This guidance report focuses on the teaching of mathematics to pupils in Key Stages 2 and 3. It is not intended to provide a comprehensive guide to mathematics teaching. We have made recommendations where there are research findings that schools can use to make a significant difference to pupils' learning, and have focused on the questions that…

It is generally well accepted in health professional education that self-assessment is a key step in the continuing professional development cycle. While there has been increasing discussion in the community pertaining to whether or not professionals can indeed self-assess accurately, much of this discussion has been clouded by the fact that the…

The results of a study of the meiosis models utilized by individuals at varying levels of expertise while reasoning about the process of meiosis are presented. Based on these results, the issues of sources of misconceptions/difficulties and the construction of a sound understanding of meiosis are discussed. Five individuals from each of three…

The world presented to our senses is essentially continuous in space and time. The simplest observations of children have shown that we are not born with ways of "breaking up" the world. The structures of our knowledge must be developed, and the major issue this paper considers is how those structures develop. The discussion focuses on Jean…

The science learning cycle developed by Robert Karplus and others in the 1960's has been a useful model for many science teachers and researchers. This model stresses the use of structured inquiry to organize knowledge acquisition and problem solving. Recent research in the cognitive science tradition, however, has shown that learning and problem…

Explores how some of the work in the history and philosophy of science might develop a more adequate understanding of students' untutored ideas. Describes how students' views can be interpreted. Explains and discusses the merits of commonsense-scientific theory analogy. (YP)

Presents a model to analyze conceptual evolution in the classroom, based on the notion of conceptual profile. Suggests that it is possible to use different ways of thinking in different domains, a new concept does not necessarily replace previous ideas, and learning science is to change a conceptual profile and become conscious of different zones…

This research endeavored to study student's views of science through their operative definitions of science. The results were used to create an instrument with which teachers could evaluate students' perceptions of science and then prepare lessons that address misconceptions. (PR)

The misconceptions related to the concepts of force and acceleration among college students are explored. Misconceptions are identified and their occurrence among a large percentage of students are observed. Provided are some implications for physics teaching and an eight-item test. (Author/YP)

Concepts used by two classes of grade eight students, one advanced and the other average, to explain the changes that occur when water is heated to boiling are presented. Little difference was found between groups in terms of the personal misconceptions used to explain boiling. The changes that take place in conceptual knowledge immediately after…

Examined are first-year medical students' (n=160) explanations of complex concepts in cardiopulmonary physiology following a lecture series. The results revealed systematic misconceptions by the students in developing a pathophysiological model of the problem. The implications for science instruction within a medical curriculum are discussed.…

Explores how a set of possible student misconceptions about solving a complex problem can be used in computer-based intelligent tutoring systems and in computer-based exercise and test generation. Topics discussed include expert systems, misconception covers, discrimination trees, methods of acquiring the set of misconceptions, and protocol…

Described is how an iconic model building software can be used to help students gain a deeper qualitative conceptual understanding of physics concepts. The program, STELLA, links research about misconceptions and new teaching strategies with the use of modern information technology tools. (31 references) (KR)

The development of students' (n=80) conceptions of matter was investigated. Students' ideas about matter were examined by asking students to verbally explain what matter means and to classify items into matter and nonmatter. A major difficulty is indicated by students regarding the concept of matter. (KR)

In most research that investigates factors influencing the success of analogies in instruction, an underlying assumption is that students have little or no knowledge of the target situation. It is interesting to ask what factors influence the success of analogies when students believe they understand the target situation. If this understanding is…