Software Goes to School: Teaching for Understanding with New Technology / Edition 1

by David N. Perkins, Judah L. Schwartz, Mary Maxwell West, Martha Stone Wiske

Overview

As American students confront the multiple challenges of standardized tests, international comparisons, and drop-out pressures, educators and policy makers are seeking bold new teaching approaches with increasing urgency. One such approach—the introduction of innovative computer technologies into the classroom—has met with enthusiasm among students and instructors alike.
Software Goes to School brings together leading experts to offer an in-depth examination of how computer technology can play an invaluable part in educational efforts through its unique capacities to support the development of students' understanding of difficult concepts. Focusing on three broad themes—the nature of understanding, the potential of technology in the classroom, and the transformation of educational theory into practice—the contributors discuss a wealth of subjects central to any efforts that intend to improve our schools. Topics range from the difficulties students encounter when learning new ideas (especially in science and mathematics), to how the right software allows for hands-on manipulation of abstract concepts, to the social realities of the educational environment.
Lively and engaging, the book is must reading for students, researchers, and professionals in educational psychology, developmental psychology, software design, and for others who hope to see new technologies have a positive impact on our schools.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195089387
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/12/1995
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.52(h) x 1.03(d)

About the Author

David N. Perkins is Co-director of Project Zero, Associate of the Educational Technology Center, and Senior Research Associate, all at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Judah L. Schwartz is Professor of Engineering Science and Education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Professor of Education and Co-director at the Educational Technology Center at Harvard.
Martha Stone Wiske is Co-director of the Educational Technology Center, Senior Research Associate at Project Zero, and Lecturer at Harvard.
Mary Maxwell West is Senior Research Associate in the Program Evaluation & Research Group at Lesley College.

Table of Contents

ContributorsIntroductionPART I: Understanding Understanding1. Can Technology Help Teach for Understanding?, Raymond S. Nickerson2. Uses of History of Science to Understand and Remedy Students' Misconceptions about Heat and Temperature, Marianne Wiser3. On Understanding the Nature of Scientific Knowledge, Susan Carey and Carol Smith4. History of Mathematics as a Tool for Teaching Mathematics for Understanding, Carlos E. Vasco5 Inside Understanding, David N. Perkins et al.PART II: Using Technology to Make a Distinctive Contribution6. Shuttling Between the Particular and the General: Reflections of the Role of Conjecture and Hypothesis in the Generation of Knowledge in Science and Mathematics, Judah L. Schwartz7. Conceptually Enhanced Simulations: A Computer Tool for Science Teaching, Joseph Snir, Carol Smith, and Lorraine Grosslight8. Creating Cybernetic and Psychological Ramps from the Concrete to the Abstract: Examples from Multiplicative Structure, James J. Kaput9. Multiple Representations: A Vehicle for Understanding Understanding, E. Paul Goldenberg10. The Right Size Byte: Reflections of an Educational Software Designer, Judah L. SchwartzPART III: Connecting Educational Research and Practice11. A Cultural Perspective on School-University Collaboration, Martha Stone Wiske12. Managing the Tensions in Connecting Students' Inquiry with Learning Mathematics in School, Magdalene Lampert13. Constructing Understanding in the Science Classroom: Integrating Laboratory Experiments, Student and Computer Models, and Class Discussion in Learning Scientific Concepts, Joseph Snir and Carol Smith14. Teaching the Metacurriculum: A New Approach to Enhancing Subject-Matter Learning, Steven H. Schwartz and David N. Perkins15. Integrating Computers into Classroom Teaching: Cross-National Perspectives, Margaret Vickers and Jane SmalleyIndex