This paper reports on an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for the characterization of models and modeling that can be useful in application to chemistry education. The underlying argument marks a departure from an emphasis on concepts that are the outcomes of chemical inquiry about how knowledge growth occurs through modeling in chemistry.…

Explores whether exposure to increasingly sophisticated mental models at different points in a chemistry education class showed up in patterns of preference and use of models in interpreting physical properties and phenomena. (Contains 92 references.) (DDR)

Investigates the effectiveness of two different types of interviews: one that embeds a concept map, and one that does not embed a concept map in order to elicit post-instructional understandings. Focuses on students' understandings of chlorofluorocarbons and their role in global atmospheric change. Contains 71 references. (DDR)

Describes trends in students' explanations of biological change in organisms. Student responses to questions on how graphically depicted phenomena occur were analyzed and most students were unable to offer causal explanations. (Contains 27 references.) (DDR)

Explores whether construction of integrated knowledge structures by students can be stimulated by concept mapping and better visualization of concepts and their interrelationships. Significant effects of concept mapping as an instructional method could not be detected. (Contains 18 references.) (DDR)