Draws from studies in the sociology of scientific knowledge to create a new perspective for understanding school science. Merges ethnography and discourse analysis to study science-in-the-making in a physics classroom. Investigates local conceptual ecologies. Contains 55 references. (DDR)

Argues that scientific knowledge in school is a social construct in which curriculum proposals are simply points of departure that are transformed by the social interaction that takes place within the classroom. Considers discourse as playing an important role in knowledge construction. Contains 31 references. (DDR)

Examines the impact of one unit of a curriculum module for sixth grade from the Model-based Analysis and Reasoning in Science (MARS) project. Provides an overview of this unit on mass and discusses three aspects of the evaluation of the unit. Contains 22 references. (DDR)

Illustrates the construction of conceptual models on pressure and flotation using high school students' previous ideas on these concepts. Identifies three models and uses them to analyze students' ideas about physical phenomena and to recognize the inferential structure they use. Contains 28 references. (DDR)