Reports various misconceptions of Newton's third law obtained from interviews and written tests of high school students. Suggests putting emphasis on the third law in physics teaching. Ten references are listed. (YP)

Discussed are the ways that misconceptions about chemistry are acquired by presecondary children. Several recommendations for teaching chemistry to children are presented including the use of variety, hands-on experiences, critical thinking skills, and appropriate timing of concepts. (CW)

During the last 10 years, cognitive science researchers have produced research findings that have great potential for increasing students' understanding of science. However, commercial publishers continue to produce textbooks and teacher's guides in traditional ways. This project developed a prototype unit which used an alternative approach to…

Examines the research literature in science education to determine how appropriate it is for teaching science to young children 3-5 years of age. In the context of this discussion, a model for the teaching of science in early childhood is presented. For clarity and continuity, the example of teaching electricity is used throughout. (PR)

Calls for differentiating between three kinds of studies of students' conceptions in science, namely descriptive studies, explanatory studies, and studies attempting to foster conceptual change. Cites the literature about student perceptions and science instruction. (TW)

This paper describes the rationale for, methodology of, and some early results from a longitudinal study on science teachers' knowledge of science. Each of the participants is a university science graduate with a post-graduate university training for secondary school science teaching. The study focuses on two issues: (1) variations that occur in…

Reviews and analyzes research related to the teaching and learning of science completed in 1985. Includes: (1) reviews of research; (2) evaluation; (3) student characteristics; (4) attitudes toward science; (5) conceptual reasoning; (6) instructional treatments; (7) cognitive skills; (8) laboratory work; (9) microcomputer applications; (10)…

This book contains the proceedings of a seminar that investigated the impact of cognitive and social development on the teaching of science in secondary schools, and the possible ways in which the science curriculum could be a context in which adolescents' development could be positively influenced. Six plenary papers were presented: (1) "Research…

This review covers approximately 300 studies, including journal articles, dissertations, and papers presented at conferences. The studies are organized under these major headings: status surveys; scientific reasoning; elementary school science (student achievement, student conceptions/misconceptions, student curiosity/attitudes, teaching methods,…

This review of research in science education consists of 432 reports published in 1985. Data sources include science education journals that regularly appear in the "Current Index to Journals in Education," reports entered into the ERIC system in "Resources in Education," and dissertations reported in "Dissertation…

This summary of research in science education for 1989 is organized around 15 major themes. These themes are: (1) criteria and ethics; (2) achievement in science; (3) affect; (4) classroom interactions; (5) cognitive processes; (6) computers; (7) curriculum; (8) instruction; (9) legislation and policy; (10) misconceptions; (11) scientific…

This volume includes abstracts and abstractors' critiques of 15 published research reports related to elementary, secondary and college science teaching and learning. Topics include: (1) assessing attitudes toward energy conservation; (2) persuasive communications; (3) questioning techniques; (4) teachers' verbal exposition on student…

Abstracts and abstractors' critiques of 10 published research reports related to misconceptions, attitudes, gender and miscellaneous issues are presented in this issue. Studies include: (1) the development, revision, refinement, and partial validation of an instrument to assess preservice elementary teachers' process orientation toward science;…

A diversity of themes are addressed in the papers presented in this document; they include new topic areas as well as concerns that have been cited in previous issues. The papers focus on such topics as: (1) problem solving; (2) cognition; (3) the learning environment; (4) energy education; (5) the use of diagrams; (6) scientific methodology; (7)…

The main purpose of this symposium was to find new ideas and resources for the evaluation and improvement of physics education on all levels. The papers included in this document are entitled: (1) "Quality of Physics Teaching Through Building Models and Advancing Research Skills"; (2) "Evaluation of Physics Education in Terms of Its…