Open peer commentary on the article “A Cybernetic Approach to Contextual Teaching and Learning” by Philip Baron. Upshot: The target article does an excellent job of describing the theoretical basis of a cybernetic approach to teaching at the university level. In addition, it also describes changes that must occur in the teacher’s perspective and attitude. Yet I am left wondering how any of this can actually happen.

Excerpt: In 1987 Ernst retired from the University of Georgia and moved to Amherst, Massachusetts... Ernst was a welcome addition to my research team at UMass; especially since I had a grant from NSF to develop an interdisciplinary science course based on an explicitly constructivist perspective. After three years and hundreds of hours of discussion a team of faculty from physics, chemistry, biology and science education discovered that while we all used the term "energy" in a mathematically common manner we (...) could not jointly agree on how the concept should be presented. Academics have constructed the disciplines so they cannot be merged. (shrink)

Open peer commentary on the article “Ethics: A Radical-constructivist Approach” by Andreas Quale. Upshot: Radical constructivism views ethics as an individual responsibility. What are the limits of that responsibility? I pose some questions but do not accept the responsibility to answer them. Radical constructivism may be neutral but it need not be indifferent. An ethically neutral constructivism need not construct an ethically neutral constructivist.