Constructivist educational strategies

Keywords Boxer, collaboration, collaborative science, constructionism, constructivism, constructivist curriculum, constructivist educational strategies, creativity, databases, factual knowledge, graphs, kinematics, MBL tools, microcomputer-based laboratory, microcomputer-based labs, microworlds, modelling, physics, probe, science education, science misconceptions, science teaching, seismology, sensor, simulation, spreadsheets, STELLA, telecommunications, TERC, transducers... 

Technology-enhanced, constructivist educational strategies based on these tools have many practical advantages. They are ... 

There has been considerable recent work that indicates how new educational technologies, including innovative uses of the microcomputer and telecommunication networks, can serve a constructivist approach in science education. Papert [17] describes a constmctivist educational theory and an instmctional strategy, which he labels constructionism, that emphasizes technology used to support student project work, creativity, autonomy and communication. He suggests a vision of how school coyld be better, and of how technology could be used to facilitate the improvement of science education. 

The constructivist approach to education is not fundamentally new, but the advent of inexpensive microcomputers and telecommunications adds new power to the approach, allowing the use of better learning strategies while simplifying their implementation. The technologies that offer such promise involve a few tools that are easily mastered by students and teachers ... 

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