How does leaming about scientists' stmggles during their scientific knowledge building affect students' science leaming? Two hundred and seventy-one high school students were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: (a) the struggle-oriented background information (n = 90) condition, which presented students with stories about 3 scientists' stmggles in creating the content knowledge that the students were leaming through online physics instructional units; (b) the achievement-oriented background information (n = 88) condition, in which students leamed about these 3 scientists' lifetime achievements; and (c) a no background information (n = 93) condition, a control group in which students mainly leamed information about the physics contents they were studying. Our measures assessed perceptions of scientists, interest in physics lessons, recall of science concepts, and physics problem solving. We found that the achievement-oriented background information had negative effects on students' perceptions of scientists, producing no effects on students' interest in physics lessons, recall of science concepts, or their solving of both textbook-based and complex problems. In contrast, the struggle-oriented background information helped students create perceptions of scientists as hardworking individuals who struggled to make scientific progress. In addition, it also increased students' interest in science, increased their delayed recall of the key science concepts, and improved their abilities to solve complex problems. The important message that leaming about scientists' struggles sends is that even great scientists work hard. Providing an opportunity for students to relate scientists to their knowledge-building activities has important implications for science leaming and instruction.

The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) framework has been adopted by many educational technologists and teacher educators for the research and development of knowledge about the pedagogical uses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in classrooms. While the framework is potentially very important, efforts to survey teachers' TPCK efficacy has yet to identify all seven factors postulated by the framework. This study attempted to validate a TPCK efficacy survey by implementing it on an Asian group of 550 preservice teachers from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. The seven factors underlying the TPCK framework were identified which suggested the research instrument to be valid and reliable. The structural equation model proposed based on the TPCK framework supported eight out of 12 hypotheses about the relationships between TPCK constructs. The results indicate that the positive effects of the basic knowledge factors of CK, PK, and TK were indirect, occurring through the second layer of knowledge factors (TPK, TCK, and PCK). Implications for preservice teacher professional developments are discussed. IntroductionInformation and Communication Technologies (ICT) have been viewed by many educators as an enabling factor for constructivist-oriented teaching and learning (Collins & Halverson, 2010;Howland, Jonassen, & Marra, 2012). These educators highlighted many affordances of ICT that would enable learners to construct deeper understanding about the subject matter they are learning through active and collaborative learning that is anchored around real-world authentic problems. Howland et al. (2012) characterized such learning as meaningful learning with ICT. However, the actualization of the pedagogical affordances are very much dependent upon teachers' beliefs and attitudes towards technology (Ertmer, 2005), the knowledge they possess (Mishra & Koehler, 2006), and their capacity to design technology-integrated lessons (Chai, Koh & Tsai, 2011a). In short, integrating technology into classroom teaching and learning is highly demanding on teachers' beliefs, knowledge and adaptive expertise (Darling-Hammond, Bransford, LePage, Hammerness, & Duffy, 2005;Hong & Sullivan, 2009;Kramarski & Michalsky, 2010;Mishra, Koehler, & Kereluik, 2009). This could perhaps explain the slow progress in the schools and teachers' pervasive use of ICT for students' constructivist-oriented learning (Harris, Mishra, & Koehler, 2009). Mishra and Koehler (2006) and Graham (2011) have also pointed out that the lack of a theoretical framework is partly responsible for the lack of progress in school-based ICT integration. Drawing upon Shulman's (1986) idea of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), Mishra and Koehler (2006), together with several other researchers (Niess, 2005;Angeli & Valanides, 2005), put forth the theoretical framework of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK). Since then, the TPCK framework has served as a guide to unpack ICT-integrated lessons; to develop ICT competencies among teac...

This study explores Knowledge Building as a principle-based innovation at an elementary school and makes a case for a principle-versus procedure-based approach to educational innovation, supported by new knowledge media. Thirty-nine Knowledge Building initiatives, each focused on a curriculum theme and facilitated by nine teachers over eight years, were analyzed using measures of student discourse in a Knowledge Building environment-Knowledge Forum. Results were analyzed from the perspective of student, teacher, and principal engagement to identify conditions for Knowledge Building as a school-wide innovation. Analyses of student discourse showed interactive and complementary contributions to a community knowledge space, conceptual content of growing scope and depth, and collective responsibility for knowledge advancement. Analyses of teacher and principal engagement showed supportive conditions such as shared vision; trust in student competencies to the point of enabling transfer of agency for knowledge advancement to students; ever-deepening understanding of Knowledge Building principles; knowledge emergent through collective responsibility; a coherent systems perspective; teacher professional Knowledge Building communities; and leadership supportive of innovation at all levels. More substantial advances for students were related to years of teachers' experience in this progressive knowledge-advancing enterprise.

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While the importance of viewing learning as knowledge creation is gradually recognized (Paavola et al. Computer-supported collaborative learning: foundations for a CSCL community 2002; Rev Educ Res 74:557- 576 2004), an important question remains to be answered-what represents an effective instructional design to support collaborative creative learning? This paper argues for the need to move away from efficiency-oriented instructional design to innovation-oriented instructional design if learning as knowledge creation is to be pursued as an important instructional goal. The rationale in support of this argument is discussed from four different theoretical perspectives and an idea-centered, principle-based design approach as an example is proposed for discussion.