The world over, secondary school science is viewed mainly as a practical subject. This may be one reason why effectiveness of teaching approaches in science education has often been judged on the kinds of practical activity with which teachers and students engage. In addition to practical work, language--often written (as in science texts) or oral…

Investigates the relationship between students' views of the nature of scientific knowledge and their own learning of physics, and the evolution of this relationship over time. Uses two intensive case studies to illustrate students' views over time. Discusses the changes in students' views concerning the nature of scientific knowledge and the…

Investigated children's conceptualization of scientific phenomena and intuitive methods learned from their everyday experiences. Explores the nature of tinkering within the context of electricity. Presents a model of tinkering that provides a conceptual framework for the interpretation of tinkering as one of the methods students use to make sense…

Examines how chemistry/science textbooks from different countries and written at different levels of education deal with physical and chemical change. Results indicate that the ideas concerning the teaching and learning of physical and chemical change evident in textbooks are not complete and textbooks seldom justify the content they cover in…

The views of first-year biology students on an essay writing assignment were evaluated through a questionnaire. Makes a series of recommendations to help students develop improved writing strategies, minimize the possible difficulties encountered, and allow the writing exercise to be an integral part of the learning process. (AIM)

Examines 4 biology and 10 chemistry textbooks to determine the types of analogies, their ranges of presentation style, and their efficacy to effect students' conceptual understandings. Presents recommendations to teachers for improving the teaching and learning of biology and chemistry by investigating instructional strategies and clarifying their…

Reports on the approaches of two classroom science teachers, supported by a research group, to understanding the consequences of a classroom change implemented in response to a perceived problem. Focuses on the consequences of using problem solving tasks for all students. (Author/YDS)

Describes an assessment scheme in Hong Kong and investigates the degree of implementation of school-based assessment for practical science. Identifies five dimensions of implementation and uses three measuring instruments: (1) a student questionnaire; (2) a teacher questionnaire and (3) an observation schedule. Comparative analyses resulted in…

Features the use of case-based pedagogy as a context for exploring science teacher education reform. Suggests that science teacher education reform is a complex process characterized by the individual and collective narrative histories of teachers. Implications from the study emphasize that case-based pedagogy can serve as the basis for critical…

Investigates whether pupils aged 12-15 years perceive physical quantities as intensive or extensive. Written questionnaires were administered to 300 pupils comprising four tasks for each intensive quantity, density and pressure. Analysis reveals three models of consistent pupils' reasoning. (Author/SOE)

Describes a study of the influence of the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) program on the scientific creativity of secondary school students. Scientific creativity is measured by the Scientific Creativity Test for Secondary School Students. Results indicate that the program did promote the overall development of scientific…

Explores the relationship between a teacher educator's explicit modeling of reflection on practice and (n=9) student teachers' developing use of reflection on practice. (Author/MKR)

Investigates how microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) activities specifically designed to be consistent with a constructivist theory of learning support or constrain student construction of understanding. Analysis of students' discourse and actions reveal that students invented numerous techniques for manipulating data in the service of their…

This study uses a conceptual problem-solving test to investigate the effect of a series of pictorial analogies on the concepts of density, pressure, and atmospheric pressure in Year Eight classrooms. Findings indicate that students taught with the pictorial analogies scored significantly higher than their counterparts. Low achievers were the most…

Explores student performance in chemistry examinations on items that require higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) or lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS). Findings indicate that students performed considerably lower on questions requiring HOCS than on those requiring LOCS. Performance on questions requiring HOCS may not correlate with that on…