Annotated Bibliography of Resources for Educational Reform, Coherent Teaching Practice, and Improved Student Learning

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• Shymansky, J. A. (1992). Using constructivist ideas to teach science teachers about constructivist ideas, or teachers are students too! Journal of Science Teacher Education, 3 (2), 53-57.

Shymansky describes a program at the University of Iowa that promotes the concept of inquiry learning as a key tool to promote student success by assisting teachers to design instruction around the principles of constructivist learning. For teachers to use the precepts of constructivist learning effectively, they must develop a deep understanding about the act of teaching, integrate new learnings into existing understandings, form new understandings, and develop new conceptual frameworks. This program moves the teachers through these steps by having them become teacher researchers. As they study the origin and evolution of student science ideas on a specified topic, the participants collect data and analyze data, draw conclusions from their data, discuss their learnings in group sessions, and use journals for a reflective tool.

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