The aim of this research is identify the effectiveness of a multiple representation-based learning model, which builds a mental model within the concept of atomic structure. The research sample of 108 students in 3 classes is obtained randomly from among students of Mathematics and Science Education Studies using a stratified random sampling…

This article notes the convergence of recent thinking in neuroscience and grounded cognition regarding the way we understand mental representation and recollection: ideas are dynamic and multi-modal, actively created at the point of recall. Also, neurophysiologically, re-entrant signalling among cortical circuits allows non-conscious processing to…

A study of students' understandings of the nature of science makes science itself the focus of inquiry. This book is an account of a research project undertaken to elicit and to describe the range and nature of school students' understandings of the nature of science. The features of students' representations which are focused on include their…

Traces the evolution of physics teaching and research in Bucharest and Jassy, the two most important Romanian intellectual centers. Reports on three stages of historical development and selected biographies of Romanian scientists are included. (DDR)

An appreciation of the relationship between novice and expert knowledge frameworks may help develop an understanding of the process of transition from one to the other. Recommends the use of concept mapping. (DDR)

Argues that Albert Einstein preceded Karl Popper in formulating the fundamental premises of hypothetism. Presents the original text and ideas from an article published by Einstein in 1919. (DDR)

Comments on the consequences of the death of the rationalist dream, including a loss of nerve in science education that leads some people to doubt the point and the value of teaching science. Argues that the death of this dream is irrelevant. Contains 57 references. (DDR)

Provides historical information on the incorporation of physics as a subject into secondary schools in Spain. Cites religious and political tensions as early roadblocks to curriculum development. (DDR)

Offers a critical examination of some of the basic claims of studies that employ ideas from social constructivism and the sociology of scientific knowledge. Argues that social constructivism cannot explain some of the most characteristic features of the physical sciences. Contains 26 references. (DDR)

Describes the first moon-radar echo experiment conducted by Zoltan Bay in Hungary and comments on Bay as a model for contemporary physics education. (DDR)

Examines quantitative models in school physics, looking particularly at the degree to which they match the real world. Explores the positive aspects of a mismatch between models and real world conditions. (DDR)

Reports research based on the scientific issues of a claim of missing matter in the universe and a possible link between injections of vitamin K into newborn babies and the subsequent development of childhood cancer. Contains 64 references. (DDR)

Proposes that once the elements of procedural understanding have been explicitly defined, appropriate teaching strategies can then be used to enable student understanding. Argues that explicitly teaching these concepts may add rigor to GNVQ assignments. (DDR)

Describes a project in which student teachers chose science exhibits and created webpages to communicate some aspect of the underlying science in the exhibit. Student teachers participating in the project developed personal understanding of some difficult areas in science. (DDR)

This paper presents findings from a study that investigated students' understanding of quantum phenomena and focused on how students incorporate the ideas of quantum physics into their overall cognitive framework. The heuristic metaphor of the map is used to construct graphic representations of students' understanding of quantum physics. The…