At present, quality earth science education in grade school is rare, increasing the importance of post-secondary courses. Observations of post-secondary geoscience indicate students often maintain errant ideas about the earth, even after direct instruction. This qualitative case study documents model-building activities of students as they…

Presented are the results of a study of high school and college students concerning their thinking about functions of the human body. It was shown that students' thinking could be positively changed over the short term from teleologic to mechanistic. Sample survey questions are included. (CW)

Glaring and basic textbook errors and misconceptions about photosynthesis are discussed. The Calvin Cycle, photosynthetic products, alternative cycles, and plants as producers are considered. Included are observations of both college and secondary textbooks. (CW)

This study presents a quantitative method for scoring concept maps generated by students learning introductory college chemistry. Concept maps measure the amount of chemical information the student possesses, reasoning ability in chemistry, and specific misconceptions about introductory and physical chemistry concepts. They provide a visualization…

Discussed is a common error made by students in judging the distribution of the magnetic field of a circular loop along its diameter. Qualitative and quantitative explanations of the magnetic field distribution are presented. (CW)

Discusses the difficulties that some students have in understanding the concept of chemical reactions. Proposes that instructors try to consider the various difficulties during a chemistry course when students form their concepts of element conservation. (TW)

Discusses some of the ways that some scientific concepts evolve and are perpetuated, even if they are not completely accurate. Uses the example of groundwater, citing numerous ways that various people understand it and, in many cases, form misconceptions. (TW)

Reports on the results of an investigation into the understanding of the concepts of basic electricity by French students from grade six up through the fourth year of college. Discusses the misconceptions formed and the challenges these present to physics educators. (TW)

Reports on a study designed to determine the importance of images to experienced chemists and the nature of images among learners, with particular attention to correlations with level of learning. Suggests that instructional methods should consider the student's ability to develop specific images appropriate to the chemical concepts. (TW)

Cites the misconceptions that students beginning the study of electric circuits often have about electricity. Explains the use of capacitors with circuits of batteries and light bulbs to introduce electrostatic forces and help to alleviate the problem of misconceptions. (RT)

Reported are the differences in the understanding of concepts involved in photosynthesis and its role in ecology between students who had studied advanced biology and those who had not. Reports that the less experienced students had a poorer understanding of autotrophic respiration and energy aspects of photosynthesis. (CW)

Examined the effects of an instructional method used to remedy students' difficulties caused by fragmented and incorrectly interpreted knowledge. Described the method using explicit concept-interpretation procedures. Finds that the method helped to revise students' deficient prior knowledge about acceleration, and helped them to interpret it…

In this paper examples of the role of analogical reasoning in expert problem solving are presented. These are intended to show that using an analogy can change an expert's understanding of a problem situation by changing the conceptual model he or she uses to think about the situation. This suggests that using a good analogy may allow students to…

In this study 34 spontaneous analogies produced by 16 college freshmen while solving qualitative physics problems are analyzed. A number of the analogies were invalid in the sense that they led to an incorrect answer from the physicist's point of view. However, many were valid, and a few were powerful in the sense that they seemed not only to help…

Discussed are the results of a test administered to nonmajor biology students on the topic of natural selection. The description of student conceptions, effects of instruction, and the effects of a belief in evolution are included. (KR)