Attributes learning difficulties in introductory chemistry to the thesis that many students have not reached the formal operations level of intellectual development. Cites instances to support this thesis, outlines an instructional procedure to overcome the difficulty, and presents a list of competencies that can be expected of these students. (GS)

This investigation was designed to test the hypothesis that the nature of the concept learned by a student is a function of the mode of instruction. Written materials were prepared to teach the concept "mib" to students in a remedial chemistry course. One set of materials presented the concept through a programmed text format consisting of 26…

Explains why failure to distinguish clearly between three concepts: a vector, its components, and its representatives, renders understanding of how the representations of the rotation group are constructed from products of the spin-half representation, difficult to comprehend. (Author/GA)

Describes an approach which begins with observations and systems familiar to the student and proceeds to develop and test models to explain them. Experimental topics include Brownian motion, a germinating cell, phase change of p-dichlorobenzene, extension and contraction of rubber, and an enzyme system. (GS)

The purpose of this study was to compare a factual method of teaching introductory college astronomy with a conceptual method. Two sections of about 100 students each were taught from the same textbook, but had the same information presented by different techniques and with different emphasis. The control group was taught in a generally factual…

An interpretative summary is given of educational research that has implications for college science education. The research topics include: behavioral objectives, individualized instruction, mastery learning, expository versus discovery learning, Piaget and formal thought, and proportional thinking. Specific examples taken from college-level…

This study utilized the instructional methods of discovery teaching and expository presentation to investigate the concept development of students in a remedial college chemistry class. Results indicate that the two sets of instructional materials did not lead to the same understanding of the concept. (BT)

This paper summarizes what the author considers to be the best advice available at this time for applying Piaget's theory in the chemistry classroom to understand the difficulties that some students have. The identification of students who are operating at the concrete operational or formal operational level is discussed along with the actual…

Flow-diagrams, algorithms, decision logic tables, and concept maps are presented in detail as methods for teaching practical procedures, problem solving, and basic concepts in microbial genetics. It is suggested that the flexible use of these methods should lead to an improved understanding of microbial genetics. (Author/MA)

THIS IS THE FIFTH IN A SERIES OF GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES WHICH ARE BEING DEVELOPED TO DISSEMINATE INFORMATION CONCERNING DOCUMENTS ANALYZED AT THE ERIC INFORMATION ANALYSIS CENTER FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION. REPORTED ARE OVER 85 CITATIONS TO SELECTED DOCUMENTS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN SCIENCE. THE DOCUMENTS INCLUDED REPRESENT RESEARCH REPORTS, RESEARCH…

This is the fifth in the second series of general bibliographies developed to disseminate information on documents analyzed at the ERIC Information Analysis Center for Science Education. Reported are some 76 citations of selected documents related to student achievement in science. The documents included represent research reports, research…

This is the fifth in the third series of general bibliographies developed to disseminate information on documents analyzed at the ERIC Information Analysis Center for Science Education. Reported are some 64 citations of documents related to student achievement in science and mathematics education. The documents included represent research reports,…