From conceptual change to discourse analysis. The paradigm shift induced in Science Education by e-Learning (original) (raw)
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Networked learning environments that embed the essence of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework utilise pedagogies that encourage dialogic practices. This can be of significance for classroom teaching across all curriculum areas. In science education, networked environments are thought to support student investigations of scientific problems, including the collection and processing of data, and construction of explanations and conclusions. Student engagement that involves thinking about and questioning key scientific processes and ideas is argued to address the challenges of making school science more relevant. In this article, examples from two studies are presented where New Zealand teachers employed networked technologies, including Moodle (a learning management system) and Wallwisher (an online notice board). These examples illustrate how face-to-face classroom teaching practices can be complemented with online learning practices. The CoI framework was used to examine how the social, cognitive and teaching dimensions of online student communities were similar and yet distinct to the face-to-face communities they belonged to. Findings showed that the CoI framework helped to unpack how networked environments created hybrid spaces where classroom interaction possibilities were extended, and new layers of knowledge construction added in support of students' growing authority and accountability for their learning. "
Levin I., Tsybulsky D. The Constructionist Learning Approach in the Digital Age
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The article deals with the evolution of the constructionist learning approach from the beginning of the era of information technologies through the digital age. The evolution of constructionism is demonstrated in connection with two associated processes: changes in the human worldview related to the digital shift, and the corresponding transformations in human society. The study examines the evolution of basic constructionist ideas: 1) " microworlds " as " incubators of knowledge " ; 2) a child as " the architect of his [or her] intelligent structures " ; 3) the computer as " a machine that brings back a natural character to learning " ; 4) coding as a " universal learning activity " that enables the study of fundamental scientific ideas. The constructionist ideas are analyzed in the context of today's digital reality. The main contribution of the study is formulating the changes in classical constructionism as transformations that correspond to worldview components: activating the perception of self; democratization of the mutual interactions with others; virtualization of the conception of reality; integration the subject and object in their interaction with reality.