THIS EMIC, QUALITATIVE STUDY EXAMINES HOW MASTER'S-LEVEL SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS OPER-ATIONALIZED CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING. WE ANALYZED 21 VIDEOTAPED TEACHING DEMONSTRATIONS AND INFORMATION GLEANED FROM THE TEACHERS' ESSAYS, JOURNALS, AND UNIVERSITY CLASS DISCUSSIONS TO DESCRIBE THE TEACHERS' BELIEFS (TRADITIONAL), THE INSTRUCTIONAL TASKS THEY DEVISED (HANDS-ON AND TEXT-BASED), AND THE DYNAMIC INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS THEY PURSUED: (A) STRUCTURE AND ORDERLINESS, (B) SHARED TASK UNDERSTANDING, (C) OBJECTIFICATION OF KNOWLEDGE, (D) INDEPENDENT USE OF KNOWLEDGE, AND (E) POSITIVE MOTIVATION AND AFFECT. THEIR LESSONS VARIED CONSIDERABLY FROM WHAT WE HAD MODELED IN THEIR UNIVERSITY CLASS AND FROM THE LITERATURE DESCRIPTIONS OF CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING, WHICH EMPHASIZE STUDENT MEANING MAKING THROUGH SELF-REGULATION, SOCIAL INTERACTION, AND PROBLEM SOLVING. OUR PURPOSES WERE TO PROVIDE A RICH DESCRIPTION OF THE WAY PRACTITIONERS FRAME AND TRANSFORM THEIR FIRST EXPOSURE TO CONSTRUCTIVISM AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO A SCHOLARLY DISCOURSE IN WHICH PRACTICE INFORMS THE KNOWLEDGE BASE OF THE PROFESSION.
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