Describes a study of three parts: (1) the application of a statistical technique for predicting performance; (2) a computer program for teaching basic problem-solving skills; and (3) evidence for the value of teaching with complex homework problems in an introductory physics course required for engineering majors. (Contains 42 references.)…

Research in science education identified a variety of attitudes and beliefs that shape and/or are shaped by classroom experience. The present study identified high school teachers' beliefs about Physics and learning Physics. Since the background of the forty-one teachers who participated in a six-week in-service training program was neither in…

An approach to teaching problem-solving based on using the computer software Mathematica is applied to the study of electrostatics and is compared with the normal approach to the module. Learning outcomes for both approaches were not significantly different. The experimental course successfully addressed a number of misconceptions. Students in the…

This study presents a formative evaluation of "The Intelligent Physics Tutor," an interactive software program designed to improve high school physics students' problem-solving skills. The purposes of this evaluation were to describe how the "Tutor" was used in the pilot high school class; to determine teacher and student…

The major perspectives on problem solving of the twentieth century are reviewed--associationism, Gestalt psychology, and cognitive science. The results of the review on teaching problem solving and the uses of computers to teach problem solving are included. Four major issues related to the teaching of problem solving are discussed: (1)…

In response to theories of learning that attempt to get rid of contents, two arguments are provided which suggest that it is theoretically disputable that knowledge develops along the same kind of process for biology and history, physics and mathematics, or the geometry of the triangle, and the geometry of space. The first is that empirical…

This international research report consists of five papers discussing five different topics in education. "Views on the Implementation of the Curriculum--Experiences of the Finnish Practice" (P. Kansanen) analyzes research results regarding the national curriculum for the Finnish comprehensive school system and compares them with a…

The increasing availability of the computer in the classroom has created a need for informed and creative instructional software. Two areas of cognitive research in mathematics and science learning have implications to instruction and, consequently, to educational software design. These are research on misconceptions and on differences between…

This manual was developed to provide guidance to individuals working in Project SOAR (Stress on Analytical Reasoning), a pre-freshman summer program for science majors anticipating matriculation at Xavier University of Louisiana. Following an overview of Xavier University and Project SOAR and an outline of general instructions, specific…

Argues that cookbook chemistry laboratory experiments do little to teach scientific inquiry. Suggests providing students with laboratory experiences that follow the introduction of a concept and challenge students to investigate that concept through an experiment involving very few initial instructions. Lists some such challenges used in chemistry…

This study is part of a larger research agenda, which includes future doctoral study, aiming to investigate the psychological processes of thought experiments. How do thought-experimenters establish relations between their imaginary worlds and the physical one? How does a technique devoid of new sensory input result to new empirical knowledge? In…

Discussed is whether, and to what extent, science teachers critically and spontaneously attend to the logical structure of situations, and whether they need prompting, or completely fail to do so. The relationship between the results of this study and science teachers' pre- and in-service education is discussed. (Author/KR)

Describes methods for teaching mechanics. Concepts included are force, inertial frames, and rotation. Emphasizes how to feel or observe them. (YP)

Examines the dialog of 82 secondary school students in Glasgow (Scotland) (13 male, 12 female, and 16 mixed-sex pairs) working in pairs on a computer-presented task to determine gender differences in expression of opinion. Implications of the differences between genders in interaction style and manner of progress through the task are discussed.…

Combining both the Western perspective of creativity as productivity and the Eastern perspective of creativity as enlightenment, a Program for Enlightened and Productive Creativity (PEPC) for teaching inquiry was devised. The PEPC describes stages through which a student is guided to solve a problem using increasingly complex observation, inquiry,…