Constructivism in Education

Seeking to reinstate the importance of knowledge, truth and curriculum in contemporary intellectual debate, this book fills a major gap in the literature and greatly advances an exciting area of research.

Barbara Jaworski addresses a number of questions that are central to research on reform in mathematics education today. In this volume she attempts to chart critically yet honestly her own developing ideas as she undertakes a several-year-long enquiry into mathematics teaching and gives a very personal account of her developing conceptions, conjectures, thoughts and reflections. The author accounts for her research both genetically and biographically, simultaneously restructuring the development of her ideas and giving a rigorous, critical and reflective account.

"An outstanding contribution.... This is the best overview of the field available today." Nicholas Burbules Editor, Educational Quarterly

Containing contemporary essays from Australia, the UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada, this volume analyzes changes arising from convergence -- changes which axe seen as having the potential to revolutionize the provision of education over the next thirty years. It examines how various technologies have broken down clear distinctions between Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and conventional education.

Over the last twenty-five years Ernst von Glasereld has had a tremendous impact on mathematics and science education through his fundamental insights into the nature of knowledge and knowing. Radical Constructivism in Action is a new volume of papers honouring his work by building on his model of knowing. The contributions by leading researchers present constructivism in action, tying the authors' actions regarding the practical problems of mathematics and science education, philosophy, and sociology to their philosophical constraints, giving meaning to conmstructivism operationally. The book bgins with a retrospective analogy between radial constructivism's emergence and changes in what is thought of as 'certain' scientific knowledge. It aims to increase understanding of constructivism and Glaserfeld's achievement , and is vibrant evidence of the continued vitality of research in the constructivism tradition.