Bransford, J., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.

The authors address the underlying principles of meaningful learning, connect meaningful learning to content areas, and discuss the use of technology to support meaningful learning.

Caine, R.N. (1997). Education on the edge of possibility. Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

This book defines meaningful learning as both "deep and felt meanings," and expresses the need to begin with purpose and values. "Deep meaning refers to whatever drives us and governs our sense of purpose... Deep meanings are the source of most intrinsic motivation... Deep meanings shape what we are willing to look at and how we interpret our experiences." (p.112)

Darling-Hammond, L. (1997) The right to learn: A blueprint for creating schools that work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

In chapters 3 and 4, the author explores ideas about meaningful learning. She writes: "Students taught for understanding can evaluate and defend ideas with careful reasoning and evidence, independently inquire into a problem using a productive research strategy, produce a high-quality piece of work, and understand the standards that indicate good performance. They demonstrate that they understand by using what they have learned to solve problems they have not encountered before." (p.96)

Jensen, E. (1997). Teaching with the brain in mind. Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

The author defines "surface meaning" and "deeply felt meaning." Jensen shares that, in short, meaning is complex. He states that three factors support meaning-making: relevance, emotions and context- and pattern-making.

Prawat, R.S. (2000). The two faces of Deweyan pragmatism: Inductionism vs. social constructivism. Teachers College Record, 102(4), 805-840.

The author discusses Dewey’s belief that "worthwhile [education] experiences... are those where the teacher "deposits" powerful ideas and... makes sure they are "worked by the group." He describes Dewey’s views, including (1) teachers must discard the view that "ideas can be supplied to students ready-made"; (2) learning experiences must engage students in generating, supporting and clinching ideas; and (3) the intellectual capacities of individuals are elicited most effectively in group settings, where the key issue for the teacher is working with the "quality of thinking that is evidenced." Professor Prawat is a contributor to Project TIME on the Michigan State University curriculum development team.

Stone Wiske, M. (1998). Teaching for understanding. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

A collection of viewpoints on teaching for understanding or meaningful learning.

Tomlinson, C.A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Tomlinson focuses on content, process, and product and strategies for designing instruction to address the needs of diverse learners. Her chart on levels of learning (facts, concepts, principles, attitudes and skills) sets forth examples for each content area. Her examples of concepts and principles are particularly useful in working with big ideas and enduring understandings.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

This book presents attributes of meaningful learning, as well as structures and strategies for developing units grounded in meaningful learning.

Jonassen, D.H., Peck, K.L., & Wilson, B.G. (1999). Learning with technology: A constructivist perspective. New Jersey: Merrill, Prentice Hall, Inc.

This book focuses on the effective use of technologies to think, learn and construct knowledge. The first chapter describes "meaningful learning." Six additional chapters describe ways in which technology can support meaningful learning, including the Internet, video, hypermedia, conferencing systems, and mind tools for critical thinking and higher-order learning. An additional chapter integrates the technologies into a description of meaningful learning experiences that are problem/project-based. The final chapter addresses assessment of student learning.

Sandholtz, J.H., Ringstaff, C., & Dwyer, D.C. (1997). Teaching with technology: Creating student-centered classrooms. New York: Teachers College.

Using teachers’ actual experiences, this book describes what it means to integrate technology into a curriculum. Chapter 8 explains how a middle school teacher, who in the course of adding technology to his units, "realized that the most effective way to teach students to use technology was in the context of meaningful learning activities." The professional development model presented in Chapter 9 "is based on the premise that adult learners, like children, should be given opportunities to construct and interpret meaning for themselves, rather than being fed information."

Segall, A. (2000). Social Studies Education: A Re-conceptualized Framework, East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University. Paper developed for Project TIME.

Collaborative development of curriculum units requires a common understanding of content-specific pedagogical theory. The ten ideas in the paper, developed for Project TIME, have served as a point of departure for the social studies team in developing that shared understanding. Social studies teachers should find these ideas helpful as they reflect on their efforts to teach for meaningful learning using technology.

Spiro, R.J., & Jehng, J. (1990). Cognitive flexibility and hypertext: Theory and technology for the nonlinear and multidimensional traversal of complex subject matter. In Nix, Don, & Rand Spiro (Eds.), Cognition, education, and multimedia: Exploring ideas in high technology (pp.163-205). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

This chapter outlines the Cognitive Flexibility Theory developed by Michigan State University faculty member Rand J. Spiro and his associates as the best way to promote learning and knowledge transfer when dealing with complex and ill-structured domains. The use of the authors' project, which was based on the classic film Citizen Kane as an extended example, makes this chapter particularly relevant to the work that the Project TIME social studies team is doing to include interviews with Mexican immigrants in the curriculum unit. The presentation of themes in various sequences and combinations makes these two projects very similar. The social studies team has been assisted by Dr. Spiro in the development of the unit, the software, and the scaffolding that accompanies it.

Spoehr, K.T., & Spoehr, L.W. Learning to think historically. Educational Psychologist, 29 (2), pp. 71-77.

The Spoehrs present some conclusions from their ACCESS Project, a pioneering effort using hypermedia to teach historical thinking to high school students. The articles present excellent guidance on how to identify expert modes of analysis and to nudge student thinking in that direction.