Describes a technique that can be used to construct variables from clinical interviews that can be used in quantitative analyses. The technique involves the representation of each proposition a student uses in terms of a standard set of underlying predicates, concepts, and relationships among concepts. (JN)

Reports on 18 months of action research that examined the effectiveness of using the history of science to promote British students' understanding of the nature of science. Both quantitative and interview data offer substantial evidence of a strategic movement away from serendipitous empiricism and toward an appreciation of the interactive nature…