This edited volume presents innovative current research in the field of Science Education. The chapter's deal with a wide variety of topics and research approaches, conducted in a range of contexts and settings. Together they make a strong contribution to knowledge on science teaching and learning. The book consists of selected presentations from…

The National Science Foundation funded a synthesis study on the status, contributions, and future direction of discipline-based education research (DBER) in physics, biological sciences, geosciences, and chemistry. DBER combines knowledge of teaching and learning with deep knowledge of discipline-specific science content. It describes the…

Over the last three decades, many studies have been conducted to identify students' preconceptions on various science topics. It is time now for a synthetic study of preconceptions to enhance our understanding of students' everyday cognition and to benefit our effort in developing effective instructional inventions for conceptual change. Through a…

The idea that cognitive science can provide useful guidance to the teaching of physics has been met by some with skepticism. One argument is that the current understanding of cognition is too crude to be helpful; another, that any scientific approach to education stifles the art of teaching. Some feel that art and science need not be incompatible.…

The importance and value of modeling in physics teaching is discussed from two different points of view: to teach physics as it is nowadays practiced; and to take into account research into cognitive science and learning. Two kinds of modeling software are briefly described. (40 references) (Author)

Using ordering tasks in which 51 grade-12 students arranged fragmented text passages, it was observed that students produced a high number of texts with top-level structures that employed minimal organizational components and had recourse to local coherence criteria to organize the text. (PR)

The joint winter meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the American Physical Society (APS) was held in Atlanta, Georgia, January 27-30, 1986. Abstracts of papers presented at the meeting and the complete program are provided. An author index is appended. (JN)

Described is how an iconic model building software can be used to help students gain a deeper qualitative conceptual understanding of physics concepts. The program, STELLA, links research about misconceptions and new teaching strategies with the use of modern information technology tools. (31 references) (KR)

A 10-week project conducted with 12 gifted 4th and 5th grade students (10 boys and 2 girls) examined the effectiveness of the Logo computer programming language as a tool for helping students understand some basic principles of physics. Three assumptions were tested: (1) motivated elementary school students can learn both turtle graphics and word…

A remedial instructional strategy (developed and implemented in ninth-grade physics classes) was found to significantly affect low/mixed ability students' achievement. The method was developed on the basis of a needs assessment of students' backgrounds and a detailed task analysis of the physics course's cognitive demands. (JN)

Investigated preservice physics teachers' ability to make judgments of observed teaching during one of two courses. Students in an inductive course (N=24) engaged in peer teaching before receiving instruction in theory. Students in a deductive course (N=26) received instruction in theory before peer teaching. (JN)

Investigated the self-esteem of physics teachers of students taking pre-service physics teacher education courses. Findings indicate that students who dropped out from the courses had lower self-esteem than either students who satisfactorily completed them or similarly qualified students who did not take the courses. Implications for teacher…

The consequences of exchanging ideas while making joint decisions about the paths followed by falling objects are addressed. Based on the results from 12- to 15-year-old pupils (n=82) who responded to computer-presented problems, it is indicated that benefits are to be gained but that constraints additional to joint decision making may be…

This research investigated the value students attached to the laboratory activities while studying physics using the learning cycle curriculum construction and teaching procedures. Among the procedures used to supply students laboratory data were video-taped demonstrations, "live" teacher demonstration, presenting data in written form…

THA-MASTER is a model program for the training of teachers from other disciplines and/or grade levels as secondary school teachers of mathematics and physics. The program for each discipline includes brief refresher courses which include content courses, workshops, and laboratories. Methods are presented as an integral part of each course.…