Old physics textbooks give us a great opportunity to learn about the history of science and rediscover different methods to teach physics to our students. There are many disused and forgotten experiments in them, but these can still be very useful to affirm and understand physics. This is the case of an instrument used in the 19th century to…

Assessment and evaluation instruments provide teachers the opportunity of shaping education in the beginning, contributing to education during the process and evaluating education at the end of the process. Textbooks, on the other hand, are resources that present the aforementioned contributions to teachers at first hand. Thus, the study aims to…

The objective of this study was to investigate the physics student-teachers misconceptions in force and motion concepts in Jordanian universities by using the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) test and to identify the cause of misconceptions related to these concepts. Also, the FCI has been used to detect whether misconceptions vary according to…

This paper is a response to Hoban and Neilsen's (2010) Five Rs model for understanding how learners engage with slowmation. An alternative model (the Learning MMAEPER Model) that builds on the 5Rs model is explained in terms of its use in secondary science preservice teacher education. To probe into the surface and deep learning that can occur…

In recent years, science education has placed increasing importance on learners' mastery of scientific reasoning. This growing emphasis presents a challenge for both developers and users of assessments. We report on our effort around the conceptualization, development, and testing the validity of an assessment of students' ability to reason around…

Of the eight practices of science identified in "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012), helping students develop and use models has been identified by many as an anchor (Schwarz and Passmore 2012; Windschitl 2012). In instruction, disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and scientific practices can be meaningfully…

The speed of sound is a physical property that can be measured easily in the lab. However, finding an inexpensive and intuitive way for students to determine this speed has been more involved. The introduction of affordable consumer-grade high-speed cameras (such as the Exilim EX-FC100) makes conceptually simple experiments feasible. Since the…

Prior research has demonstrated that neither children nor adults hold a scientific understanding of the big ideas of astronomy, as described in standards documents for science education [National Research Council [1996]. National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; American Association for the Advancement of…

In the Dutch secondary education system, students must carry out at the end of their school career a research or design project to demonstrate their ability to apply acquired knowledge and skills while pursuing a rather large research question or design goal in some depth. They are encouraged to choose the topic themselves and they are to some…

Design-based research, and particularly its theoretical status, is a subject of debate in the science education community. In the first part of this paper, a theoretical framework drawn up to develop design-based research will be presented. This framework is mainly based on epistemological analysis of physics modelling, learning and teaching…

This publication presents the Nebraska Science Standards for Grades K-12. The standards are presented according to the following grades: (1) Grades K-2; (2) Grades 3-5; (3) Grades 6-8; and (4) Grades 9-12.

Commercial computer games contain "physics engine" components, responsible for providing realistic interactions among game objects. The question naturally arises of whether these engines can be used to develop educational materials for high school and university physics education. To answer this question, the author's group recently conducted a…

Outlines the basic ideas which explain the movement of sand in air and water. Uses the behavior of spheres as a model to indicate the behavior of sand grains. (GS)

Describes an experiment in which the final speed of a toy car is predicted by measuring the elastic potential energy stored in its spring at the start and the energy lost to friction during the run. Conservation of energy is discussed and the necessary mathematical formulas are presented. (BC)

Suggests techniques to help eliminate students' misconceptions involving Newton's Third Law. Approaches suggested include teaching physics from a historical perspective, using computer programs with simulations, rewording the law, drawing free-body diagrams, and using demonstrations and examples. (PR)