First published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

While many people talk about the Constructivist philosophy, there has not been a publication that provides a detailed description of what a Constructivist classroom sounds like and looks like. This book fills that void by examining the philosophy, translating it into teaching strategies, and providing over forty examples. These examples come from the elementary level up to and including the collegiate level, and include all content areas. These examples show how the Constructivist educator uses the linguistic mode, the visual mode, and the kinesthetic mode to create a class environment in which the Constructivist philosophy flourishes. Examples of student work are provided; the book also includes chapters on note-taking, Problem-Based Learning (PBL), action research, and other Constructivist resources. Written in user-friendly form, this book presents a concrete and step by step approach for translating the Constructivist philosophy into classroom practice. This book is intended for every Constructivist researcher, practitioner, and teacher-educator. The researcher and teacher-educator will benefit from topics such as the history of Constructivist thought, the principles of Constructivism and action research. This book is more than a list of recipes, and this will be beneficial to the practitioner. Starting with the principles of Constructivism, and bridging to four basic teaching strategies, the practitioner is guided on how to use different learning modes and “meta-strategies” to create a true Constructivist practice. An educator’s life is made up of one’s philosophy, teaching principles, daily strategies, resources, and research tools. This book provides an in-depth look, from the Constructivist perspective, at each one of these components. In every sense of the word, this book is truly “comprehensive.”

Designed from the ground up with a constructivist framework, BUILDING TEACHERS: A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH TO INTRODUCING EDUCATION, 2E, International Edition helps future teachers create their own understanding of education. As the authors address the key topics generally covered in an introductory book, they encourage readers to develop their own understandings by connecting their prior knowledge, experiences, and biases with new experiences to which they will be exposed during the course. Highlights of the new edition include stronger standards integration and expanded material on diversity and technology. By interacting with the materials presented, rather than merely memorizing the book's content, readers learn what teaching is all about in an exploratory, inquiring, constructivist-based manner. In turn, they can help the children in their classrooms learn meaningfully.

This book offers a comprehensive, "social constructivist" approach to preservice education. Written in a clear, accessible style, it presents key principles of teacher education and concrete examples from eight successful programs in Australia, Canada, and the United States. It extends constructivism beyond Piaget and Vygotsky to more recent theorists such as Barthes and Derrida, indicating how such an approach can lead to engaging, effective education. Clive Beck and Clare Kosnik advocate an approach to teacher education that is highly original, linking integration, community components, and inquiry to a degree not commonly found in preservice programs, and they show in detail how to implement these elements.

Education Is Upside Down cuts through adjustments being made at technical levels of educational practice and accountability, challenging ideals and philosophies that have powered American Education for most of the last century. This book explains how and why long-standing approaches generate flawed instructional practices, flawed systemic reform efforts, and a fundamental misalignment between the educational institution and the society it is missioned to serve. Education Is Upside Down urges readers wishing to improve American Education to more carefully consider the institution’s central mission, challenge long-accepted truths of practice, and question current reform efforts and actions. In full, Education Is Upside Down resists the practitioner-vs.-reformer blame game, seeking ultimately to carefully untangle—not tighten by yanking on any single strand—the long-complicated knot of American Education.

This book provides guidelines for using constructivist teaching methods with English language learners and includes classroom examples, grade-level connections, and strategies that promote educational equity.

An international collection dealing with the constructivist approach to education.