RADICAL CONSTRUCTIVISM
RADICAL CONSTRUCTIVISM

Author: Ernst von Glasersfeld

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-08-06

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 1135716056

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

First Published in 1995. In the past decade or two, the most important theoretical perspective to emerge in mathematics education has been that of constructivism. This burst onto the international scene at the controversial Eleventh International Conference on the Psychology of Mathematics Education in Montreal in the summer of 1987. No one there will forget von Glasersfeld's authoritative plenary presentation on radical con­structivism, and his replies to critics. Ironically, the conference, at which attacks on radical constructivism were perhaps intended to expose fatally its weaknesses, served as a platform from which the theory was launched to widespread international acceptance and approbation. Radical constructivism is a theory of knowing that provides a pragmatic approach to questions about reality, truth, language and human understanding. It breaks with the philosophical tradition and proposes a conception of knowledge that focuses on experiential fit rather than metaphysical truth. It claims to be a useful approach, not the revelation of a timeless world. The ten chapters of this book present different facets in an elegantly written and thoroughly argued account of this epistemological position, providing a profound analysis of its central concepts.

Key Works in Radical Constructivism
Key Works in Radical Constructivism

Author: Ernst von Glasersfeld

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 9087903480

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Key Works on Radical Constructivism brings together a number of essays by Ernst von Glasersfeld that illustrate the application of a radical constructivist way of thinking in the areas of education, language, theory of knowledge, and the analysis of a few concepts that are indispensable in almost everything we think and do.

Radical Constructivism in Mathematics Education
Radical Constructivism in Mathematics Education

Author: E. Glasersfeld

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2006-04-11

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0306472015

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Mathematics is the science of acts without things - and through this, of things one can define by acts. 1 Paul Valéry The essays collected in this volume form a mosaik of theory, research, and practice directed at the task of spreading mathematical knowledge. They address questions raised by the recurrent observation that, all too frequently, the present ways and means of teaching mathematics generate in the student a lasting aversion against numbers, rather than an understanding of the useful and sometimes enchanting things one can do with them. Parents, teachers, and researchers in the field of education are well aware of this dismal situation, but their views about what causes the wide-spread failure and what steps should be taken to correct it have so far not come anywhere near a practicable consensus. The authors of the chapters in this book have all had extensive experience in teaching as well as in educational research. They approach the problems they have isolated from their own individual perspectives. Yet, they share both an overall goal and a specific fundamental conviction that characterized the efforts about which they write here. The common goal is to find a better way to teach mathematics. The common conviction is that knowledge cannot simply be transferred ready-made from parent to child or from teacher to student but has to be actively built up by each learner in his or her own mind.

Radical Constructivism in Action
Radical Constructivism in Action

Author: Leslie P. Steffe

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-11

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 1135699461

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Over the last twenty-five years Ernst von Glasersfeld 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 practical problems of mathematics and science education, philosophy, and sociology to their philosophical constraints, giving meaning to constructivism operationally. The book begins with a retrospective analogy between radical constructivism's emergence and changes in what is thought of as "certain" scientific knowledge. It aims to increase understanding of constructivism and Glasersfeld's achievement, and is vibrant evidence of the continued vitality of research in the constructivism tradition.

Research and Reflexivity
Research and Reflexivity

Author: Frederick Steier

Publisher: Sage Publications (CA)

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9780803982390

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Explores the range of issues and perspectives about the nature of knowledge and reflexive knowing, this book shows how a concern with reflexivity can inform research methodologies and practice. The text is intended for academics and researchers in communication and the sociology of knowledge.

The Radical Luhmann
The Radical Luhmann

Author: Hans-Georg Moeller

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2011-11-15

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 0231527179

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998) was a German sociologist and system theorist who wrote on law, economics, politics, art, religion, ecology, mass media, and love. Luhmann advocated a radical constructivism and antihumanism, or "grand theory," to explain society within a universal theoretical framework. Nevertheless, despite being an iconoclast, Luhmann is viewed as a political conservative. Hans-Georg Moeller challenges this legacy, repositioning Luhmann as an explosive thinker critical of Western humanism. Moeller focuses on Luhmann's shift from philosophy to theory, which introduced new perspectives on the contemporary world. For centuries, the task of philosophy meant transforming contingency into necessity, in the sense that philosophy enabled an understanding of the necessity of everything that appeared contingent. Luhmann pursued the opposite—the transformation of necessity into contingency. Boldly breaking with the heritage of Western thought, Luhmann denied the central role of humans in social theory, particularly the possibility of autonomous agency. In this way, after Copernicus's cosmological, Darwin's biological, and Freud's psychological deconstructions of anthropocentrism, he added a sociological "fourth insult" to human vanity. A theoretical shift toward complex system-environment relations helped Luhmann "accidentally" solve one of Western philosophy's primary problems: mind-body dualism. By pulling communication into the mix, Luhmann rendered the Platonic dualist heritage obsolete. Moeller's clarity opens such formulations to general understanding and directly relates Luhmannian theory to contemporary social issues. He also captures for the first time a Luhmannian attitude toward society and life, defined through the cultivation of modesty, irony, and equanimity.

Constructivism in Science Education
Constructivism in Science Education

Author: Michael Matthews

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 940115032X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Constructivism is one of the most influential theories in contemporary education and learning theory. It has had great influence in science education. The papers in this collection represent, arguably, the most sustained examination of the theoretical and philosophical foundations of constructivism yet published. Topics covered include: orthodox epistemology and the philosophical traditions of constructivism; the relationship of epistemology to learning theory; the connection between philosophy and pedagogy in constructivist practice; the difference between radical and social constructivism, and an appraisal of their epistemology; the strengths and weaknesses of the Strong Programme in the sociology of science and implications for science education. The book contains an extensive bibliography. Contributors include philosophers of science, philosophers of education, science educators, and cognitive scientists. The book is noteworthy for bringing this diverse range of disciplines together in the examination of a central educational topic.

Constructivism in Education
Constructivism in Education

Author: Leslie P. Steffe

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-10-12

Total Pages: 598

ISBN-13: 1136476083

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Unique in offering a multidisciplinary perspective on key issues of alternative epistemologies in education, this collection includes contributions from scholars in family therapy, epistemology, and mathematics, science, and language education. These respected researchers were brought together to develop the theme of constructivism as it applies to many diversified fields. This book examines key distinctions of various constructivist epistemologies, comparing and contrasting the various paradigms. Each section provides both keynote positions on a particular alternative paradigm as well as critical comments by respondents regarding that position. Several chapters also present a synthesis of the alternative epistemological perspectives.

Constructivism and the Technology of Instruction
Constructivism and the Technology of Instruction

Author: Thomas M. Duffy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-01-11

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 1136612270

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book is about the implications of constructivism for instructional design practices, and more importantly, it is about a dialogue between instructional developers and learning theorists. Working with colleagues in each discipline, the editors were amazed to find a general lack of familiarity with each others' work. From an instructional design perspective, it seems that the practice of instructional design must be based on some conception of how people learn and what it means to learn. From a learning theory perspective, it seems obvious that the value of learning theory rests in the ability to predict the impact of alternative learning environments or instructional practices on what is learned. Thus the interchange of ideas between these disciplines is essential. As a consequence of both the information rich environment and the technological capability, business is seen moving away from a fixed curriculum and toward providing information and instruction when it is needed. These changes bring about a window of opportunity establishing a dialogue that will provide for a richer understanding of learning and the instructional environment required to achieve that learning. The editors hope that this book is the beginning of the conversation and that it will serve to spur continued conversation between those involved in learning theory and those involved in the design of instruction.

Studies in Meaning
Studies in Meaning

Author: Jonathan D. Raskin

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The constructivist theories of psychology in this book examine the ways in which people create meaningful understandings of the world and use them to guide themselves through life.