In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms

Front Cover
ASCD, 1999 - Education - 136 pages

The activities that transpire within the classroom either help or hinder students' learning. Any meaningful discussion of educational renewal, therefore, must focus explicitly and directly on the classroom, and on the teaching and learning that occur within it. This book presents a case for the development of classrooms in which students are encouraged to construct deep understandings of important concepts.

Jacqueline Grennon Brooks and Martin Brooks present a new set of images for educational settings, images that emerge from student engagement, interaction, reflection, and construction. They have considerable experience in creating constructivist educational settings and conducting research on those settings. Authentic examples are provided throughout the book, as are suggestions for administrators, teachers, and policymakers.

For the new edition of their popular book, the authors have written an introduction that places their work in today's educational renewal setting. Today, they urge, the case for constructivist classrooms is much stronger and the need more critical.

 

Contents

Honoring the Learning
3
Considering the Possibilities
15
Coming To Know Ones
23
Posing Problems of
35
Structuring Learning
46
Seeking and Valuing
60
Adapting Curriculum To
69
Assessing Student Learning
85
Becoming a Constructivist
101
Pursuing Meaningful
119
Bibliography
128
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