This paper presents the design and initial learning research with the MMM modeling platform, seeking to advance middle school students' learning through constructing computational models of complex physical and chemical systems. A complexity-based structure of an MMM interface is introduced. It suggests that a complex system can be described and…

In this paper, we analyze the science activities offered at 7th grade in the Turkish science and technology curriculum along with addressing the curriculum's original intent. We refer to several science education researchers' ideas, including Chinn & Malhotra's (Science Education, 86:175--218, 2002) theoretical framework and Edelson's (1998)…

In a recent study, Caballero and colleagues conducted a large-scale evaluation using the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) to compare student learning outcomes between two introductory physics curricula: the Matter and Interactions (M&I) mechanics course and a pedagogically-reformed-traditional-content (PRTC) mechanics course. Using a conventional…

Considers the translation from Latin of Newton's First Law (NFL) in an historical perspective. Shows that Newton's original yields two versions of complimentary meanings, one temporal and the other quantitative. Reviews the presentation of NFL in physics textbooks and notes a decline in the status of NFL in the physics curriculum. (Contains 72…

Reports various misconceptions of Newton's third law obtained from interviews and written tests of high school students. Suggests putting emphasis on the third law in physics teaching. Ten references are listed. (YP)

Provides a set of macro-experiments designed to improve students' intuitive understanding of physics and motivation for learning physics. Students become part of the experimental apparatus and experience the physical phenomena firsthand. (DDR)

Illustrated is the confusion over centrifugal force in sample problems, diagrams, formulas, and examples. Some recommendations to remedy the situation are suggested. (YP)

This article is the first of a two-part review of research on children's and adults understanding of gravity and on how best to teach gravity concepts to students and teachers. This first article concerns free fall--how and why objects fall when they are dropped. The review begins with a brief historical sketch of how these ideas were developed in…

This is the second and final part of a review of educational research on children's ideas about gravity. The first part concerned students' understanding of how and why things fall. This article picks up the trail of research studies that address students' understanding of the more complex ideas of projectile motion and orbits and examines how the…

Investigates the development of dynamics concepts with one group aged 12-14, and other group aged 14-16. Collects data from Assessment of Performance in Science tasks, Piagetian tasks, and classroom science curriculum. Discusses the interaction of cognitive development and classroom experience in the development of concepts. (Author/YP)

Two studies examined the construction of children's beliefs about projectile motion of a ball rolled off a table. Describes the concepts used by children, analyzes their use as a function of age, and gives a naturalistic description of their use. Results indicate that appropriate instruction can remediate misconceptions. (MDH)

Evaluates the effectiveness of a course using a constructivist approach in reducing Dutch secondary school students (n=190) misconceptions about force. Concluded that the lessons were effective in changing students' ideas in regard to forces in rest situations and frictional forces and that learning effects were equally distributed over student…

The main purpose of this symposium was to find new ideas and resources for the evaluation and improvement of physics education on all levels. The papers included in this document are entitled: (1) "Quality of Physics Teaching Through Building Models and Advancing Research Skills"; (2) "Evaluation of Physics Education in Terms of Its…