How to improve students' understanding of energy transformation and conservation remains one of the main challenges of energy teaching. To address this challenge, we developed a new teaching strategy suited to high school based on history and philosophy of science (HPS). It involves five key ingredients: study and reproduction of Joule's…

Argues that "truth" and "time" are defined differently by scientists and postmodern observers of science: a theoretical definition of "truth" is often applied to scientific knowledge within science education, whereas a practical definition, supported by evidence, is used within science. (Author/CCM)

In recent years, a number of curriculum reform projects have championed the notion of having students do science in ways that move beyond hands-on work with authentic materials and methods, or developing a conceptual grasp of current theories. These reformers have argued that students should come to an understanding of science through doing the…