Science and engineering practices (SEPs) and crosscutting concepts (CCs) constitute a significant part of "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012). As teachers, the role of the authors is to highlight the pivotal role that both scientific knowledge and the practices used to generate knowledge play in learning. This article…

This paper examines the educational impact of a prepilot study on the "Learning Logs" literacy strategy as it was used in Louisiana. The study examined how students' conceptual understanding of kinematics and Newton's laws were impacted in a ninth-grade physical science course. The findings address a gap within the current research…

Prismatic refraction is a classic topic in science education. To investigate how undergraduate students think about prismatic dispersion, and to see how they change their thinking when observing dispersed images, five teaching experiments were done and analysed according to the Model of Educational Reconstruction. For projection through a prism,…

Science teaching and learning require knowledge about how learning takes place (cognition) and how learners interact with their surroundings (affective and sociocultural factors). The study reported on focussed on learning for understanding of Newton's second law of motion from a cognitive perspective that takes social factors into account. A…

Several misconceptions abound among college students taking their first general physics course, and to some extent pre-engineering physics students, regarding the physics and applications of electric circuits. Analogies used in textbooks, such as those that liken an electric circuit to a piped closed loop of water driven by a water pump, do not…

In the last decades, many education researchers have been trying to use computerized learning environments to enhance student learning. Without proper instructional supports and guidance, however, students often failed to acquire knowledge from computer-based learning activities. The objective of this study was to demonstrate how research-based…

This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of learning activities based on conceptual change conditions and traditionally designed physics instruction on tenth-grade students' understanding of static electricity concepts and their attitudes toward physics as a school subject. Misconceptions related to static electricity concepts…

Describes an experiment that uses a bottle, a cork, and a wooden match to study students' explanations of what they observe to reveal misunderstandings about pressure and to produce some incorrect interpretations such as creation of a gradient of pressure. (DDR)

Explains reasons why students have misconceptions concerning pendulum swings. Presents a series of 10 pendulum task cards to provide middle-school students with a solid mental scaffolding upon which to build their knowledge of kinetic energy and pendulums. (PR)

Describes a Russian approach of using literature to make physics instruction more interesting and attractive to students. (PR)

This publication provides an introduction to teaching and learning approaches for the extension topics within GCSE Physics. It highlights some specific ideas that teachers can adopt and where to find further information. It also outlines issues for managing the change. This guide contains sevens sections: Section 1 presents the policy context;…