Education Commons^™

Constructivism And Instructional Design: Some Personal Reflections, Brent Wilson

Brent Wilson

Some personal reflections on instructional design and its relation to constructivism are explored. Instructional design in its present form is out of sync with the times in that its orientation, methods, and research base are behavioristic, or positivistic. However, a constructivist theory of instructional design is possible, particularly if constructivism is recognized as a philosophy rather than a strategy. To better fit the needs of practitioners, instructional design theories need to be better grounded in a broad understanding of learning and instructional processes. Generic principles and specific heuristics are needed for dealing with recurring problems and situations in instructional design …

Cognitive Apprenticeships: An Instructional Design Review, Brent Wilson, Peggy Cole

Brent Wilson

This discussion of the relationship between two related disciplines--cognitive psychology and instructional design (ID)--characterizes instructional design as a more applied discipline, which concerns itself more with prescriptions and models for designing instruction, while instructional psychologists conduct empirical research on learning and instructional processes. It is posited that a problem-solving orientation to education is needed if schoo]s are to achieve substantial learning outcomes, and the concept of cognitive apprenticeships, which emphasize returning instruction to settings where worthwhile problems can be worked with and solved, is proposed as a possible solution to this problem. A brief review of ID models focuses on …

From The Inside In: An Examination Of Common Core Knowledge & Communication In Schools, Jonathan Supovitz, Ryan Fink, Bobbi Newman

Bobbi Newman

In this report, CPRE researchers explore how Common Core knowledge and influence are distributed inside of schools and how these configurations may help teachers to engage with the Common Core and influence their understanding and implementation. To do so, we used a mixed-method approach to examine knowledge and influence in eight schools, including five elementary schools and three middle schools. Our central method was a survey of knowledge and influence of all faculty members in a sample of eight schools. These data are supplemented with interview data from a purposeful sample of teachers and administrators in the eight schools.

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Evaluation Of The Ge Foundation-Supported Demonstration Schools Initiative In Milwaukee Public Schools, Sy 2012-2013, Cecile Sam, Anne Darfler, Jonathan Supovitz, Daniella Hall, Bobbi Newman

Bobbi Newman

The Milwaukee Public School district (MPS) Demonstration Schools Initiative provided intensive support to 10 MPS elementary and middle schools implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in mathematics and English language arts. This evaluation report was designed to answer two overarching questions: How did MPS implement the Demonstration Schools Initiative in Year One, and what factors shaped the implementation? Is there evidence of teachers' adoption of the instructional shifts associated with the CCSS? This evaluation found that teachers in the Demonstration Schools ended the 2012-2013 school year with significantly higher CCSS knowledge in both mathematics and English language arts than …