Showing papers on "Social constructivism published in 2012"

Sense of Community in Graduate Online Education: Contribution of Learner to Learner Interaction

Abstract: Distance learning technologies offer a multitude of ways to build interaction into online courses to support learning. Based on social constructivism theory, this study explored which types of interaction are most predictive of students’ sense of community in online graduate courses at a regional comprehensive university. Surveys were used to measure sense of community and the frequency and importance of nine learner–learner interactions. Interactions that were most predictive of sense of community were introductions, collaborative group projects, sharing personal experiences, entire class discussions, and exchanging resources. The interaction that offered the highest payoff to instructors was exchanging resources. The article discusses implications for online course design.

Using Wiki in teacher education: Impact on knowledge management processes and student satisfaction

Abstract: The current study reports on the use of Wiki as an online didactic tool to develop knowledge management (KM) processes in higher education. This study integrates social constructivist principles to learning where learners are pro-active and collaborative through higher order cognitive processes. The study was administered in two countries, namely Egypt and Italy, to close a gap in the literature with an aim to introduce KM processes in teacher educational programmes. These processes are seen as necessary for teachers' professional skills. Such processes are claimed to enable teachers and therefore schools to evolve in a networked information-driven global society, especially as the complexity of subject knowledge is increasing. It is also a learning experience where teachers learn how to provide their students with educational settings where technology is enabled. Throughout the study, 27 Egyptian students and 36 Italian students participated in online activities and developed interdisciplinary projects for the primary and preparatory stages while collaborating in a Wiki experience within Moodle platform. The study followed a mixed methods approach that consisted of both quantitative and qualitative data. The authors developed several instruments in order to measure both processes and outcomes of the five-week online activities. This current study is reporting on the use of two closed question instruments and one open question instrument. These were: Knowledge Management Questionnaire (KMQ), Student Satisfaction Questionnaire (SSQ) and a Reflection Questionnaire (RQ). Data were analysed using statistical analysis and inductive content analysis. Results indicate that responses on the KMQ were all reliable >0.70, and fulfilled the five processes of KM and participants were highly satisfied. The results suggest that Wikis can develop teachers' knowledge management processes and fulfil student's satisfaction while collaborating in designing interdisciplinary projects. Future implications and suggestions for teacher education programmes are provided in light of the findings.

The Politics of Knowledge in Education

Abstract: This article contributes to the growing social realist literature in the sociology of education. A world systems approach is used to explain the shift to the various forms of localisation, including the emphasis on experience in the curriculum, as a strategy of globalisation that contributes to the decline of universal class consciousness and progressive politics in the contemporary period. Limiting the curriculum to experiential knowledge limits access to a powerful class resource; that of conceptual knowledge required for critical reasoning and political agency. Knowledge that comes from experience limits the knower to that experience. The shift to localised knowledge fixes groups in the working class to a never ending present as schools that use a social constructivist approach to knowledge in the curriculum fail to provide the intellectual tools of conceptual thinking and its medium in advanced literacy that lead to an imagined, yet unknown, future.

Learning Theories and Problem-Based Learning

Abstract: In this chapter, we describe different theoretical perspectives – information processing, social constructivism, and sociocultural perspectives – that underlie and provide a useful lens for exploring learning in problem-based contexts. First, an examination of information processing focuses on the role and structure of prior knowledge, with a special emphasis on how expert knowledge activates certain productive problem-solving strategies that can be adapted for learning general problem-solving strategies. Second, an exploration of social constructivism focuses on the development of knowledge as people engage in institutional, interpersonal, and discursive processes in which learners construct their own knowledge through social interactions. Finally, we explore the relationship between sociocultural theory and problem-based learning to understand how cultural tools are used and transformed in specific contexts to facilitate co-construction of knowledge for future independent problem solving.

Theoretical insights into interprofessional education

Abstract: This article argues for the need for theory in the practice of interprofessional education. It highlights the range of theories available to interprofessional educators and promotes the practical application of these to interprofessional learning and teaching. It summarises the AMEE Guides in Medical Education publication entitled Theoretical Insights into Interprofessional Education: AMEE Guide No. 62, where the practical application of three theories, social capital, social constructivism and a sociological perspective of interprofessional education are discussed in-depth through the lens of a case study. The key conclusions of these discussions are presented in this article.

Supporting social awareness in collaborative e-learning

Abstract: In the last decade, we have seen the emergence of virtual learning environments. Initially, these environments were a little more than document repositories that tutor used unicast to the students. Informed in part by social constructivist theories of education, later environments included capabilities for tutor-student and student-student, synchronous and asynchronous communication. The initial research of this paper reports the typical low usage of these capabilities. The main research attempted to ameliorate this problem by the provision of tools to promote a sense of social awareness as self-presence and copresence, and evaluation techniques to analyse e-learners' interactions. Data was obtained from prepost questionnaires, log files and social network analysis which augmented the data provided by the tools embedded in Moodle. The results indicate the importance of social awareness in effective e-learning; the quality of active participation can be increased by the use of associated tools. The e-tutor's role is still pivotal to facilitate and to support such engagement towards collaborative learning. Implications for future research suggest that social awareness tools and evaluation techniques can create awareness cues in an interface with a potential impact on learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional Inequality and the Mobilization of the Family and Medical Leave Act: Rights on Leave

Abstract: How do Family and Medical Leave Act rights operate in practice in the courts and in the workplace? This empirical study examines how institutions and social practices transform the meaning of these rights to recreate inequality. Workplace rules and norms built around the family wage ideal, the assumption that disability and work are mutually exclusive, and management's historical control over time all constrain opportunities for social change. Yet workers can also mobilize rights as a cultural discourse to change the social meaning of family and medical leave. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from social constructivism and new institutionalism, this study explains how institutions transform rights to recreate systems of power and inequality but at the same time also provide opportunities for law to change social structure. It provides a fresh look at the perennial debate about law and social change by examining how institutions shape the process of rights mobilization.

How Compatible Are Radical Constructivism, Sociocultural Approaches, and Social Constructivism?

Abstract: The basic question that is raised by the chapters by Wertsch and Toma (chap. 10) and Bauersfeld (chap. 9) is, "How compatible are the theories of radical constructivism, sociocultural approaches, and social constructivism?" The authors imply that the three theoretical positions can be made compatible, but, to my knowledge, an explicit discussion of whether and how this might be accomplished has yet to be offered. In this chapter, I question whether, as indicated by Wertsch (1985b), the Vygotskian program can be simply modified to accommodate a Piagetian perspective. Then, drawing on the classroom examples provided by Bauersfeld, and Wertsch and Toma, I suggest that an integrated theory is desirable, but difficult to achieve. I discuss some points of contact and conflict between the theories, and then offer a set of assumptions for an integrating theory.

Creative in finding creativity in the curriculum: the CLIL second language classroom

Abstract: Modern education is often characterized by a tension between learning and creativity (Connery et al. in Vygotsky and creativity: A cultural-historical approach to play, meaning making, and the arts, 2010). “The Arts”—if attended to at all—is often positioned as a distinct element of the broader curriculum, and separate from teaching and learning within other curricular domains. Yet, despite being largely neglected within contemporary social constructivist literature, Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of mind (Vygotsky in Mind in society, 1978; Vygotsky in The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky (Vol. 1: Problems of general psychology, 1987)) has as its core a fundamental concern for creativity, affect, and emotion as the basis for human development. This paper argues that Vygotsky’s understanding of catharsis—in particular, the transformative potential of emotion—gives cause to rethink the qualitative nature of pedagogy, and especially the importance of “mundane creativity” (Holzman in Vygotsky and creativity: A cultural-historical approach to play, meaning making, and the arts, 2010, p. 27) at the core of teaching and learning. This, in turn, opens up new possibilities for conceiving of how creativity might be understood and realized within and across different dimensions of the curriculum more broadly. For an empirical example to explore these constructs, the paper considers data from a “content and language integrated learning” (CLIL) context. Emerging in the mid-1990s as a European response to the success of the Canadian French immersion method for teaching languages (Johnson and Swain in Immersion education: International perspectives, 1997), CLIL sets out several guiding principles for integrating second language (L2) with content to develop both simultaneously. With a focus on how Japanese mediates a unit of work on Geography, the study highlights how the integrated language/content focus affords a space for creative pedagogical engagement in terms of learners making their own creative choices on what language to use, and how it could be used, to facilitate the learning of both language and content (Bachman and Palmer in Language assessment in practice: Developing language assessments and justifying their use in the real world, 2010; Mahn and John-Steiner in The gift of confidence: A Vygotskian view of emotions, 2002).

Students' Conceptual Knowledge and Process Skills in Civic Education: Identifying Cognitive Profiles and Classroom Correlates

Abstract: In 2 related studies framed by social constructivism theory, the authors explored a fine-grained analysis of adolescents' civic conceptual knowledge and skills and investigated them in relation to factors such as teachers' qualifications and students' classroom experiences. In Study 1 (with about 2,800 U.S. students), the authors identified 4 cognitive attributes (dimensions) underlying the test items of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Civic Education Study: basic conceptual knowledge, advanced conceptual knowledge and reasoning, and 2 civic-related process skills. Using cognitive diagnostic modeling they identified 4 achievement profiles suggesting that basic conceptual knowledge is essential for the attainment of advanced conceptual knowledge, but not necessarily for skills. In Study 2, 1,332 U.S. students were examined from 68 schools in which 1 of their teachers of a civic-related subject had been surveyed. Students' mastery of concepts and process ...

Online Learning: Trends, Potential and Challenges

Abstract: This paper examines trends, potential and challenges in online learning. We consider 6 online learning trends and the issues associated with the trends. These include a one sided emphasis on the technology; physical versus online presences; formal face-to-face versus distance/workplace education; mono-versus multi-lingual online learning; open source versus proprietary software; and the open standard oxymoron. The potential of online learning include 4 factors of accessibility, flexibility, interactivity, and collaboration of online learning afforded by the technology. In terms of the challenges to online learning, 6 are identified: defining online learning; proposing a new legacy of epistemology-social constructivism for all; quality assurance and standards; commitment versus innovation; copyright and intellectual property; and personal learning in social constructivism. The authors contend the necessity of developing new ways of thinking to face the challenges relating to the development of online learning.

Social Research: A Practical Introduction

Abstract: Social Research: A Practical Introduction by Bruce Curtis and Cate Curtis (2011) (London: Sage 293 pp. ISBN 978-1-84787-475-7) The book introduces an ambitious number of research approaches to undergraduate students from a range of social science disciplines. It offers an overview of how social scientists conduct research and while intended to be read as a whole, the eleven substantive chapters are also self-contained. The independence of the chapters hinges on the first chapter which provides an important conceptual framework. One of the strengths of the book is its breadth with coverage of eleven different approaches, supported with a useful glossary of key terms. The chapters cover interviews, life histories, ethnography, focus groups, surveys, experimentation, unobtrusive research, content analysis, secondary research, semiotics and autoethnography. While such diverse methods could appear haphazard and disorganised the authors have successfully integrated the topics according to a number of conceptual themes systematically applied to each chapter. The emphasis on getting started is a strong point, but this comes at the cost of omitting the important steps involving analysis and interpretation. Aspects of planning research and preliminary considerations are well catered for, but this tapers off after the point of data collection leaving little or no guidance on analysis and interpretation of results. Tellingly, "interpretation" fails to appear in the index. The conceptual framework around which the individual approaches are organised and assessed include the degree of interaction between researcher and participant, whether cases or variables are of primary interest, whether induction or deduction is most appropriate, epistemological positioning, issues of reliability and validity, and whether analytic framing is fixed or fluid. The chapters are sequenced according to the degree of interaction, with the early chapters covering approaches requiring more intense and direct interaction between the researcher and participants. Interviews are the most interactive, surveys only require superficial interaction and interaction in experiments is highly prescribed and not collaborative. The later chapters do not involve interaction at all since these approaches do not involve participants. Based on the claim that the distinction between quantitative and qualitative research is artificial since most methods employ features of both, the text applies the distinction between cases and variables. This divide works well, especially for the extremes with, for example, life history research focussing on cases and experimentation focussing on variables. Cases and variables are closely associated with the basic science undertaken with cases favouring inductive research and variables being linked to hypothesis testing. The three epistemological frames outlined are positivism, social realism and social constructivism. These positions sit across the realism/ relativism divide and some readers will align the third of these with social constructionism. On page 13 the claim is made that "Doing good science is about the rigour of the research, and its two most important measures are reliability and validity." These features are understood in psychology as important psychometric properties indexing the consistency and accuracy of the operationalization and measurement of variables, but suggesting they are the most important measures of rigour undersells the wider meaning of that concept. Perhaps it would have been useful to have explored rigour more fully thereby placing reliability and validity into a broader research framework. Fixed and fluid research framings assess the level of procedural flexibility in conducting the research. For experiments the framing is fixed, while for interviews have more fluidity. The introductory chapter concludes with a useful and comprehensive section outlining ethical issues researchers need to show awareness of when working with human subjects. …

Disciplinary cultures of teaching and learning as socially situated practice: rethinking the space between social constructivism and epistemological essentialism from the South African experience

Abstract: There is a growing awareness of the need to move beyond generic approaches to teaching, learning and assessment (TLA) to consider the importance of context in shaping TLA practices. However, efforts to engage with context have focused primarily on disciplinary epistemologies and in particular the differences between hard, soft, pure and applied disciplines. This paper argues that disciplines should be considered not just in terms of epistemological differences, but as socially situated practices. This research is based on interviews with 30 academics across 4 merging disciplinary workgroups of a South African university. A framework for exploring TLA workgroup cultures is proposed, drawing on a modified communities of practice theory (COPT), that moves beyond functionalist accounts of socially situated practices in COPT to focus on how departmental TLA cultures mediate between individual agency and a range of structural factors. When looking at disciplinary TLA cultures through this lens this research found that what was more significant than the differences between disciplines based on epistemological difference were differences in the ways academic workgroups mediated between the knowledge structures of the discipline and the challenges of a society in transition with competing expectations of students, knowledge, the state, marketization, and the demands for reconstruction and development. It was thus the work done in localised workgroups on disciplinary epistemologies in response to a range of contextual factors that was found to be more significant than differences between the disciplines in defining TLA cultures.

Vulnerability and Resilience in a Socio-Spatial Perspective

Abstract: This paper argues that the conceptions of “vulnerability” and “resilience”, which have been strongly influenced by ecology and natural hazards research, have been widely used in an essentialist manner. Thus, vulnerability is treated as the factual susceptibility and resilience as the factual adaptive capacity of systems, which are measurable by certain indicators. Although in the meantime social dimensions have received greater consideration than previously and although both notions have been transferred to a wider field of phenomena ranging from technology to economy and society, the conception of vulnerability and resilience still lacks the dimension of the social construction of reality that implies that actors may develop different perceptions of potential threats and of the precautionary measures that are to be adopted—even though the nature of an endangerment seems clear and proven. In this contribution we identify major conceptual desiderata and suggest a social science based conception of vulnerability and resilience addressing them. We take up ideas from social constructivism in the form pointed out in actor-network theory. We dissolve the tired dichotomy between social and material entities and instead emphasise that all kinds of entities have the same ontological status and thus interact directly with one another on the same level (‘flat ontology’). Against the background of a generic definition of governance, questions of agency in networks will be addressed. Based on a relational understanding of space, a spatial research perspective will be developed also taking into account the dimension of time. Finally the conception comprises an empirical strategy for investigating vulnerability and resilience.

Qualitative Methods in Migration Studies, A Critical Realist Perspective

Abstract: Theodoros Iosifides, Qualitative Methods in Migration Studies, A Critical Realist Perspective, Oxford: Ashgate Publishing, 2011, 278 pp., flSBN13: 978-1-4094-02220), (paper).Theodoros Iosifides has been interested in migration research (mainly in Southern Europe and Greece as a geographical context) and the qualitative methods applied to this field since his doctoral studies at Sussex University, Brighton, UK In this book, he introduces critical realist perspective in migration studies and puts forward qualitative methods with respect to their explanatory power and emancipatory potential in social research.The key developments of migratory movements are stated through a chronological order starting with a glance to Europe and North America in the 20th century, which is explained under the title of 'pre-modern migrations'. It is followed by 'industrialization, capitalist development and internal migration' which brought the rapid urbanization into the scene. Internal migration is further explained before and after World War II. Lastly, 'contemporary trends in international population movements' are discussed in the context of 1970s onwards after the decline of Fordist model of mass production and 'socio-economic structuring' reflected on the socio-economic transformations and global migratory movements.The complexity and multi-dimensionality of migratory research is demonstrated together with the theoretical and methodological challenges. The main theoretical frameworks in migration studies are indicated as 'micro-level' (originating from economics), 'structuralist' (based on Marxist, Neo-Marxist and other radical tradition shifting from macro to micro level), 'transnationalism and social capital theories' (discussing global migration movements vs. nation state 1990s onwards) along with 'synthetic attempts' (in its regard to complexity, multi-dimensionality and multi-level character of contemporary population movements). Series of theoretical frameworks in migration, especially synthetic ones that are similar to critical realism exist but it is not possible to speak of a critical realist tradition in migration, which adds value to the book presenting critical realist perspective to the field.The epistemologica! and methodological approaches to migration research are also discussed setting the factual, theoretical and methodological scene. Critical realist approach is analyzed through its advantages as a meta-theoretical orientation of qualitative methods compared to empriricism, interpretivism and social constructivism. 'Critical' refers to the 'social criticism', which is defined in terms of fallibility of social knowledge. Thus, Iosifides employs critical realism as a reaction to the positivistempiricist dominance over social sciences that fail to acknowledge the distinction between real objects of social scientific inquiry and theorization. He asserts that qualitative methods are more appropriate in social research in terms of realist frameworks due to their causal explanatory nature and emancipatory potential providing interpretivism, constructionism and relativism. Empiricism and relativism, which are intrinsic to the qualitative social research, constitute the basis for the aforementioned critical realist perspective. …

School-Community Partnerships: Using Authentic Contexts to Academically Motivate Students.

Abstract: The opportunities school-community partnerships pose for students' learning continue to generate the attention of educational stakeholders. Children learn through a variety of social and educational contexts, and the goals for student academic success are best achieved through the cooperation and support of schools, families, and communities. The purpose of this article is to examine several instructional approaches that use diverse contexts to facilitate students' meaningful learning of academic subject matter: authentic instruction, problem-based learning, and service learning. Building upon the premise of a community of learners, school-community partnerships within each of these approaches are discussed.Key Words: school-community partnerships, authentic instruction, problem-based learning, service learning, motivation, contexts, real world applicationsIntroductionSchool-community partnerships refer to the connections between schools and community individuals and organizations that are created to enhance students' social, emotional, and intellectual development (Sanders, 2006). A central principle to Epstein's theory of overlapping spheres of influence is that goals for student academic success are best achieved through the cooperation and support of schools, families, and communities (Epstein, 2011). In this spirit, there has been a growing interest in school-community partnerships in education (Epstein, 2010a; Faulconer, 2010; Gestwicki, 2013; Sanders, 2006, 2008; Sheldon, 2007). In this article, we propose that engaging students in activities that are consistent with environmental and sociocultural structures existing outside school walls will ensure a greater degree of parallel between school environments and real-life tasks that will facilitate students' meaningful learning of academic subject matter. These efforts will hopefully begin to address the commonly reported concern by educators that students, especially older students, do not see the meaningfulness in much of the academic subject matter they are exposed to in school. Instead, students see many academic tasks in terms of short-term learning necessary to secure a grade and do not grasp the learning's utility in the real world beyond the classroom. We discuss three context-based instructional approaches that can be utilized amidst school-community partnerships that help students to make meaningful connections between academic content and real-world applications of knowledge: (a) authentic instruction, (b) problem-based learning, and (c) service learning.Social Contexts of LearningCurrent research demonstrates that school-community partnerships lead to many benefits, including creating a caring community, improving the school's programs and climate, supporting families, enhancing student achievement, improving behavior, increasing attendance and graduation rates, and helping students to succeed both in school and in later life (Epstein, 2010a, 2010b). Growing interest in school-community partnerships can also be connected to a rich theoretical tradition in diverse areas of the literature that address the social contexts of learning, including that of situated learning, social constructivism, and learner-centered education.Situated LearningSituated learning or situated cognition proposes that learning and knowledge are situated in physical and social contexts and that the transfer and use of knowledge is affected by the context in which learning took place (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989). Situated learning's viewpoint suggests that individuals learn by interacting with their environment, and cognition is essentially created through the interactions between learners and situations. The situated learning outlook can provide information about the ways in which the organization of classrooms may affect the opportunities for productive learning (Koran, Willems, & Camp, 2000). Brown, Collins, and Duguid (1989) argue that students often acquire knowledge in school that is tied to the school context and cannot be used in the context of everyday life. …

The Effects of Social Constructivist Approach on the Learners’ Problem Solving and Metacognitive Levels

Abstract: Problem statement: Socio-cultural constructivism; stressing the social context, culture and collaborative side of learning, is another kind of constructivism. The social constructivist approach has positive effects on learners. It can be said that in improving problem solving and met cognitive awareness skills, which are amongst basic skills every individual should possess today. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is a significant difference in the learners' problem solving skills and met cognitive levels when the authentic task-based social constructivist approach is used in an experimental group and a traditional approach is used in a control group. Approach: In the research, semi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control groups has been used. The experimental group was applied, based on the constructivist approach, the authentic taskbased collaborative learning process more efficient. On the other hand, the control group was put in learning environments based on the meaningful learning approach. In the research, 89 teacher candidates were included in the experimental group and 48 teacher candidates were included in the control group. The "Problem Solving Scale", developed by Heppner and Peterson and adapted was used for acquiring the data about problem solving skills. "Metacognitive awareness scale", developed was used for acquiring the data about metacognitive levels. Results: At the end of the research, it was observed that the difference in the experimental group teacher candidates' problem solving skills and metacognitive levels was higher than the control group and statistically significant. Conclusion: According to this finding, it is appropriate to say that the task-based social constructivist approach has positive effects on teacher c candidates' problem solving skills and metacognitive levels.Key words: Meta Cognitive Awareness Scale (MAS), social constructivism, problem solving, metacognitive awareness, teacher trainingINTRODUCTIONSocio-cultural constructivism; stressing the social context, culture and collaborative side of learning, is another kind of constructivism (O'Donnell and King, 1999; McMahon, 1997; Sivan, 1986; Terwel, 1999). Recently, a lot of pedagogues have been regarding the social constructivist approach as a basis to design more effective learning environments (Woo and Reeves, 2007).Social constructivists often make use of Vygotsky's ideas to explain teach (Palmer, 2005). Vygotsky mostly focused on the effects of social interaction, language and culture on the learning process (Fosnot, 2005; Jonassen et al., 1995; Vrasidas, 2000; Woo and Reeves, 2007). According to Vygotsky (1978), the source of metacognitive processes is related to the culture. To him, a child's learning potential develops only if s/he is with the "other knowledgeable individuals". When we are with others, we can succeed much more than when we are alone. Achievements of human beings are substantially resulted from this kind of "cooperative" act (Liang and Gabel, 2005). In social constructivist educational theory, classroom is a learned society. According to social constructivists, learning occurs by means of peer interaction (collaboration), student ownership of the curriculum and educational experiences that are authentic to the students (Azzarito and Ennis, 2003).As mentioned above, one of the important notions of social constructivist approach is the authentic tasks (Brown et al., 1989; Woo and Reeves, 2007; Jaworski, 1994). According to this approach, meaningful learning occurs when there are real-world-related authentic tasks and by means of interaction and collaboration between experts and peers. Authentic tasks are described as "Anything students are expected to do, beyond getting input through reading or listening, in order to learn, practice, apply, evaluate, or in any other way respond to curricular content" (Brophy and Alleman, 1991). With these tasks, learners learn to solve the problems that are similar to real world problems (Steffe and Nesher, 1996; Glatthorn, 1994; Murphy, 1997). …

Learner-Centered Instruction: A Critical Perspective

Abstract: Student-centered instruction has some connections with the social constructivist view, which emphasizes activity and the importance of communities of practice in the learning process. While learner-centered instruction is well advocated in education, traditional teacher-centered education may still be dominant. This preference might result from the lack of interest on the part of teacher to share his/her power. The paper, having provided a philosophical basis of learner-centered instruction, studied the role of learner-centered instruction in achieving democratic ends. By drawing on the concept of power, authority and democracy, the authors had an attempt to make a distinction between various types of instruction, specifically learner-centered in which the teacher consciously or unconsciously tends to share his power, and letting students have a voice in the future of education will help learners construct their view of the world. Also, the authors elucidated the concept of cooperative learning as an inevitable grounding feature of learner-centered instruction. The author claimed that placing the control of class in the pupils’ hands does not result in the absence of authority on the part of the teacher. Keywords : power, constructivism, democracy, cooperative learning

Learning in or with games? quality criteria for digital learning games from the perspectives of learning, emotion, and motivation theory

Abstract: This conceptual paper aims to clarify the theoretical underpinnings of game based learning (GBL) and learning with digital learning games (DLGs). To do so, it analyses learning of game related skills and contents, which occurs constantly during playing conventional entertainment games, from three perspectives: learning theory, emotion theory, and motivation theory. It is assumed that by an analysis of the processes leading to implicit learning in conventional digital games, the underlying principles can be made explicit and subsequently used for designing DLGs effective for curricular learning. Theoretical approaches which are used in the analysis include behaviorism, cognitivism, individual and social constructivism for the perspective of learning theory. For the perspective of emotion theory, research on learning related effects of positive and negative emotion is used, and for the perspective of motivation theory constructs and approaches such as self-efficacy, locus of control, interest and self-determination theory are drawn upon. All of these theoretical perspectives help to understand how players of conventional entertainment games acquire a wide range of skills and contents while playing, and why they do so with immense motivational and emotional involvement. The results of the theoretical analysis are subsequently used to deduct criteria and guidelines for designing and applying digital learning games as powerful learning environments. Early experiences derived from the checklist’s application are reported.

A Cross-cultural Exploration of Children's Everyday Ideas: Implications for science teaching and learning

Abstract: Children's everyday ideas form critical foundations for science learning yet little research has been conducted to understand and legitimize these ideas, particularly from an international perspective. This paper explores children's everyday ideas about the environment across the US, Singapore and China to understand what they reveal about children's relationship to the environment and discuss its implications for science teaching and learning. A social constructivist lens guides research, and a visual methodology is used to frame children's realities. Participants' ages range from elementary to middle school, and a total of 210 children comprized mainly of Asians and Asian Americans were sampled from urban settings. Drawings are used to elicit children's everyday ideas and analyzed inductively using open coding and categorizing of data. Several categories support existing literature about how children view the environment; however, novel categories such as affect also emerged and lend new insight into th...

Constructivism in practical philosophy

Abstract: Acknowledgements List of Contributors 1. Introduction 2. Constructivism about Normativity: Some Pitfalls 3. Coming to Terms with Contingency: Humean Constructivism about Practical Reason 4. Constructing Protagorean Objectivity 5. Constructivism, Agency, and the Problem of Alignment 6. A Puzzle for Constructivism and How to Solve It 7. Constructivism and the Argument from Autonomy 8. Kantian Constructivism: Something Old, Something New 9. Constructing Coherence 10. A Problem for Ambitious Metanormative Constructivism 11. Constructivism and Wise Judgment 12. Expressivism and Constructivism 13. The Appeal and Limits of Constructivism Bibliography Index

Factors influencing pre-service teachers' perception of teaching games for understanding: a constructivist perspective

Abstract: This study aims to examine the factors influencing pre-service Physical Education (PE) teachers’ perception of a specific constructivist approach — Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) in Hong Kong. By adopting a qualitative approach, 20 pre-service PE teachers were recruited for individual semi-structured interviews. Deductive data analysis was utilised to identify unique themes with broad aspects of influencing factors. Using Piaget's cognitive constructivism and Vygotsky's social constructivism as the theoretical frameworks, individual factors such as game knowledge, teacher beliefs, learning and teaching experience and social factors including government policy, teacher support and professional culture were identified as key influences in pre-service teachers’ perception of TGfU. Furthermore, individual and social factors interplay with each other. In conclusion, cognitive and social constructivism was identified as a useful theoretical framework for illustrating and analysing the factors influenci...

Interpretive Political Science

Abstract: Interpretive Political Science - Edited by Mark Bevir VOLUME 1: INTERPRETIVE THEORY a.) General Interpretative Social Science - An Overview - Frank C. Richardson and Blaine J. Fowers Epistemological Stances for Qualitative Inquiry: Interpretivism, hermeneutics, and social constructivism - Thomas Schwandt b.) Meaning in Action Common-sense and Scientific Interpretation in Human Action - Alfred Schultz The Model of the Text: Meaningful action considered as a text - Paul Ricoeur Social Science - Peter Winch Interpretation and the Sciences of Man - Charles Taylor On Language, Culture and Social Action - Miguel Cabrera c.) Tradition and Agency Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences - Jacques Derrida Happy in our Chains? Agency and Language in the Postmodern Age - David Shaw On Tradition - Mark Bevir Historical Interpretation, Intentionalism, and the Philosophy of Mind - Vivienne Brown Toward a Theory of Social Practices: A development in culturalist theorizing - Andreas Reckwitz d.) Narrative and Critique Narrative in Political Science - Molly Patterson and Kristen Renwick Monroe Historical Explanation, Folk Psychology, and Narrative - Mark Bevir Nietzsche, Genealogy, History - Michel Foucault Genealogy as Critique - Raymond Geuss Naturalism and Genealogy - Bernard Williams VOLUME 2: INTERPRETIVE METHODS General Hermeneutics, Political inquiry, and Practical Reason: An evolving challenge to political science - Michael T. Gibbons Interpretation and Its Others - Mark Bevir and R. A. W. Rhodes b.) Qualitative Methods Bridging Positivist and Interpretivist Approaches to Qualitative Methods - Ann Lin Democracy and Dichotomies: A pragmatic approach to choices about concepts - David Collier and Robert Adcock Concept Formation in Political Science: An anti-naturalist critique of qualitative methodology - Mark Bevir and Asaf Kedar On Improving Qualitative methods in Public Administration Research - Ralph Brower, Mithce Abolafia and Jered Carr Emerging Criteria for Quality in Qualitative and Interpretive Research - Yvonna Lincoln c.) Ethnography and Interviewing Thick Description: Towards an interpretive theory of culture - Clifford Geertz From the Inside Out: Ethnographic methods in political research - Bayard de Volo, Lorraine and Edward Schatz Asking Questions: Techniques for semistructured interviews - Beth Leech Talking and Listening from Women's Standpoint: Feminist strategies for interviewing and analysis - Marjorie Devault Appealing Work: An investigation into how ethnographic texts convince - Karen Golden-Biddle and Karen Locke d.) Textual Analysis An Overview of Content Analysis - Steve Stemler Extracting Policy Positions from Political Texts: Using words as data - Michael Laver, Kenneth Benoit and John Garry Ideology and Post-Marxism - Ernesto Laclau Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis - Teun A. van Dijk How Buildings Mean - Nelson Goldman and Catherine Z. Elgin VOLUME 3: INTERPRETING POLITICS General In Defense of Disunity-Pragmatism, Hermeneutics, and the Social - Keith Topper Conceptualizing Culture: Possibilities for political science - Lisa Wedeen Beliefs and Identities Making Sense of Religion in Political Life - Kenneth D. Wald, Adam L. Silverman and Kevin S. Fridy The Imaginary Inclusion of the "Good Homosexual": The British new right's representation of sexuality and race - Anna Marie Smith Complexities of Identity/Difference: Black consciousness ideology in South Africa - David Howarth Beyond Belief: Ideas and symbolic technologies in the study of international relations - Mark Laffey and Jutta Weldes b.) Cultural Practices Ethnicity, Democratization, and Political Dramas: Insight into ethnic politics in Mauritania - Cedric Jourde Changing Places: transnational networks, ethnic politics and community development in the Ecuadorian Amazon - Thomas Perreault The Court as an Idea, not a Building (or a Game): Interpretive institutionalism and the analysis of supreme court decision making - Howard Gilman Constructing Post-Cold War Collective Security - Brian Frederking c.) Traditions and Resistance Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal, and Hartz: The multiple traditions in America - Rogers Smith The Great Moving Right Show - Stuart Hall Sub Rosa Resistance and the Politics of Economic Reform: Land redistribution in post-soviet Ukraine - Jessica Allina-Pisano 'It's Not Like Shopping': Citizens, consumers, and the reform of public services - John Clarke d.) Historical Sociology The Birth of Bio-politics': Michel Foucault's lecture at the College de France on neo-liberal governmentality - Thomas Lemke Rethinking Moral Economy - Thomas Clay Arnold The Liberty Bell: A meditation on labor, liberty, and the cultural mediations that connect or disconnect them - Paul Willis Sounds of Nationhood - Michael Shapiro VOLUME 4: POLICY AND PRACTICE General Taking Language Seriously: Toward a narrative theory of knowledge for administrative research - Jay White Grout: Alternative kinds of knowledge and why they are ignored - Mary Schmidt b.) Policy Analysis - Theory Policy Analysis as a Hermeneutic Activity - John Dryzek Concepts of Culture and Organizational Analysis - Linda Smircich Interpretation and the Practice of Policy Analysis - Bruce Jennings The Communcation of Policy Meanings- Implementation as Interpretation and Text - Dvora Yanow Setting the Stage-a Dramaturgy of Policy Deliberation - Maarten A. Hajer c.) Policy Analysis - Practice State Traditions, Administrative Reform, and Regionalization - John Loughlin and B. Guy Peters The Bureaucratization, Commodification, and the Privatization of Sexual Harassment through Institutional Discourse: A study of the 'Big Ten' universities - Robin P. Clair Language Games: Dialogical analyses of INF negotiations - Gavan Duffy, Brian Frederking and Seth A. Tucker Marginalizing Public Participation in Local Planning: An ethnographic account - Caroline Tauxe The Politics of Deliberation: Qat chews as public spheres in Yemen - Lisa Wedeen d.) Dialogue and Deliberation Leadership Studies: From procedure and abstraction to reflexivity and situation - Mats Alvesson Talking and Doing in the Work of Administration - Hal Colebatch and Pieter Degeling Learning from Practice Stories: The priority of practical judgment - John Forester Participatory Governance as Deliberative Empowerment- The Cultural Politics of Discursive Space - Frank Fischer Collaborative Policymaking: Governance through dialogue - Judith Innes and David Booher

The mature learner: understanding entrepreneurial learning processes of university students from a social constructivist perspective.

Abstract: Entrepreneurship is identified as a highly complex (Neck and Greene 2011), unpredictable (Kuratko 2004), dynamic (Cope 2005) and constantly evolving (Anderson 2000) phenomenon that is embedded into and emerges from its social and cultural context (Jack and Anderson 2002; Rae 2001). Consequently, entrepreneurial learning is understood as a social learning process (Korsgaard and Anderson 2011) of profoundly experiential nature (Krueger 2007). The thesis addresses the development of entrepreneurship education and discusses the discrepancy between the large quantity of educations and their limited ability to respond to its current needs (Gibb 2005). A closer look is taken at the concept of learning and how the major learning theories contribute to understanding and enabling learning processes. It is argued that social constructivism (Gergen 1999) provides a good explanation of the entrepreneurial learning process (Chell 2000; Fletcher 2006; Rae 2006) as it considers knowledge to be constructed by the individual based on her experiences with the world. But when looking at entrepreneurship students in a university context a question emerges. If learning is based on knowledge from lived experiences, how can university students, who do not possess entrepreneurship experience, learn to be entrepreneurial? Based on a constructivist methodology (Gergen 1999) the research question is investigated in the scope of a qualitative study with 4 entrepreneurship education programmes in Europe. Semi-structured interviews to explore general aspects on learning were held with altogether 54 learners and 19 lecturers. To analyse data, a constructivist approach to Grounded Theory (Charmaz 2000) was chosen. The results demonstrate that constructivism provides a good explanation of learning “ especially in a higher education context. But while entrepreneurs seem to construct knowledge through experiencing practice, students seem to learn through experiencing knowledge in the scope of the education. Thereby, they use and develop certain personal qualities. First of all, the learning process requires a high level of responsibility for their learning which functions as a driving force to engage with new knowledge. Information is gathered and knowledge is experienced through social exchange with peers and lecturers; and new knowledge schemes are built through critical and independent reflection on their learning. Thus, entrepreneurial learning emerges as an iterative process, altering discussion and critical reflection of knowledge. It brings about a personal development that concludes on a stage where learners successfully integrate their seeking for both social integrity and individuality. This stage seems to mark their individual readiness for entrepreneurial activities and may be considered as a stage of personal maturity - or entrepreneurial maturity - a stage where all previous qualities are harmoniously reconciled.

Developing an Inclusive Democratic Classroom "in Action" through Cooperative Learning.

Abstract: This paper examines how Cooperative learning (CL) and democracy can be examined in relation to one another. CL supports a social constructivist view of students learning together to form knowledge through direct interaction. The overriding benefits of CL are that that it is an effective strategy for maximising both social and academic learning outcomes of all, because it focuses on developing positive relationships between students, improving their social skills. This promotes positive social and emotional development and lays the foundations for wellbeing and good mental health. It is precisely this inclusive pedagogy that encourages a democratic classroom environment and a resultant pedagogy that ensures all students’ learning will be considered. A democratic society needs students who are respectful and have a sense of justice so teachers who use this pedagogy help to promote such students. This study clarified the relationship between components of CL and the development of a democratic classroom, particularly the notion of inclusive practice for all which is developed through CL. It also examines how one teacher developed an inclusive democratic classroom “in action” through cooperative learning. It explores Jill’s understandings of CL and how these relate to the development of her inclusive democratic classroom and to her developing a democracy stance. Her reflective diary, interview comments, action plans and classroom observations are analysed in this case study approach to demonstrate how her ‘stance’ was strengthened and how she developed a tolerant, respectful and inclusive classroom culture. Teachers, like Jill who develop this stance can build this democratic class culture and ensure all students are included

The applicability of the major social science paradigms to the study of the agricultural knowledge and information systems of small-scale farmers.

Abstract: The social sciences offer a rich array of paradigms within which to locate agricultural knowledge and information systems (AKIS) research. This article provides an overview of the major paradigms in the social sciences, identifying those which offer a lens through which the AKISs of small-scale farmers can be viewed. It is based on a review and analysis of the paradigms, perspectives and approaches that are appropriate for studying different facets of an AKIS. These systems are complex by nature but Social constructivism, Phenomenology, Interpretive and Participatory paradigms make possible a pluralistic and compatibilist approach that provides the necessary logic and harmony for such a study. A systems approach, mixed methods methodology and multiple data collection methods can be used to improve understanding of AKISs of this type. A pragmatic paradigmatic stance is recommended to guide the design for a comprehensive study of the AKISs of small-scale farmers in developing countries.

The differential impact of ICT on employees: narratives from a hi‐tech organisation

Abstract: This paper draws upon findings from a case study, which examined the implementation of information and communication technologies within a hi-tech organisation. It explores how technology became embedded within the organization, altering working practices. It concludes that embedding technology needs to be undertaken at an individual level to be successful.

Re-negotiating Identities and Reconciling Cultural Ambiguities: Socio-cultural Experiences of Indian Immigrant Students in

Abstract: 1experiences in South African schools. Little if any research has addressed experiences of Indian immigrant students 2 .Utilising social constructivism, case study approach and narrative inquiry, this study sets out to explore the socio-cultural experiences of Indian immigrant students in South African schools. It was found that contests of space and place in South African ‘schoolscapes’ 3 were not so much about ‘race’ as it was about nationalism and territoriality. For South African Indian students, international competition was not an abstract policy; it entered the school through immigrant students. For Indian immigrant students international acceptance implied a re-negotiation of identities and a reconciliation of cultural ambiguities.

Politeness strategies in wiki-mediated communication of EFL collaborative writing tasks

Abstract: Informed by the theory of social constructivism and computer-mediatedcommunication (CMC), wiki-mediated collaborative writing has beenincreasingly implemented in second or foreign language classes.However, to date, no research has addressed students’ interaction andnegotiation of their social relationship during wiki-mediatedcollaboration. Drawing on politeness theory, particularly Brown andLevinson (1987)’s taxonomy of politeness strategies, this studyanalyzed the wiki-mediated discourse of one collaborative writinggroup in a Chinese EFL context. This particular writing groupconsisted of three EFL college students at a southwestern university inChina. This article examined specifically how this small group activelyengaged in social interaction by adopting politeness strategies duringasynchronous communication in a wiki “Discussion” module. Resultsrevealed that this small group used three types of politeness strategies,i.e. positive, negative, and bald on record skillfully, to establishfriendship, solidarity and respect while completing their collaborativewriting tasks smoothly and efficiently. This study validates the value oflinguistic politeness strategies in the analyses of social interactionoccurring in computer-mediated discourse and also suggests somepedagogical implications.