Recommends the use of an instructional strategy that is ideal for examining students' conceptions of the nature of science. Defines cooperative controversy as a situation in which one person's ideas, information, conclusions, theories, or opinions are incompatible with those of another. (DDR)

Reviews the history of the epistemological and ontological underpinnings of science education and surveys other selected articles with this theme. (DDR)

Seeks to identify some of the issues associated with the role of models in scientific explanations. Develops a typology of explanations and explores the notion of appropriateness in scientific explanations. Investigates the nature of models and their contribution to explanations. (DDR)

Introduces a framework for comparing and evaluating knowledge representation schemes based on the requirements for "good" representation discussed in extant literature. Comparative analysis and evaluation of four popular knowledge representation schemes--Logic, Production Rules, Semantic Nets and Frames--are discussed in support of validity and…

SCALE-UP is an extension of the highly successful IMPEC (Integrated Math, Physics, Engineering, and Chemistry) project, one of North Carolina State's curricular reform efforts undertaken as part of the SUCCEED coalition. The authors utilize the interactive, collaboratively based instruction that worked well in smaller class settings and find ways…

Identifies four different types of science stories: (1) heroic; (2) discovery; (3) declarative; and (4) politically correct. Examines the philosophical assumptions that underpin heroic science stories. Considers the implications of these stories in the science classroom. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

Reports on the application of Gowin's epistemology to examples from geological inquiry which yield criteria of excellence responsive to the demands characteristic of geological problems. Supporting this approach is a case study about how geologists apply analogies. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

Discusses how scientific knowledge emerges from social, natural, political, cultural, historical, and economic contingencies of scientific work. Illustrates the advantages of familiarity with research in science and technology. Contains 96 references. (DDR)

Discusses two theories of cognitive development, Ausubel's theory of verbal learning and Piaget's development theory. Illustrates that both concept mapping and the learning cycle are rooted in these two theories. (DDR)

This paper reports on an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for the characterization of models and modeling that can be useful in application to chemistry education. The underlying argument marks a departure from an emphasis on concepts that are the outcomes of chemical inquiry about how knowledge growth occurs through modeling in chemistry.…

This paper addresses the question of how teachers can support and facilitate conceptual change in student thinking. It begins with a discussion of the multiple meanings of the term conceptual change. An argument is presented for the notion that recent developments in research in science learning have dramatic implications for what students are…

Contributes to a reflection on the possibilities and the limits of a non-naive use of the history of mathematics for educational purposes. Discusses a problem related to the hypotheses that make it possible to confront past and modern conceptual developments. Contains 45 references. (DDR)

Compares the worldview of Native American students of the traditional Kickapoo Band with the worldview encountered in the science classroom. Investigates by conducting periodic observation in two classrooms over an 18-month period of time. Contains 41 references. (DDR)

Presents evidence from the Yupiaq culture that demonstrates a body of scientific thought and epistemology that differs from that of Western science. Contends that this information can provide a more culturally relevant framework for science learning for some students. Contains 20 references. (DDR)

Investigates the effects of a constructivist versus objectivist learning environment on college students' conceptual change using a computer simulation of the human cardiovascular system as an instructional tool. Contains 33 references. (DDR)