Traces the evolution of physics research methods in Finland from passive observations to planned experiments. Presents examples of planned experiments designed to solve particular problems with the goal of establishing a theory of the phenomenon under study. Contains 16 references. (JRH)

Examines recent developments in Nancy Cartwright's philosophy of science against the background of her earlier ideas. Argues that Cartwright's views fall within the broad empiricist tradition. Contains 19 references. (Author/WRM)

Describes an approach to teaching physics to science teachers using the history of science. Reports that history becomes more useful to teachers when explicitly combined with investigative experimentation, which in turn can benefit from various uses of the history of science. Contains 18 references. (JRH)

Describes an approach to teaching atomic, nuclear, and particle physics using the history of the most important discoveries in that field. Uses the manuscripts, first publications, measurements and data of initial discoveries, and the photos of apparatus and of famous physicists to arouse student interest. Presents examples from the life and work…

If students are restricted to making educational experiments only, they might acquire incorrect ideas concerning the nature and role of the experimental method because the educational experiment differs greatly from the scientific experiment by its tasks, complexity, number and variability of experiments and devices used, measurements, and…

Philosophers' attempts to convincingly explicate the received view of an ad hoc hypothesis--that it accounts for only the observations it was designed to account for--have been unsuccessful. Familiar and firmer criteria for evaluating the hypotheses or modified theories so classified are characteristically available. Contains 41 references.…

Discusses a dimension of hermeneutics in science that has to do with the production of the experimental object, or with act rather than text hermeneutics. Examines the hermeneutics of experimentation and differing perspectives of technique. (LZ)

Discusses recent science studies that focus on experimentation and the implications of these studies for the philosophy of science. Argues that the results of scientific experiments are practical productions that embody practical solutions to some of the key problems that have worried science philosophers. (Author/WRM)

Presents the result of an empirical study on the reception and effectiveness of historical material being included in the physics program of a Swiss high school. (Author/NB)

Reports on a study to discover physics student teachers' objectives for practical work in teaching physics. Participants took a course based on a unique perceptional approach. Results indicate that after attending the course, student teachers found that the practical work which they had done was very useful. (Author/MM)

This paper extends discussion of Cushing's contribution to Bohm's deterministic interpretation of quantum mechanics, which raises the question of whether self-understanding is at issue in physical science as it is in social science. Addresses ideas by Bevilacqua and Giannetto about the use of historical texts and the primacy of experiment. (LZ)

Illustrates how teachers designed new science learning environments based on research readings from science and technology studies and studied teaching and learning within these environments. Examples of students' science-related activities include videotaped laboratory activities, taped interviews, and student-produced artifacts collected over…

Finds that interpretation of Galileo's only known experimental manuscript produces some interesting questions that offer pedagogical applications. Promotes classroom "research games" consisting of reconstructed experiments with Galileo's inclined plane and with other instruments to allow further speculation. (Author/WRM)

Argues that a skills-based approach for the assessment of laboratory work is philosophically unsound, educationally worthless, and pedagogically dangerous. Proposes an alternative, holistic approach to assessment, based on a more valid model of scientific practice. (Contains 38 references.) (MDH)

Discusses the inherent flaws in considering and using the epistemology of the natural sciences as equivalent to a pedagogic basis for teaching and learning in the natural sciences. Discusses the difference between practicing science and learning to practice science. Concludes with the presentation of three new motives for the use of laboratory…