This study (Note 1) investigates potential differences in language use between genders, by applying a modified model of thought representation. Our hypothesis is that women use more direct forms of thought representation than men in modern spoken British English. Women are said to favour "private speech" that creates intimacy and…

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)

States that the shift in meaning of the Periodic Table to represent regularities in the electron distribution in the shells of atoms can result in confusion between elements and atoms. (DDR)

An appreciation of the relationship between novice and expert knowledge frameworks may help develop an understanding of the process of transition from one to the other. Recommends the use of concept mapping. (DDR)

Comments on the consequences of the death of the rationalist dream, including a loss of nerve in science education that leads some people to doubt the point and the value of teaching science. Argues that the death of this dream is irrelevant. Contains 57 references. (DDR)

Examines quantitative models in school physics, looking particularly at the degree to which they match the real world. Explores the positive aspects of a mismatch between models and real world conditions. (DDR)

Considers the strategies of peer group review and concept mapping, both of which faculties in higher education might employ in partnership with schools to reestablish the fundamental role that subject matter knowledge has in science teaching. (DDR)

Details a study of students' text usage that used observations and interviews. Concludes that retrieval strategies are not transferred to learning from texts during science lessons. (Contains 41 references.) (DDR)

Shows how box diagrams and AVOW diagrams may be used to solve problems concerning networks of resistors that obey Ohm's Law. Presents outcomes and feedback from students and teachers. Concludes with suggestions as to how these techniques might be incorporated into the teaching of basic circuit theory. (Contains 22 references.) (DDR)

Reports research based on the scientific issues of a claim of missing matter in the universe and a possible link between injections of vitamin K into newborn babies and the subsequent development of childhood cancer. Contains 64 references. (DDR)

Reports on a project in which children develop instructional technology skills while learning a great deal of science. Explains how children construct a multimedia presentation on the topic of invertebrates. (DDR)

Proposes that once the elements of procedural understanding have been explicitly defined, appropriate teaching strategies can then be used to enable student understanding. Argues that explicitly teaching these concepts may add rigor to GNVQ assignments. (DDR)

Describes a project in which student teachers chose science exhibits and created webpages to communicate some aspect of the underlying science in the exhibit. Student teachers participating in the project developed personal understanding of some difficult areas in science. (DDR)

This paper addresses dilemmas in the practices of six teachers from the perspective of alternate paradigms of knowledge growth, particularly constructivism. The dilemmas focus on the relationships between theory and practice in the growth of knowledge in learning and teaching mathematics. The data for this study are drawn from a four-year…

This paper presents findings from a study that investigated students' understanding of quantum phenomena and focused on how students incorporate the ideas of quantum physics into their overall cognitive framework. The heuristic metaphor of the map is used to construct graphic representations of students' understanding of quantum physics. The…