The Atlantic Monthly for October has a very interesting group of education articles entitled "Here's What's Working".  I have included a couple of representative excerpts but, generally speaking, they make good sense.  It does not mention by name "constructivism" but the idea is there; it does not work.  In summary, conduct real school and actually teach.  Horribly old-fashioned, I know, but it still is the open- faced "secret".

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/10/the-writing-revolution/309090/                Tyre
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/10/why-kids-should-grade-teachers/309088/       Ripley
"Teachers had thought it most important to care about kids, but what mattered more was having control over the classroom and making it a challenging place."

"Of the 36 items included in the Gates Foundation study, the five that most correlated with student learning were very straightforward:
1. Students in this class treat the teacher with respect.
2. My classmates behave the way my teacher wants them to.
3. Our class stays busy and doesn’t waste time.
4. In this class, we learn a lot almost every day.
5. In this class, we learn to correct our mistake"

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/10/the-homeschool-diaries/309089/                Elie
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/10/the-schoolmaster/309091/                       Goldstein
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/10/a-national-report-card/309087/                Allen

Wayne