Presents the procedures, results, and conclusions of a study designed to compare the cognitive performance of students from a new curricula (PSSC) and from traditional (non-PSSC) curricula. Results essentially supported contention that PSSC materials were more effective in developing higher cognitive skills. (DS)

This study explores the acquisition of proportionality by investigating the relationship between an understanding of proportionality and the development of cognitive structure in the domain of mechanics. (Author/MA)

Describes an empirical method of developing learning hierarchies by comparing success on each tested behavior with all other behaviors. Advantages, compared with validation of a particular logical hierarchy, are illustrated by application of density principles to prediction of flotation. (AL)

Describes the problem-solving behaviors of six novice subjects attempting to solve an electrostatics problem in calculus-based college physics. The level of qualitative thinking exhibited by these novices was determined. Sound procedural knowledge and problem representation were suggested as an integral part of skilled problem solving in physics.…

Presents an existence proof of how preservice science teachers used analogies embedded in their course materials, Physics by Inquiry. Reports three distinct roles of analogies: a) cognitive process skills; b) scientific conceptual understanding; and c) social contexts for problem solving. Agrees on the importance of collaborative problem solving…

Explores the relationships among science and engineering attitudes, physics conceptual understanding, and physics achievement for a population of college freshman engineering students. Assesses a sample of freshman engineering students (n=200) participating in an integrated curriculum with the Force Concepts Inventory (FCI), Mechanics Baseline…

Explores the influences of text structure on students' conceptual change. Case studies were conducted and results showed that individuals used refutational text to change their alternative conceptions and acquire new concepts. Findings indicate that refutational text does cause cognitive conflict. While refutational text is effective for groups,…

Discusses a study designed to understand 11th-grade students' learning during conversations with their teacher over and about a computer-based Newtonian microworld, Interactive Physics. Illustrates that students' learning was not local but persistent, in that they used appropriate canonical science talk without teacher support. (36 references)…

The question of how children solve force and motion problems in computer simulations without explicit knowledge of the underlying physics was investigated. Keystroke sequences made by children were saved and analyzed, and children were interviewed to understand their perception of the relationship between keyboard input and on-screen action. (CW)

In the literature, learners' cognitive development is mainly discussed with respect to changes in learners' content-dependent knowledge (conceptual change or growth). Additional dimensions of time and complexity may also be taken into account to describe cognitive processes in at least three dimensions. We discuss these three dimensions of…

The Rutgers Astrophysics Institute is a program in which gifted high school students learn about contemporary science and its methods, and conduct independent authentic research using real-time data. The students use the processes of science to acquire knowledge, and serve as cognitive apprentices to an expert astrophysicist. A variety of…