The creation and use of models in science is of great importance for knowledge production and communication. For example, toy models are often used as idealized explanatory models in physics education. Models can be a powerful tool for exploring phenomena in ways that facilitate learning. However, careful consideration of instruction and…

The increasing attention in science education reform documents to language and literacy, coupled with the growing linguistic diversity of United States classrooms, means that science teacher educators and researchers are facing an important task of preparing secondary science preservice teachers (PSTs) to teach a language- and literacy-integrated…

Educators' work is a key element in museums' learning experience, yet knowledge about their professional development is still limited. In this study, we followed three science museum educators' professional growth during collaboration with researchers, with special focus on the introduction of research-based frameworks in their practice. To…

Between 1970 and 1990, the Dutch working group "Empirical Introduction to Chemistry" developed a secondary school chemistry education curriculum based on the educational vision of the mathematicians van Hiele and van Hiele-Geldof. This approach viewed learning as a process in which students must go through discontinuous level transitions…

Within the framework of social cognitive theory, we examined the motivation of students (14-16 years old) to learn science in their introductory science courses. The students responded to a questionnaire about their intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and self-determination. The students also wrote essays about their motivation, and individual…

One goal of project-based science is to promote the development of scientific discourse communities in classrooms. Holding rich high school scientific discussions is challenging, especially when the demands of content and norms of high school science pose challenges to their enactment. There is little research on how high school teachers enact…

Two disparate research programs have addressed the challenge of instructional multimedia design. One, based on cognitive load theory, has focused on ways of reducing unnecessary cognitive load during instruction to free up resources for learning. The other, based on constructivism, has centered on interactive multimedia, allowing students to build…

Around the world, many people concerned with the state of the environment participate in environmental action groups. Much of their learning occurs informally, simply by participating in the everyday, ongoing collective life of the chosen group. Such settings provide unique opportunities for studying how people learn science in complex settings…

The article grapples with the question of how much curriculum change is appropriate in a given context and in a given time frame. How can a balance be struck between stagnation, on the one hand, and the promotion of unrealistic innovation on the other? In answer to this dilemma, the concept of a zone of feasible innovation (ZFI) is proposed and…

Reviews educational research in terms of Ausubelian learning theory and finds that the data reported can be interpreted as consistent with these theories, although many studies cited were inadequate for critical testing of the theories. Cites 10 studies concerning amount of instructional structure, 21 comparing group and individualized…

Grade six students were taught Newton's Second Law of Motion by a linear program, a lecture, or a video-taped lecture, with three different response modes: written responses to all questions, to one-third of the questions, or to no questions. There was no significant difference between teaching method, but the higher the overt response rate, the…

In this ethnographic study of summer undergraduate research (UR) experiences at four liberal arts colleges, where faculty and students work collaboratively on a project of mutual interest in an apprenticeship of authentic science research work, analysis of the accounts of faculty and student participants yields comparative insights into the…

Proposes that an examination of the history of the development of science concepts can reveal conceptual difficulties and guide the development of instructional methods where the student is helped to actively organize information so that he is involved in formulating the concept.'' (AL)

Briefly reviews research concerning concept learning related to science instruction and argues that a strong theoretical understanding of these processes will be needed whatever the variations in curriculum emphasis. (AL)

The research, learning theory, and educational practices related to mathemagenic behavior are examined. The application of mathemagenic research and theory to science instruction is detailed. Instructional materials and methods useful in integrating mathemagenic research with instruction in science are outlined. (BT)