Draws on theories of student motivation to learn and conceptual change learning in science to describe patterns of student motivation observed in sixth-grade classrooms. Highlights the value of distinguishing motivation to learn from intrinsic motivation, and of distinguishing general motivational traits from situation-specific motivational…

Reports on a study designed to examine the effect of concrete and formal instruction upon reasoning and science achievement of sixth grade students. Results indicated that the concrete instruction group had significantly higher levels of performance in science achievement and cognitive development and that males outperformed females. (TW)

A composite theory of college science student note-taking strategies was derived from a periodic series of five interviews with 23 students and with other variables, including original and final versions of notes analyzed during a semester-long genetics course. This evolving composite theory was later compared with Van Meter, Yokoi, and Pressley's…

Presents the focus of this theme issue that is devoted to examining critical, feminist, and poststructural theories and the implications these theories have for considering the ideal, a science education for all children. (PVD)

Challenges ways in which a positivist view of science has led to hegemonic discourse on writing to learn science and highlights contradictions in this discourse. Argues for pedagogy that draws on critical, feminist, and hegemonic pedagogies and incorporates affective, creative, critical, cognitive, and diverse language practices set within…

The article to which this essay responds advises risky practices that trouble traditional distinctions between science and not-science (things not scientific in nature), particularly its argument to politicize science as a way to organize teaching. Raises questions about science as a regime of truth in a place where such questions carry much…

Examines the hypothesis that there are preliminary stages in problem solving that are often neglected in teaching chemistry. Discusses correlations calculated between the student's ability to handle disembedding and cognitive restructuring tasks in the spatial domain and ability to solve chemistry problems. (TW)

Examines the relationships between the development of proportional reasoning strategies and three cognitive variables from Pascual-Leone's and Case's neo-Piagetian theories: (1) degree of field independence; (2) M-space; and (3) short-term storage space. Describes the ability of students to transfer problem-solving schemata to new contexts as well…

Describes a qualitative study that explores students' perceptions of their own learning. Document review, participant observation, and open-ended interviews were used to gather and triangulate data. Factors that were perceived as helpful were woven into a theoretical model. The uses of the model are discussed. (Author/KR)

Examined is the predictive value of the cognitive variables of developmental level, mental capacity, cognitive style, short-term storage space, and numerical inductive reasoning for student achievement in college science. Included is a strategy for the development of materials which would allow students to develop problem-solving skills. (KR)