A key part of the practice of chemistry is the analysis of chemical composition, including through gravimetric analysis and spectrophotometry. However, the complexity of doing multiple calculations to obtain analytical evidence, such as that required to determine an empirical formula, presents a challenge if such analytical methods are to be…

The research presented in this dissertation looks at how students in general chemistry reason about atomic emission spectroscopy. Situated within the context of a transformed general chemistry curriculum called "Chemistry, Life, the Universe, and Everything" (CLUE), the goal of this study was to (1) characterize the various ways in which…

This dissertation describes the results of an investigation into introductory student understanding of special relativity in the context of the relativity of simultaneity. The research probes the extent to which students are able to use concepts from both Galilean and special relativity to determine, for multiple reference frames, the time…

Undergraduate educational settings often struggle to provide students with authentic biologically or medically relevant situations and problems that simultaneously improve their understanding of physics. Through exercises and laboratory activities developed in an elective Physics in Biomedicine course for upper-level biology or pre-health majors…

This volume, the 10th in the "New Thinking in School Science" series published by the Directorate for Scientific Affairs of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is the outcome of international cooperative work by the Organization to inform teachers on current development and modern views in the teaching of secondary school…

Describes a study designed to compare the gradual development of children's understanding of shadows with Piaget's stages, categorize pupil responses in the shadow tasks, identify typical pupil responses in each category, and enumerate curriculum implications from the investigation. (GS)

This booklet is a teacher's manual in a series of booklets that make up the core of a Physical Science course designed for the freshman year of college and used by teachers in the 27 colleges participating in the Thirteen College Curriculum Program. This program is a curriculum revision project in support of 13 predominantly Negro colleges and…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on the concept of "light" held by 36 students. Data were obtained…

This CD-ROM consists of simulation software that allows students to conduct countless experiments using 20 Java simulators and curriculum units that explore light and color, forces and motion, sound and waves, static electricity and magnetism, current electricity, the nature of matter, and a unit on underpinnings. Setups can be designed by the…

This research assessed Australian high school students' understanding of light, developed materials to conceptual change with respect to the concept, and evaluated the effectiveness of teaching strategies utilizing the materials. After instruction, students were able to construct significantly more scientifically acceptable answers. An appendix…

"How Students Learn: Science in the Classroom" builds on the discoveries detailed in the best-selling "How People Learn." Now these findings are presented in a way that teachers can use immediately, to revitalize their work in the classroom for even greater effectiveness. Organized for utility, the book explores how the principles of learning can…

THE COMMITTEE ON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY SCHOOL STUDY COUNCIL REPORTS THEIR WORK ON SUGGESTED CURRICULUM FOR GRADES 1-6. THE BELIEF IS THAT SCIENCE IS A MAJOR STUDY AREA IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AND SHOULD BE TAUGHT TO ALL PUPILS IN A PLANNED LEARNING SEQUENCE, WITH DUE CONSIDERATION BEING GIVEN TO THE MATURITY OF THE CHILD.…