| This investigation used the case study method in attempting to discover how people functioned in a computer-supported learning environment designed on the basis of constructivist values. The subject for the study was a graduate-level course developed to help students reflect on and expand their personal views of the teaching-learning process and to foster higher-order thinking skills and positive disposition toward learning. The main contributions of the study to existing literature are to reflect on the implications of constructivist values and current theories of learning for the design of computer-supported learning environments, provide information on how to design for higher-order thinking skills and positive disposition toward learning within a constructivist framework, and suggest solutions to a variety of classroom management issues that may arise when the classroom is made into an authentic learning environment.; In considering results of the study, five themes emerged that appear to have general relevance for the design of communities of learners. The themes, which represent areas of inherent tension in the teaching-learning process, include discomfort and overload, self-direction and teacher guidance, personal construction and enculturation, divergence of opinion and shared meaning, and authenticity and contrivance. |
