Constructivism

This enduring bestseller remains the most comprehensive examination of constructivism and its relationship to teaching and learning. Closing the gap between theory and practice, well-known scholars make constructivism accessible by showing its application in everyday classrooms. Building on the success of the first edition, the authors have completely updated this popular text and expanded its scope to include examples of constructivist teaching across all grade levels and disciplines.

An ambitious revision of a now classic text, Constructivism: Theory, Perspectives, and Practice, Second Edition is an invaluable resource for practicing teachers, teacher educators, and curriculum specialists in mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts.

New for the Second Edition!

• An updated theory section that adds further contemporary biological evidence to go beyond the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky—offering a more contemporary framework for a psychological theory of learning.
• New chapters reflecting the school-based reforms that have been initiated since the writing of the first edition—specifically addressing the changes in mathematics, social studies, and teacher education.
• A new chapter on the emerging field of disability studies—including a critique that unmasks current practices and assumptions that better serve schools rather than students and their families.

Catherine Twomey Fosnot is professor of Education at the City College of New York and director of Mathematics in the City, a national center of in-service in New York City. She is the author of several books on teacher education and mathematics, among them Enquiring Teachers, Enquiring Learners: A Constructivist Approach for Teaching.

Praise for the First Edition!

“Provides the reader with many ways of connecting to the central ideas of constructivism…highly readable.”

—Gifted Child Quarterly

“Shows how constructivist theory can inform classroom practices, and…provides teachers with a deeper understanding that gives substance to the rhetoric of school reform.”

—Journal of Curriculum Studies