Describes and discusses an approach to teaching elementary thermodynamics that focuses on promoting and consolidating conceptual change in the classroom toward the accepted scientific view. Reports that this approach enabled a significant proportion of the student group involved to demonstrate understanding of the key ideas as evidenced in…

Outlines a module developed with the aim of teaching a group of secondary science students several learning strategies which could be transferred into classroom learning. Students demonstrate that knowledge about "elaboration" and the linking of new learning to previous knowledge enhances learning and understanding of scientific concepts.…

Discusses the value of keeping journals to promote science learning while simultaneously practicing communication skills. Suggests that writing also enhances science learning because it is a constructive, reflective process which helps students clarify scientific concepts and think creatively. Offers a list of potential journal topics. (AIM)

Because of the limitations of traditional text-based instruction, it has been recommended that teachers use additional resources to enliven their instruction and make it relevant to students' lives. Literature can serve as a segue into the sometimes difficult and scary world of science. Reasons for integration are explained and supported by…

Speculative philosophical methodology was used to generate ideas about ways science teachers might help students recognize and unlearn erroneous notions about science and replace them with sound new science concepts without lessening students' intellectual self-confidence or alienating their receptivity to further science learning. The research…

Discusses the epistemology and typical applications of learning models focusing on practical methods to operationally introduce the distinctive, alloseric models into the educational environment. Alloseric learning models strive to minimize the characteristic resistance that learners typically exhibit when confronted with the need to reorganize or…

Discusses some scaffolds or prompts for helping students to ask themselves better questions about science topics. Presents some teacher questions that test and develop some core thinking skills. (PR)

Discusses ways in which a teacher can mislead students by adopting the wrong strategy when answering an unexpected student question. Presents a scheme for addressing unexpected questions and illustrates it with examples. (Author/WRM)

Discussed is the philosophy of the educational purpose of science education, the science involved, and the relationships of students and learning and students and content. A list of 14 references is included. (CW)

Presents results of interactive discussions between teachers and educational researchers on student learning theories. Emphasizes the need for development of alternative teaching and learning activities for understanding science concepts. Also recommends active engagement of the learner and consideration of existing knowledge in constructing…

Explores the interaction between scientific epistemological beliefs and learning orientations in a group of Taiwanese eighth-grade students. Suggests the importance of employing a constructivist philosophy in the classroom. Contains 55 references. (DDR)

During the period 1984-1986, over 30 teachers from the Yorkshire (England) region have worked in collaboration with the Children's Learning in Science Project (CLIS) developing and testing teaching schemes in the areas of energy, particle theory, and plant nutrition. The project is based upon the constructivist approach to teaching. The purpose of…

During the period 1984-1986, over 30 teachers from the Yorkshire (England) region have worked in collaboration with the Children's Learning in Science Project (CLIS) developing and testing teaching schemes in the areas of energy, particle theory, and plant nutrition. The project is based upon the constructivist approach to teaching. This booklet…

The Educational Technology Center (ETC) has devoted the last five years to studying ways of using the computer and other information technologies to teach understanding in science, mathematics, and computing in the nation's elementary and secondary schools. The Center's research has focused on targets of difficulty, topics and concepts that are…