Educational practice does not, for the most part, rely on research findings. Instead, there's a preference for relying on our intuitions about what's best for learning. But relying on intuition may be a bad idea for teachers and learners alike. This accessible guide helps teachers to integrate effective, research-backed strategies for learning…

Presents an integrated approach that helps students understand difficult science concepts. Involves counteracting children's confusion over certain concepts, confronting children's misconceptions through inquiry, and presenting a multitude of experiences that challenge children's erroneous beliefs. Presents an example of applying this approach to…

Misconceptions associated with the origins of force and the effectiveness of a bridging strategy for developing correct conceptual models in mechanics are identified for high school physics teachers in this paper. The situation investigated was whether a table exerts an upward force on a book. Student misconceptions related to this phenomenon as…

Argues that entertainment media, especially feature films, have a powerful impact in shaping knowledge and beliefs about the world. Presents four ways that teachers can use feature films to enhance the teaching of world history and to counteract misconceptions that students acquire through the mass media. (DB)

Problem solving is an essential skill in the study of genetics. Genetics problems have traditionally come from laboratory activities and textbook situations. Recently computer-based problems have been available to complement these standard sources. This report focusses on the use of computer-based problems in the study of genetics. Discriptions…

Discusses the use of drawings to nurture problem-solving attitudes and independent learning. Drawings help develop thinking skills, clarify misconceptions, develop representational preferences, supply a context for relationships in K-8 mathematics, and illustrate mathematical connections. (MDH)

In this paper, the verbal interaction strategies and explanation behaviors of three fifth-grade teachers teaching science units are used to illustrate relationships among curriculum materials, teacher talk, and student learning. Experimental studies with these and other teachers indicate that, if teachers become more sensitive to their students'…

Secondary school geometry students have been found to have misconceptions concerning parallel lines. Correctional teaching programs did not seem effective in changing these misconceptions. This research describes an attempt to use teaching strategies which take into account current learning theory and which encourages students to be actively…

Discusses the commonly held misconceptions on heat and examines potential contributing factors. Defines and provides examples of internal energy and heat. Suggests approaches to the teaching of heat for secondary level students. (ML)

Selections of papers from the seventeenth annual conference of the Australian Science Education Research Association are presented in this volume of Research in Science Education (RISE). A diversity of themes are addressed and include new topic areas as well as concerns that have been cited in previous issues of RISE. The papers focus on such…

Perspectives on concept mapping and its benefits to students in the learning of scientific concepts are presented in this paper. A concept map is defined as a two-dimensional heirarchical representation of concepts which indicates the relationship between the selected concepts. Aspects of concept mapping addressed in this review include: (1) its…

In this study 34 spontaneous analogies produced by 16 college freshmen while solving qualitative physics problems are analyzed. A number of the analogies were invalid in the sense that they led to an incorrect answer from the physicist's point of view. However, many were valid, and a few were powerful in the sense that they seemed not only to help…

Discusses the value of studying errors made by students in the process of learning science. Addresses 20 research questions dealing with student learning errors. Attempts to characterize errors made by students and clarify some terms used in error research. (TW)

Emphasizes, and illustrates with examples, the importance of taking classroom time to rectify incorrect student thinking by immediately undoing, or unraveling, students' misconceptions, errors, or misapplications. When this process is cultivated without a judgmental attitude on the part of the teacher, students' confidence is inspired and…

Analogies and examples from student's experiences are frequently cited as important to teaching conceptual material. This study was conducted in order to explore the effectiveness of an analogical teaching technique, which uses a connected sequence of "bridging" analogies, compared with a more standard teaching-by-example technique. The…