In physics education, a number of studies have developed assessments of teachers' knowledge of student understanding (KSU) of specific physics concepts with modified versions of existing concept inventories, in which teachers were asked to predict the popular incorrect answers from students. The results provide useful but indirect information to…

Background: Recent literature indicates that the trend towards investigating pre-service elementary teachers' conceptual understanding of science concepts they are expected to teach and their command of that content-specific conceptual understanding is gaining momentum in science education. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate…

The force concept in physics is known to be poorly understood by high school and university students throughout the world, with alternative conceptions being prevalent. In this study, I surveyed the conceptions regarding force of a large and varied convenience sample of South African physical sciences teachers, and sought patterns between levels…

This descriptive study investigated whether elementary and middle school teachers in the Central Appalachian region were prepared to teach selected standards-based light, force and motion concepts they could reasonably be expected to teach. The study also sought to compare their preparedness for teaching these concepts. (Contains 7 figures and 7…