This study examines the effects of teaching Linkage and Problem Translating Skills on students' problem-solving performance and their learning of the five cognitive variables namely, Concept Relatedness, Idea Association, Problem Translating Skill, Non-Specific but Relevant Knowledge and Specific Knowledge. Seventy three Grade 9 (Secondary 3)…

The aim of this study on 42 seventh graders (ages 12-13) was to determine whether and to what extent students' metacognitive level is inked to their conceptualization and performance in problem solving at school, especially science problems. This hypothesis is supported by a number of studies showing that metacognition is a factor in learning. Two…

The purpose of this research was to investigate and describe concrete examples of Year 1 students engaged in "good thinking" and to generate assertions about the ways teachers can foster habits of "good thinking" through science. The research design was a multiple case study of 32 lessons, of which four are analysed in detail in this paper. The…

This book builds on the social nature of learning to provide useful suggestions for reaching reluctant learners. It is based on the assumption that instruction that focuses on students' interests and builds on collaborative and differentiated learning will allow students to move from believing they "can't do mathematics or science" to a feeling of…

Peer-led team learning (PLTL) is a program of small-group workshops, attached to a course, under the direction of trained peer leaders who have completed the course. Peer leaders ensure that team members engage with the materials and with each other, they help build commitment and confidence, and they encourage discussion. Studies of PLTL have…

This paper documents the dynamics of the social interactions within two small groups of sixth grade students as they solved problems and attempted to understand the concepts related to the nature of matter and molecular theory. Similarities and differences of social interactions between the two groups are compared, and interpretations presented…

Models and modeling are frequently used as instructional tools in science education to convey important information concerning both the explanatory and structural features of topic areas in science. The efficacy of models as such rests almost entirely upon students' ability to conceptualize them as abstracted "representations" of…

This paper reports on a case study focusing on the development of students' capacity to develop and assess arguments in the context of instruction in high school genetics. It is part of a wider project whose goals were: (1) the identification of the conditions for argument (and in general scientific reasoning) to occur in science classrooms; (2)…

There is a growing body of current research that addresses literacy from the perspective of literacy as a social process. This perspective underscores the need to examine the culture of classroom in our attempt to understand how students learn and become literate within a discipline. This paper presents two case studies of high school biology…

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT (Except for the Evaluation Summary Table): PRODUCER: MECC Publications, 2520 Broadway Drive, St. Paul, MN 55113. LOCAL DISTRIBUTORS: Contact producer for list. EVALUATION COMPLETED: Fall 1981, revised February 1, 1982. VERSION: 4.3. COST: Varied; sold in package of several programs on a disk at $30…

Characteristics of successful and unsuccessful problem solvers in categorization tasks are examined in this study of undergraduate students. Findings are reviewed of the categorization and solution tasks undertaken by a group (N=21) of science majors at a private university. The subjects were classified as either successful or unsuccessful in…

Computerized science simulations were employed by high school biology students in an attempt to enhance their problem-solving skills. The simulations were administered under unguided (discovery learning) and guided (guided discovery learning) conditions while a control group received no simulations. To ascertain the effectiveness of the…

This study examined the science process skill of prediction problem solving using naturalistic research methodology and information-processing theory. The think-aloud interview led to the identification of several specific program exploration and prediction behaviors. A total of 14 high school biology students made predictions concerning the…

Most physics problem-solving studies provide data that indicate problem representation is different between experts and novices. This paper presents "cognitive aids" guiding the process of elaboration of a problem representation through intermediate representations. Intermediate means that the representation is situated somewhere between…

Several recent studies in which subjects solved pencil/paper problems concerning the behavior of moving objects have shown that many people have incorrect beliefs about motion. The present study considered the question of whether these naive beliefs are manifested in situations where people observe and interact with moving objects. Several…