duschl, Kirsten Ellenbogen, Sibel Erduran Department of Teaching & Learning Peabody College-Vanderbilt University Introduction TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1 of 18 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. 1:1 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. A trend in science education is the move away from the implementation of lessons that seek outcomes related exclusively or predominately to students1 concept learning. While the traditional alternative for concept learning has been process learning, newer ideas and beliefs in cognitive and social psychology speak to the importance of instructional sequences/units that seek outcomes related to students1 reasoning and communication in science contexts. Recognizing that science education is more than concept learning, forward thinking policies and recommendations are advocating learning how to do science and learning about the nature of doing science (Hodson, 1992; NSES, 1996). In the United Kingdom, the policy recommendations in the government document Beyond 2000 are to format science instruction such that goals relating to a public understanding of science are addressed and not squelched by concept learning. Research on learning and the implications it has for the design of learning environments (Glaser, 1994) strongly suggests that concept learning take place in a context that also supports the development of tools, criteria, standards, and rules students can use to investigate, represent, communicate, assess, and evaluate knowledge claims. Peter Fensham (1988) has made a similar argument to shift the focus of science education in his historical review of 20th century science education curriculum development. His position is that the almost exclusive emphasis on the conceptual goals of science has depleted science education of its cultural and social contexts. The language of science is not exclusively the enunciation of terms and concepts, facts and laws, principles and hypotheses. The language of science, owing to the restructuring character of scientific claims about method, goals, and explanations, a character firmly established in the history, philosophy and sociology of science (Duschl, 1994; Duschl & Hamilton, 1997; Hodson, 1985), is a discourse that critically examines and evaluates the numerous and at times iterative transformations of evidence into explanations. Review of the Literature Focusing on the goal of developing studentsf habits of mind that facilitate both an ability to construct scientific knowledge claims as well as to evaluate the claims constructed, researchers (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; Duschl, 1998; Krajcik, et al, 1994; Penner, Lehrer, and Schauble, 1997; Roth, 1995; White & Frederickson, 1998) have begun to focus attention on the need for learners to engage in sustained long term inquiries. Long-term inquires, full inquiries, or as Schwab called them einvitations to inquiry,1 create affordances for several kinds of learning that shorter discrete lesson formats do not. Specifically, the long term inquiries create opportunities for learning to focus on the conceptual, notational, and epistemological dimensions of reasoning and communicating in a knowledge domain (Gardner, 1991). Or, as stated above, concept learning can be situated in a context that also supports the development of language, tools, criteria, standards and rules students can use to investigate, discover, represent, communicate, assess, and evaluate knowledge claims. Hence a concomitant goal for the development of instructional units is to facilitate formative assessment 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 9/6/01 12:15 PM Promoting Argumentation in Middle School Science Classrooms: http://www.educ.sfu.ca/narstsite/conference/duschletal/duschletal.html 2 of 18 opportunities. The ability of teachers and researchers to understand how to move learners along in the development and acquisition of conceptual, notational, and epistemological knowledge is seen as paramount to educational improvements (Black & Wiliam, 1998). The design of science learning environments that support the development of learning science reasoning and appropriation of tools and language for doing science are frequently situated in task environments that require epistemic reasoning. Penner, Lehrer, and Schauble (1997) used models and model building as the epistemic context for coordinating the curriculum, instruction and assessment frameworks on investigations about the structure and function of the elbow. Duschl and Gitomer (1997) in research on portfolio assessment strategies coordinated curriculum, instruction, and assessment frameworks around the construction and evaluation of causal explanations for vessels floating with and without loads. Schauble, Glaser, Duschl, Shultz, and John (1995) report significant changes in studentsi representations of the purposes for experiments employing the same epistemic context of causal explanations for floating vessels. Other research that points to the positive effects of engaging students in metacognitive reasoning in epistemic contexts include White and Frederickson (1998). Here, then, at the level of making decisions about ewhat counts1 is where we want to claim science is properly done and, subsequently, where classroom discourse and assessments should focus. When the goal of instruction is engaging students in scientific inquiry and when the organization of curriculum, instruction, and assessment models provide students with opportunities and encouragement to develop, report, evaluate, revise, and defend choices, as well as provide teachers with opportunities to capture, monitor and assess student ideas, epistemic contexts will soon dominate classroom discourse. In particular, when students are provided opportunities to develop and revise, challenge and defend a scientific claim, our observation is that wide ranging conversations in small groups and in whole class take place, a diverse reporting of ideas occurs in student reports, and, very importantly, a shift in authority from textbook and teacher to evidence and students can be seen (Duschl & Gitomer, 1997; Jimenez-Aleixandre, et al, 1997; Penner et al, 1997; Roth, 1995) . Under such conditions, the role of the teacher becomes one of facilitation and, perhaps more importantly, one of provocateur or discovery teacher. Hammer (1997), studying his own teaching in a physics class, asserts that successful teaching begins with a set of planned observations and ideas but involves unplanned divergences brought about as students engage in meaningful learning. Successful instruction, according to Hammer, is dependent on the teachersi unanticipated perceptions and insights of studentsi needs and meanings. Such curriculum-in-the-making teaching he refers to as ediscovery teaching.1 The design of science learning environments that promote ediscovery teachingi and student inquiries into the status of scientific claims is dependent on the incorporation and sequencing of activities and tasks that engage students in asking and debating ewhat countsi and ewhatfs the next movel The science learning environment ought to provide teachers and students with opportunities for receiving information and providing guidance and feedback on such activities and tasks again, ediscovery teaching.1 The idea of shifting the focus of science education to an assessment of knowledge claims is not a new one. Of particular note, is the work of the Patterns of Enquiry Project (Connelly, Finegold, Clipsham, & Wahlstrom, 1977). Here the emphasis is on developing students habits of mind, on the important role of discussion and argumentation, and on the need for enquiry to engage in an evaluation of knowledge claims. Our hypothesis is that instructional models that emphasize the symbiotic-type relationship between evidence to explanation gives rise to patterns of discourse and reasoning quite different from traditional instructional models that emphasize the relationship between evidence and concept/process learning. Thus, a distinguishing feature of classrooms that employ the kind of instructional units described above will be

Student Learning in the Library: What Library Power Librarians Say

Abstract: Library Power sought to improve student learning opportunities through enhanced use of an improved library media center. Over the course of the initiative, librarians in Library Power schools were asked to describe meaningful learning experiences for a student or students in their libraries and to explain what made them good learning experiences. The librarians' responses were analyzed for the quality of the learning experience described and for the kinds of indicators cited as evidence of learning. Focused case studies observed how the school library media centers in selected schools provided improved learning opportunities for students. The National Library Power Program, funded by the DeWitt-Wallace Reader's Digest Fund, sought to improve opportunities for student learning by providing funding for library resources in elementary and middle schools in 19 communities across the United States. Although contributions to all of the schools were similar, some schools had more success than others in providing student learning opportunities. Although improved resources made an important contribution in all of the schools, other factors were at work that affected student learning in the libraries. Where Library Power seems to have had the most significant influence on student learning is in those schools where it has been tied to other reform efforts that were moving the climate in the school to a more constructivist approach to learning, centering on inquiry in the research process. An Inquiry Approach to Learning The Library Power Program was more effective where there was a commitment to an inquiry approach to learning shared by the librarian, teachers, and administrators. An inquiry approach involves students in the process of learning from a variety of sources of information that begins with students developing their own questions (Harste, 1994). Students are guided through inquiry by asking: What questions do I have? How do I find out? What did I learn? Inquiry learning takes students out of the predigested format of the textbook into the use of a variety of resources for constructing their own understandings. They learn to think through issues that do not have prescribed responses or preset solutions. Through a process of construction, each student actively builds on what he or she already knows to come to a new understanding of the subject under study. Collaboration Based on Inquiry Where an inquiry approach to learning is in place, the library is an integral part of the learning process. The inquiry approach requires more than just activities that involve the library. Collaboration between teachers and librarians is a fundamental component of an instructional program based on inquiry. Extensive planning and direction by the teacher is needed to guide students in the learning process with instruction given at the "teachable moment." Through collaborative planning and teaching, opportunities are provided for students to use library resources for constructing a depth of understanding in the content areas of the curriculum. Teachers and librarians are drawn together in a close partnership for developing inquiry as a way to meet the instructional goals of the school (Harste, Callison, & Jurewicz, 1994). Inquiry is not a new idea for school librarians. Learning through a variety of resources has been the basic concept of library programs since the 1960s, with roots of the idea going back to the founding of libraries in schools. In an article on inquiry in libraries, Callison (1986) described how an inquiry approach changes the librarian's role from that of reacting to immediate information demands to that of interacting with teachers and students in the development of learning through the use of the media center resources. Over the past decade, while researchers in education have been building a strong case for an inquiry approach to learning, there has been a parallel stream of research in school libraries on the information search process. …

Information Handling Skills, Cognition and New Technologies

Abstract: Few would dispute the efficacy of multimedia technology and the world wide web in promoting declarative knowledge or the acquisition of facts. It is the argument of this paper however that, apart from assisting a learner in “knowing that”, these technologies are underestimated in their capacity to facilitate intellectual skills—procedural knowledge or “knowing how”. Via examples from children employing information handling skills with a CD-ROM, this paper attempts to illustrate the ways in which new technologies support and enhance a range of skills associated with deep level processing and meaningful learning such as metacognition, problem solving and critical thinking.

Challenges to meaningful learning in African-American females at an urban science high school

Abstract: This case study sought to identify factors that adversely affect meaningful learning in two AfricanAmerican female high school students. Tanisha and Latanya are motivated, confident students in an urban, public half-day school for math and science ('Sci High'). Observations of classrooms at Sci High and their home schools, analysis of learning artifacts, school statistics and student records, clinical interviews with the students and interviews with teachers and administrators provided evidence of a lack of metacognitive awareness and realistic self-appraisal. The emerging themes indicate a cycle of cognitive disengagement that is perpetuated by complex cultural factors that permit cognitive passivity, generic motivation (or confidence-without-competence), and attention to behaviour over learning. It appears that without cognitive engagement, neither intentional, meaningful learning nor metacognitive awareness can develop. The findings are presented in an analogical graphic summary that facilitates discus...

Multicultural Children in the Early Years: Creative Teaching, Meaningful Learning

Abstract: Teachers' perspectives teaching the National Curriculum creative teaching the educational significance of stories bilingual children in transition opportunities for learning children's identities the parents' perspectives.

[Analysis of dental students' knowledge and concepts in oral health: evaluation by concept maps]. Análise do conhecimento e das concepções sobre saúde oral de alunos de odontologia: avaliação por meio de mapas conceituais.

Abstract: This study sought to analyze senior dental students' cognitive structure concerning the topic of "enamel", which is fundamentally important for understanding oral health, since it offers basic scientific concepts for clinical and preventive practices and is the main subject of several courses during dentistry training. The strategy used to analyze students' cognitive structures was Novak's Concept Maps, based on Ausubel's Meaningful Learning theory. Analysis of students' maps allowed for a study of students' cognitive structure and concepts concerning oral health. It also fostered a diagnosis of students' knowledge in several important aspects of scientific and professional training. The results highlighted the need for rethinking the teaching/learning process in dentistry training.

Integrating Science and Language Arts through Technology-based Macrocontexts

Abstract: This paper describes technology as a tool for creating meaningful experiences for integrating science and language arts using technology-based macrocontexts. Videos, virtual reality, and the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) can create macrocontexts for integrating science and language arts. Guidelines for selecting technological resources for integration are presented followed by examples of integrated science and language arts activities. Alternative ways of assessing students' performance in integrated instructional situations are also addressed. By using technology-based macrocontexts to integrate science and language arts, teachers may be able to facilitate meaningful learning and enhance student knowledge and understanding of science and language arts.

Transforming engagement in literacy instruction: The role of student genuine interest and ability

Abstract: In this case study paper, I describe my work with Bill, a first grade boy with dyslexia. My goals were to identify his interests and abilities and create contexts in which these interests and abilities supported his literacy learning. A theoretical foundation that merged current understandings of highly effective pedagogical practices for individuals with dyslexia with Dewey’s (1913) theory of genuine interest within a social-constructivist perspective (Vygotsky 1987, 1993) was utilized. A noticeable improvement in Bill’s willingness to engage in activities of reading, writing, and phonological awareness occurred when he was given a voice in the activities. Within contexts of literacy learning that allowed him to demonstrate his interests and talents, Bill became increasingly engaged in activities surrounding the reading and writing of text. Ultimately, this project was successful in creating a context, for this six-year-old boy with dyslexia, in which meaningful learning took place and motivation was provided for future literacy learning.

Designing an undergraduate laboratory course in general chemistry

Abstract: From an analysis of a learning model based on the theory of information processing four hypothesis were developed for improving the design of laboratory courses. Three of these hypotheses concerned specific procedures to minimise the load on students' working memories (or working spaces) and the fourth hypothesis was concerned with the value of mini-projects in enhancing meaningful learning of the knowledge and skills underpinning the set experiments. A three-year study of a first year undergraduate chemistry laboratory course at a Scottish university has been carried out to test these four hypotheses. This paper reports the results of the study relevant to the three hypotheses about the burden on students' working spaces. It was predicted from the learning model that the load on students working space should be reduced by appropriate changes to the written instructions and the laboratory organisation and by the introduction of prelab-work and prelab-training in laboratory techniques. It was concluded from research conducted over the three years period that all these hypothesised changes were effective both in reducing the load on students' working spaces and in improving their attitudes to the laboratory course.

Las redes conceptuales como instrumento para evaluar el nivel de aprendizaje conceptual de los alumnos

Abstract: Since the first articles concerning Concept Mapping many more have been reported looking for instruments to evaluate the level of student's meaningful learning. In the present work we show that the construction of nuclear sentences for Concept Nets (Galagovsky, 1993a, b, 1996; Galagovsky and Ciliberti, 1994) demands high level of semantic analysis, which seems to help in inducing conceptual change. Results suggest that this type of class experience may help teachers to get complementary information about his/her student's meaningful learning level.

Informing Practice through Collaborative Partnerships

Abstract: This paper focuses on students and their teacher engaging in authentic tasks and materials couched in problem-oriented formats within meaningful learning contexts that foster thinking and learning. Authentic in that students construct meaning from real data and are asked to make sense of the world around them. Students pursue individual paths of inquiry using critical and imaginative thinking, and engage in social and solitary contexts that involve them in writing, intervening, and reflecting on ideas gleaned from conversations and readings (electronic and conventional) with a university educator and NASA science educator. The process engages students in formal skills such as written communication, literacy, logic, and calculation using an innovative electronic interactive network. Evaluations of timed writings, concept maps, and Vee diagrams are presented and discussed. Informing Practice through Collaborative Partnerships This paper details how self-directed case-based research and instruction together with collaborative interactions with teachers, students, scientists, and university educators using metacognitive tools (e.g., concept maps, interactive Vee diagrams, and thematic organizers), and innovative technology promotes meaningful learning in ways that differ from conventional and atypical educational settings. Teachers and researchers mutually define research problems. Students engage in “real-life” self-directed case research. Together, this collaboration informs practice for students, teachers, and researchers. Within this negotiated learning environment educational processes and outcomes are achieved that meet both local and national contexts for achieving meaningful learnercentered science, mathematics, and literacy goals (e.g., American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1989; International Reading Association, 1992; National Science and Technology Council, 1995; Science Council of Canada, 1984; Royal Society, 1985; NASA's Education Program, 1999-2003). Theoretical Framework Gowin's (1981) theory of educating, Ausubel's (1963, 1968) cognitive theory of meaningful reception learning, an emphasis on teachers and students becoming "communities of thinkers" (Alvarez, 1996, 1997a,b,c), and an action research constructivist epistemology provide the philosophical and theoretical background upon which this investigation was designed and through which the results were interpreted. Gowin's theory of educating focuses on the educative event and its related concepts and facts. This theory is helpful in classifying the relevant aspects of the educative event. In an educative event, teachers and learners share meanings and feelings so as to bring about a change in the human experience. This theory stresses the centrality of the learner's experience in educating. In order for meaningful learningto occur in Ausubel's theory three conditions need to be considered: (1) materials need to be concept rich, with clear relationships; (2) the learner needs to have relevant prior knowledge and experience with the concepts and propositions that are presented in the new materials; and, (3) learners need to have a meaningful learning set a disposition to link new concepts, propositions, and examples to prior knowledge and experience (see Novak, 1998). A community of thinkers is defined as an active group of students and teachers striving to learn more about a discipline by engaging in the processes of critical thinking (thinking about thinking in ways to bring about change in one’s experience) and imaginative thinking (exploring future possibilities with existing ideas, Alvarez, 1996, 1997b). The notion presented by this theoretical framework enables both students and practitioners to become better informed and knowledgeable about practices that enhance conceptual learning and meaningful understanding. To better understand how teachers, researchers, and students activate and build upon existing knowledge it is necessary to study the ways schema is activated and new knowledge is constructed. Schema (plural schemata) is a mental construction of an event, object, or an individual characteristic that can be fragmentary, inaccurate, or inconsistent. It is based upon a belief that can be applied to either physical systems or semantic meanings depicted in a text. When reading a text, the text can be seen as a series of acquisition statements within a given topic or subtopic. The notion of schema theory is that a person can comprehend a text when it is congruent with his or her belief system. Educators and researchers have suggested numerous instructional strategies to help students activate and use prior knowledge to aid comprehension. Yet, schema theory does not explain how readers modify and create new schema when presented with novel information in texts. Because texts are never completely explicit, the reader must rely on preexisting schemata to provide plausible interpretations. Yet, there is much evidence that good and poor readers do not always use schemata appropriately or are unaware of whether the information they are reading is consistent with their existing knowledge (e.g., Bartlett, 1932; Bransford, 1985). Also, there is evidence that students who do not spontaneously use schemata as they read will engage them if given explicit instructions prior to reading (e.g., Ausubel, 1960; Bransford, 1985). Action research is a paradigm that is grounded in the reality of classroom culture and under the control of teachers. Findings' emanating from this type of research investigation informs teachers and guides their practice when formulating lessons and conducting future classroom research projects. Action research is defined as the acting on an event, object, problem, or an idea, by an individual or group directly involved in gathering and studying the information for themselves, and using the results for the purpose of addressing specific problems within a classroom, school, program, organization, or community (Alvarez, 1995). Action research is deliberate and results in ownership by the participants. The consequences affect participants personally. The action is the acting on an event, object, problem, or an idea for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating its course and outcomes. Research is a systematic deliberate critical inquiry of an event in order to enlighten one’s thinking, learning, and practice. This setting in motion of a strategy for the systematic study of an event that evolves from an idea or problem is the basis on which these investigations are predicated. In this project, the events that are studied take place in an educational setting and the study is conducted by student and teacher researchers in collaboration with university educators and scientists in the areas of earth and space science. This action research strategy is accomplished through a recursive cycle of (1) identifying an idea problem area, (2) studying it by gathering data, and (3) reflecting on the data in order to make teaching and learning decisions grounded in evidence (see Appendix A Action Research Strategy, Alvarez, 1995). The focus of this action research inquiry centers on the research question: RQ1 “How do metacogntive tools and electronic communications influence practice when studying cases using authentic data in collaborative formats?” Within this realm of inquiry are included the effects of thematic organizers and timed writings and their influence on schema activation and knowledge construction.

Las redes conceptuales como instrumento para evaluar el nivel de aprendizaje conceptual de los alumnos : un ejemplo para el tema de dinámica

Abstract: Since the first articles concerning Concept Mapping many more have been reported looking for instruments to evaluate the level of student's meaningful learning. In the present work we show that the construction of nuclear sentences for Concept Nets (Galagovsky, 1993a, b, 1996; Galagovsky and Ciliberti, 1994) demands high level of semantic analysis, which seems to help in inducing conceptual change. Results suggest that this type of class experience may help teachers to get complementary information about his/her student's meaningful learning level.

Use of Concept Mapping to Define Learning Objectives in a Master of Public Health Program

Abstract: Background: In a newly developed master of public health (MPH) training program, emphasis was put on educational experimentation to enhance meaningful learning. The approach includes the systematic use of concept mapping in the training process. Description: This article describes the technique of concept mapping as an educational tool in the particular setting of a project-based MPH program. Data for the assessment were collected from 30 students enrolled at the University of Geneva between 1990 and 1995. The technique was systematically used by the students to identify learning goals while planning, implementing, and evaluating research or intervention programs. Evaluation: Analysis of the concept maps showed that the technique allowed students to identify learning objectives in the various fields of public health and related to the different professional functions of public health personnel. Perception assessment found that concept mapping was considered a meaningful and effective tool by most students...

Expanding Urban Learning Experiences For Non‐Traditional Students

Abstract: Educating nurses in the motivation and ability to provide appropriate and quality health care to urban inner-city residents with complex and multiple health problems has been a continuing challenge to academic institutions. Recruiting appropriate students and providing meaningful learning experiences is the first of many challenges. Understanding and addressing the many barriers to accessing health services is an important learning outcome. Successful providers with underserved populations have been found to have a strong sense of service to humanity and pride in making a difference and have thrived on the challenges of creatively using limited resources to deal with their patients' complex needs. Establishing a Returned Peace Corps Fellows program and a community health nursing track within the undergraduate program in nursing has provided some successes and additional answers. While studying for a professional degree, the Fellows are placed in a service position to integrate their Peace Corps experiences into new professional learning as it is taking place and to earn a stipend to assist with the cost of their education. This has led to the development of a community health nursing track in the undergraduate program, a combination of required-for credit courses, credit-earning enrichment and independent study experiences, and stipend-earning clinical experiences outside the curriculum.

Development of a meaningful learning environment in theatres.

Abstract: During the 1990s, geographical distancing of clinical areas and nurse education establishments led to breakdowns in communication. This article focuses on how Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust and the University of Central England in Birmingham created a meaningful learning environment for student nurses in the operating theatre using a revised version of Crofts and Taylor's (1996) perioperative placement model. The student evaluation has demonstrated that the quality of placement, teaching and supervision were of a high standard and students felt that their nursing skills had been enriched as a direct result of the placement. This article will also examine the background to student placements in the operating theatre.

Setting the environment for life-long learning: Collaborative and authentic learning practices in primary science teacher education

Abstract: The rapid growth in knowledge over recent times has meant that teachers have to be responsive to new and ever changing demands of society. Science is among those key areas of knowledge that has experienced overwhelming growth and thus developing scientific literacy is a priority if citizens are to participate effectively in society. Failure to develop children’s interest in science will disempower a generation of children in an era when scientific knowledge is at the foundation of our culture. Unfortunately, many primary teachers express a lack of confidence in their ability to teach science with dire consequences for the quality of teaching. This paper reports a study involving a cohort of 161 primary preservice teachers in the third year of a four-year Bachelor of Education course studying science education. An instructional program that addressed five essential dimensions of meaningful learning – the knowledge base, metacognition, motivation, individual differences and context – was implemented. Quantitative and qualitative data obtained through surveys, observations and focus session reviews revealed that a learning environment based on social constructivist perspectives was effective in developing students’ conceptual and pedagogical knowledge, and most importantly enhanced students’ sense of science teaching self-efficacy. Particular initiatives that were identified by students of value were collaborative learning and associated strategies, reflective journal writing, and assignment tasks that adopted principles of problem based learning. While statistically significant gains in science teaching self efficacy (p < .001) were observed overall, qualitative data provided a more detailed analysis of the changes in motivations and goals of individual student teachers. The paper explores how the experiences develop the confidence and will to teach science in primary school and how opportunities were provided that empowered the student teachers to be proactive seekers of knowledge – lifelong learners.

Museums, Adventures, Discovery Activities: Gifted Curriculum Intrinsically Differentiated.

Abstract: This paper discusses how museums, adventure programs, and discovery activities can become an intrinsically differentiated gifted curriculum for gifted learners. Museums and adventure programs are a forum for meaningful learning activities. The contextual characteristics of effectively designed settings for learning activities can, if the activities are constructed appropriately, become the right match or fit for any learner at any level of prior knowledge, any level of ability, and any predominance of participatory model. The last section of the paper describes a variety of examples of learning in museum settings, including the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center and the Whatcom County Children's Museum, and a discovery learning curriculum on the history of civilization for third-graders. Adventure programs for adolescent learners are also highlighted, and include the Galveston Island Adventure, Camp Planet Earth, and the Lummi Summer Science Program. (Contains 55 references.) (CR) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.