I present my perspective on the design process in this article, arguing for a focus on student learning and "slow design" that stems from knowledge of mathematics and their support system in the learning process. I have a question about the design process academization and task design research direction. Numerous examples from my work at…

Can children's handedness influence how they represent abstract concepts like "kindness" and "intelligence"? Here we show that from an early age, right-handers associate rightward space more strongly with positive ideas and leftward space with negative ideas, but the opposite is true for left-handers. In one experiment, children indicated where on…

The study examined children's understanding of scientific inquiry, through the lens of their conceptualization of uncertainty in investigations they had designed and implemented with a partner. These largely student-regulated investigations followed a unit about animal behavior that emphasized the scaffolding of independent inquiry. Participants…

Malathion is an organophosphorus insecticide, which is often sprayed to control mosquitoes. When applied to aquatic habitats, malathion can also influence the embryogenesis of non-target organisms such as frogs and fish. We modified the frog embryo teratogen assay in "Xenopus" (FETAX), a standard toxicological assay, into an investigative…

"The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots" by Irene Pepperberg is reviewed from a behavior analytic orientation. The results of the majority of her experiments are discussed in terms drawn from the general literature of behavior analysis and Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior. We conclude that she has provided…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--investigated the questions and explanations primary children have about spiders. The data comprise 112 questions and 104 explanations (included in appendices) offered by children after being shown a picture of a spider. Additional data were collected during individual interviews with 18 students.…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--investigated the ideas and interests about spiders held by 8- to 10-year-old children. Data included 303 questions--and answers to some of the questions--about spiders obtained from children in four classes and from responses obtained during individual interviews with 10 children from each age…

Four papers to be used in conjunction with video-tapes developed by the Learning in Science Project are presented. Topic areas of the papers focus on: (1) animals; (2) electric current; (3) force; and (4) science activities. The first paper presents transcripts of class discussions focusing on the scientific meaning of the word animal. The second…

The Learning in Science Project investigated the proportion of students at different ages who considered a horse, person, dolphin, worm, and spider to be animals. Although scientists would agree that they are indeed animals, findings indicate that many students of varying ages did not consider them to be animals; similar findings were reported for…

Presented is a guide for teaching activities produced as a result of a Learning in Science Project investigation which showed that children often have quite different meanings for the words "animal,""plant," and "living" than do scientists. Included are: (1) focus of instruction at different educational levels; (2) a…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on students' (N=39) ideas on the concept of "animal." Data were…

Many students, even after formal science instruction, have not developed a scientifically acceptable concept of "living,""animal," or "plant." Therefore, as part of the action-research phase of the Learning in Science Project, a working group was formed to explore (with teachers) some possible strategies aimed at…

According to recent U.S. census reports, while the population of the United States increased by 10%, the population speaking languages other than English at home increased by 38% between 1980 and 1990. One in six of all youth in the United States, ages 14 to 19, either speaks a language other than English at home, was born in a foreign country, or…