Resource Center A Guide to Electronic and Printed References Educational Theories
For other resources related to Educational Theories see also 
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/constructivism.html 
Constructivism (Annotated at: Constructivism)
http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edhis.htm
Educational History and Philosophy Sites (Annotated at: Educational history)
http://www.socsci.kun.nl/ped/whp/histeduc/
The History of Education and Childhood (Annotated at: Educational history)
Abbott, John and Terry Ryan. The Unfinished Revolution: Learning, Human Behavior, Community, and Political Paradox. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001. (Annotated at Brain-based learning)
Bransford, John, et al, eds. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999. (Annotated at Brain-based learning)
Dewey, John. Democracy and Education. New York, NY: MacMillan Company,1916; The Free Press, 1944.
| Considered as one of the founders of constructivist thought and a major contributor to the philosophy of education. |
Dickinson, Dee. ed. Creating the Future: Perspectives on Educational Change. Aston Clinton, Bucks, UK: Accelerated Systems, 1991. (Annotated at Learning/teaching)
Dreyfus, Hubert L. On the Internet: Thinking in Action. New York, NY: Routledge, 2001
| This is one of the first philosophical treatises examining the effects of the Internet on modern life and especially education, by a renowned modern thinker. Of interest here is that he concludes that distance education cannot work, because it misses 'people's actual embodied presence to each other' which in his opinion is the prime factor that is required for successful learning.
Obviously, there are certain subjects that cannot be taught over the Internet: laboratory experiments in one of the sciences; driving a cab without having sat in a vehicle and experienced city and highway traffic; learning to become a fencer without ever having handled a saber or foil and having faced off against an opponent; etc. Yes, the Internet overwhelms with information, and it is not always the best that comes out first. We had the same problem when the first computerized databases spit out file drawers full of 3x5 cards in response to a question, which had to be combed through to find the few reports that were on target.
But is this any better than to be confronted by a teacher who uses the same lecture notes year after year without updating them (in some cases from when he was a student)? Books in the sciences, and professors, too, are now out of date in five years. Can a professor afford to go back for refresher courses every five years for a span of two years or longer to become 'updated'? So, why not have professor(s) and students (from all over the world) combine their resources and brains and learn together via the Internet and teach each other? What would Plato and Nietzsche do if they would have to educate students now? Go back to the abacus? |
Egan, Kieran. The Educated Mind. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1997.
| The author postulates that modern education is based on or influenced by one of three old-time theories which are mutually incompatible:
1. Socialization, where young members of a society are initiated into the knowledge, skills, values and commitments established through tradition.
2. Plato's theory of excellence that breeds super-intellects that are not always fit for life, especially modern life, and
3.Rousseau's nature-based approach whose goal is to fulfill the innate potential of each student.
Since neither of the three is today accepted as the dominant form of education and since the three cannot be combined into a single philosophy, we have created the current educational mess. As a solution Dr Egan suggests a new theory, based on the work of Lev Vygotsky, which he calls a 'sequence of kinds of understanding', or, specifically, Mythic, Romantic, Philosophic, Ironic, and Somatic Understanding, which grow out of each other and are recapitulated in the developing minds of children. This is a book that challenges the mind. |
Gardner, Howard, Kornhaber, Mindy L., and Warren K. Wake. Intelligence: Multiple Perspectives. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1996.
| In one volume, this work combines the theories on intelligence advanced during the past century, but especially during the last decades. Beginning with the pioneering work of Piaget, the authors continue with the latter's disciples, whether supportive or in disagreement; a discussion of the brain and attempts to copy its functioning with intelligent machines. Of special interest are discussions of recent theories of intelligence by Gardner (seven intelligences and the experiments how he arrived at them); Mike Anderson, who asserts that intelligence evolves through changes in the organization of knowledge and skills, indicating that Gardner's multiple intelligences are 'sometimes a behavior, sometimes a cognitive process, and sometimes a structure in the brain'; Robert Sternberg, whose theory is a combination of three 'triarchic' subtheories: the componential, the experiential, and the contextual; and, based on Sternberg, Stephen Ceci's but, while the first has stressed the componential aspect ('what goes on inside a person's head when he thinks intelligently?') Ceci emphasizes the contextual aspect ('How does a person 's interaction interaction in the world affect the world in which he lives?'). The final chapters of the book are devoted to how all this new knowledge will affect schools and learning in the workplace. Each chapter has its own list of 'suggested readings' while the final list of references is comprehensive and inviting for further 'in-depth' studies |
Langer, Ellen J. Mindfulness. Reading, MA: Perseus Books, 1989.
| If two typists write the same text where all words are written together without defining spaces, the one who mindlessly types only letters will do much better production-wise than the one who mindfully tries to find words in the jumble of letters. However, while the second will detect errors in spelling, grammar, thought, etc., the other will just reproduce a mindless text. This is just one example of many offered by Dr. Langer to show the disastrous consequences in such areas as aging, health, business, economics, etc., mindlessness will have. She then investigates the opposite side of the coin, mindfulness, its effects in these same areas, how it can be obtained, cultivated, and improved. This provocative study should be read by all. |
Langer, Ellen J. The Power of Mindful Learning. Reading, MA: Perseus Books, 1997.
| As a sequel to her book "Mindfulness" (1989, Perseus Books) Dr. Langer applies her theory of mindlessness/mindfulness to education, i.e., teaching and learning. In doing so, she questions and refutes the value of many teaching methods and requirements and their resultant problems: 'overlearned' skills, rote memory, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, memory 'disorders' (especially in the aged), the illusion of 'right' answers, etc. The fact that her insights are based on extensive research that she and her students have conducted gives her theories additional credence. Another 'must-book' for every teacher and parent. |
Novak, Joseph and D. Bob Gowin. Learning How to Learn. Cambridge, UK and New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1984, 1999.
| The authors have developed two new educational tools to help students and teachers in their quest for providing better education: 'concept mapping', a way to see the meanings of learning materials, and 'knowledge Vee diagramming' a way to penetrate the structure and meaning of knowledge. The philosophy upon which this new thinking is based is David Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning as contrasted with rote learning. Individuals must relate new knowledge to relevant concepts and propositions they already know. |
Novak, Joseph D. Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge: Concept Map(TM) as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1998.
| During the last two decades great strides have been made and the results published, in the areas of learning, knowledge acquisition, teaching, etc, but little of this knowledge has found its way into schools and teaching methods in the form of practical applications. Based on David Ausubel's Assimilation Learning Theory, the author has developed concept maps and related metacognitive tools to underscore his theories of education and knowledge which are based on the nature of human learning and the nature of knowledge, its capture, creation, and use, respectively. |
Vygotsky, L.S. Mind In Society. Cole, Michael, et al, eds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,1978.
| Vygotsky, 1896 - 1934, has been named pioneer of developmental psychology, father of constructivist thought, and his contributions to these new research fields have been unparalleled. His writings, hidden behind cold war borders, became accessible to the West in the mid-sixties thanks to his student A.R. Luria and a dedicated group of Vygotsky scholars (Wertsch et al). His thoughts and theories cannot be avoided by any serious educator. |
Vygotsky, L.S., Thought and Language. Hanfman, Eugenia, et al, eds. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press 1962.
| Vygotsky's theory of intellectual development has not lost its place as a fundamental contribution to theories of education and the understanding of cognitive processes. His analysis of the nature of verbal thought in its progression from usage in affective and social functions to internalization indicates - in his own words -"a microcosm of human consciousness". |
Wertsch, James V. Vygotsky and the Social Formation of Mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985. (Annotated at Constructivism)
Wertsch, James V. Voices of the Mind: A Sociocultural Approach to Mediated Action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991. (Annotated at Constructivism)
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