Susan E. Carey, winner of the 2009 Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions, is cited for groundbreaking studies of the nature of concepts and conceptual change. Her research deepens understanding of the development of concepts, and of the belief systems in which they are embedded, over human childhood, over the history of science, and…

Examines Piaget's learning theories and his endorsement of the biological viewpoints of Jean Baptiste de Lamarck. Particular points in Piaget's theories and their relationships to Lamarck's biology are discussed. (CP)

Discusses the question of whether mathematics is discovered or invented. An approach known as constructive mathematics and based on the belief that mathematics can have real meaning if its concepts can be constructed by the human mind is presented. (HM)

Discusses the work of T. S. Kuhn and Sir Karl Popper. Current views on the nature of science and some current ideology of scientific education are also analyzed with regard to the views of science due to Kuhn and Popper. (HM)

Argues that high school physics should be grounded in motivating contextual activities and connected to a philosophically and historically valid theoretical structure. Explains the large context problem approach and its effect on generating questions and problems. (DDR)

Provides teachers with some ideas about the development of physical knowledge to make them more receptive to the differences between their own and their students' thinking. Illustrates an adapted version of Piaget's model of the growth of physical knowledge using the development of classical mechanics. Contains 12 references. (Author/JRH)

Discusses Piaget's and Garcia's work that examines the common features underlying individual and historical development. Presents criticism to Piaget's position and examines the possibility of overcoming the main problems of Piaget's approach within a Piagetian framework. Looks at the consequences of the relationship between individual and…

Argues that Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" remains a seldom-read book among both biologists and biology students. Explains that this situation presents two problems: (1) it perpetuates misconceptions about Darwin and his ideas, and (2) it prevents an understanding of developing arguments through the selection of appropriate…

Discusses the reciprocal relationship between food and behavior, dealing with the subject as a two-way system; two parts of the brain are particularly involved, the hypothalamus and the cerebral cortex. (Author/JM)

Examines the role of empirical evidence in the interpretation of psychological and epistemological aspects of Piagetian theory. Concludes that Galileo's method of idealization has important implications for the construction of a neo-Piagetian epistemological theory. Contains 35 references. (Author/WRM)

After proposing and defining the superordinate concept of "historicality," fundamental interrelationships between time, events, memory, meaning, personal knowledge, public knowledge, and the histories of science are explored. Relevant research findings that demonstrate the confluence of scholarly thought concerning historicality across…

Analyzing the paradigmatic shift from Peripatetic to Galilean physics can help to understand students' difficulties in learning Newtonian mechanics. Promotes the use of historical texts in physics teaching as a means to support students in becoming aware of the structural differences between everyday life and scientific views of the world. (Author)

The fields of science education and science studies and their respective academic communities, while appearing to have many potential points of contact, remain surprisingly separate, with little apparent recognition of the relevance to the interests of each to work done within the other traditions. As a field of study science education deals with…

The process of conceptual change, in learners and in scientific knowledge, indicates that: (1) change involves complex and varied commitments to methods of investigation, aims and goals of investigation, and prior knowledge; (2) change leads to consensus forming or dissensus forming activities; (3) knowledge claims and procedures for testing…

Reviews various evidences on the relationship between age and the reception of major innovations in science. Examines the possibility that age patterning of reception may vary over time. Reports the potential importance of age on the reception of ideas while rejecting the presumption that advanced age leads to increased resistance. (YP)