Science education is central to the lives of all Americans. Students face a world where they will frequently be required to make important decisions on issues that range from health care to the environment. Achieving literacy in science will require coherence at all levels and across components of the system including curriculum, assessment, and…

Identifies some common misconceptions regarding diffusion that exist among many biology teachers as well as students. Offers suggestions and demonstrations to use in the classroom to help students gain a more accurate understanding of diffusion. (ZWH)

Presents a demonstration that employs angular momentum to disprove the myth that water spirals down a bathtub drain clockwise in one hemisphere and counterclockwise in the other because of the Coriolis force on water. (ZWH)

This book is designed to help teachers bolster their content knowledge by focusing on specific science concepts regarding the topic of light. The book covers three scientific models of light and discusses the observations that can be explained by each model. Chapters include: (1) "LightN-The Early Years"; (2) "Colorful Waves"; (3) "Focus, People,…

Identifies 6 types of misleading labels in the drawings of 12 biology textbooks. (Author/MKR)

Results of a basic life science literacy survey of 300 undergraduates with both science and nonscience interests found that many do not know elementary facts and that women outscored men on 6 of the 12 questions. The study shows that scientific literacy remains a serious problem in the United States. (KR)

Considered are two commonly used techniques, the interview and word association techniques. Highlighted is a third technique called the repertory grid. This third technique can be used to interpret students' knowledge based on an explicit, psychological theory of human behavior. (Author/CW)

Discusses incidents of brush-ins with student proponents of the theory of creation science. Provides and answers eight questions typical of both the misinformation spread in creation science literature and the lack of research done by students. (MVL)

A study of textbook language dealing in depth with the concept of force is described. Textbooks and other historical materials from the 1840s to the present were examined. This provided a longitudinal framework in which to consider language usage. Student language was also investigated. (43 references) (KR)

Reports on a small-scale investigation of student understanding of moments of forces to provide some indication as to the nature of intuitive ideas in this area. Results of the investigation suggest three stumbling blocks in the conceptual understanding of moment of forces. (Author/ASK)

Identifies some of the major factors underlying common problems that students have in acquiring an understanding of chemistry concepts. Suggests and discusses the use of concept maps as an aid in ensuring that meaningful learning rather than rote learning has occurred among students. Contains 32 references. (ZWH)

Shows that the conventional wisdom about the extreme inaccuracy of stopwatch measurements during the acceleration and free fall of objects is mistaken. (ZWH)

Describes a procedure for ascertaining secondary students' misconceptions about concepts relating to astronomy. Summarizes results that indicate the usefulness of the approach and the range and extent of the misconceptions which could be revealed. Makes suggestions about how to use the technique in such a way that the findings will challenge the…

Discusses how early notions about celestial mechanics were restructured, one by one, involving the following concepts: the celestial sphere and its rotation; the spherical earth; planetary motion; and models for the solar system initiated by Eudoxus, Hipparchus, Ptolemy, and Copernicus. (JJK)

Describes how discrepant events in science can be used to stimulate and motivate the use of thinking skills in learning scientific concepts. (ZWH)