Abstract
Promoting student epistemological development is seen as a goal of higher education. Further, the epistemological beliefs of instructors have been shown to affect their teaching beliefs and behaviors. Some argue that only when instructors are epistemologically advanced will they be able to engage in pedagogical activities that encourage student epistemological development. This study examines the impact of the design of constructivist learning environments on university instructors’ epistemological belief systems. Constructivist learning environments are technology-based environments that present learners with authentic problems, that are supported by cases similar to the problem being posed, and learning-support strategies such as modeling, coaching, and scaffolding. Instructors’ epistemologies might be impacted by engaging in constructivist learning environment design because the process requires instructors to think about their discipline in non-traditional ways. Results of this qualitative inquiry suggests that instructors who are in a zone of ‘readiness’ for intellectual growth could experience epistemological growth from this experience.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anders, P. L., & Evans, K. S. (1994). Relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their instructional practice in reading. In R. Garner & P. A. Alexander (Eds.), Beliefs about text and instruction with text (pp. 137–153). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Argyris, C., & Schon, D. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Baxter-Magolda, M. B. (1987). Comparing open-ended interviews and standardized meas- ures of intellectual development. Journal of College Student Personnel, 28, 443–448.
Bendixen, L. D., & Hartley, K. (2003). Successful learning with hypermedia: The role of epistemological beliefs and metacognitive awareness. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 28, 15–30.
Bird, T., Anderson, L., Sullivan, B., & Swidler, S. (1993). Pedagogical balancing acts: Attempting to influence prospective teachers’ beliefs. Teaching & Teacher Education, 9, 253–267.
Boice, R. (1992). The new faculty member: Supporting and fostering professional development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Brindley, R. (2000). Learning to walk the walk: Teacher educators’ use of constructivist epistemology in their own practice. The Professional Educator, 12(2), 1–14.
Dahlgren, M. A., Castensson, R., & Dahlgren, L. O. (1998). PBL from the teachers’ perspective. Higher Education, 36, 437–447.
Duffy, T. M., & Cunningham, D. (1996). Constructivism: Implications for the design and delivery of instruction. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), The handbook of research on educational communications and technology (pp. 170–198). New York: Macmillan.
Fosnot, C. (1996). Constructivism: Theory, perspectives, and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Hashweh, M. Z. (1996). Effects of science teachers’ epistemological beliefs in teaching. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33, 47–63.
Hofer, B. K., & Pintrich, P. R. (1997). The development of epistemological theories: Beliefs about knowledge and knowing and their relation to learning. Review of Educational Research, 67, 88–140.
Howard, B. C., McGee, S., Schwartz, N., & Purcell, S. (2000). The experience of constructivism: Transforming teacher epistemology. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 32, 455–465.
Jacobson, M., & Spiro, R. (1995). Hypertext learning environments, cognitive flexibility, and the transfer of complex knowledge: An empirical investigation. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 12, 301–333.
Jonassen, D. H. (1991). Objectivism vs. constructivism: Do we need a new paradigm? Educational Technology: Research and Development, 39(3), 5–14.
Jonassen, D. H., Marra, R. M., & Palmer, B. (2003). Epistemological development: An implicit entailment of constructivist learning environments. In N. M. Seel & S. Dijkstra (Eds.), Curriculum, plans and processes of instructional design: International perspectives (pp. 75–88). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Jonassen, D. H., Peck, K. L., & Wilson, B. G. (1999). Learning with technology: A constructivist perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
Kane, R., Sandretto, S., & Heath, C. (2002). Telling half the story: A critical review of research on teaching beliefs and practices of university academics. Review of Educational Research, 72, 177–228.
King, P. M., & Kitchener, K. S. (1994). Developing reflective judgment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Major, C., & Palmer, B. (2002, April). Reshaping teaching and learning: The transformation of faculty pedagogical content knowledge. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Researchers Association, New Orleans, LA.
Maor, D., & Taylor, P. C. (1995). Teacher epistemology and science inquiry in computerized classroom environments. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32, 839–854.
Marra, R. M., Palmer, B., & Litzinger, T. A. (2000). The effects of a first-year engineering design course on student intellectual development as measured by the Perry scheme. Journal of Engineering Education, 89, 39–46.
Martens, L. M. (1992). Inhibitors to implementing a problem solving approach to teaching elementary science: Case study of a teacher in change. School Science and Mathematics, 93, 150–156.
McAlpine, L., & Weston, C. (2000). Reflection: Issues related to improving professors’ teaching and students’ learning. Instructional Science, 28, 363–385.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Moore, W. S. (1994). Student and faculty epistemology in the college classroom: The Perry schema of intellectual and ethical development. In K. W. Pritchard & R. M. Sawyer (Eds.), Handbook of college teaching: Theory and applications (pp. 45–67). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Oxford, R. (1997). Constructivism: Shape-shifting, substance, and teacher education applications. Peabody Journal of Education, 72(1), 35–66.
Pavelich, M. S., & Moore, W. S. (1996). Measuring the effect of experimental education using the Perry model. Journal of Engineering Education, 85, 287– 292.
Perry, W. G. (1970). Intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Pope, M. I., & Gilbert, J. K. (1983). Personal experience and the construction of knowledge in science. Science Education, 67, 193–204.
Pope, M. I., & Scott, E. M. (1984). Teachers epistemology and practice. In R. Halkes & J. K. Olsen (Eds.), Teacher thinking (pp. 112–122). Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Prawat, R. S. (1992). Are changes in views about mathematics sufficient?: The case of a fifth grade teacher. Elementary School Journal, 93, 195–212.
Putnam, R. T., & Borko, H. (1997). Teacher learning: Implications of new views of cognition. In B. J. Biddle, T. L. Good, & I. F. Goodson (Eds.), International handbook of teachers and teaching (pp. 1223–1296). Amsterdam: Kluwer.
Schommer, M. (1990). Effects of beliefs about the nature of knowledge on comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 498–508.
Smith, D., & Neale, D. (1989). The construction of subject matter knowledge in primary science teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 5, 1–20.
Stephenson, B., & Hunt, C. (1977). Intellectual and ethical development: A dualistic curriculum intervention for college students. Counseling Psychologist, 6, 39–42.
Tillema, H. H. (1995). Changing the professional knowledge and beliefs of teachers: A training study. Learning and Instruction, 5, 291–318.
von Glasersfeld, E. (1987). Preliminaries to any theory of representation. In C. Janvier (Ed.), Problems of representation in the teaching and learning of mathematics. (pp. 215–225). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Weber, R. P. (1990). Basic content analysis (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Widick, C., & Simpson, D. (1978). Developmental concepts in college instruction. In C. Parker (Ed.), Encouraging development in college students (pp. 27–59). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Windschitl, M. (2002). Framing constructivism in practice as the negotiation of dilemmas: An analysis of the conceptual, pedagogical, cultural and political challenges facing teachers. Review of Educational Research, 72, 131–175.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marra, R. Teacher Beliefs: The Impact of the Design of Constructivist Learning Environments on Instructor Epistemologies. Learning Environ Res 8, 135–155 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-005-7249-4
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-005-7249-4