Examined 5- and 6-year-olds' ideas about the functioning of common electrical appliances and properties of electric current. Found that children represented current in a static way, thinking it was included in the appliance, and confounded electric current and water flow, believing external electricity was different from internal. They were…

Determines the relationship between the presence of traditional classroom assessment (tests and quizzes) and the science achievement of students in elementary methods course at East Carolina University. (Author/CCM)

Establishes a relationship between students' understanding of gases and its parallels in the history of science. Finds that college freshman students' alternative conceptions about gas behavior are resistant to change and recapitulate theories scientists held in the past, such as the Lattice Theory of Gases. (Contains 52 references.) (Author/WRM)

Explains that hypermedia tools may be developed for case and problem-centered learning in order to achieve significant learning outcomes, such as deep conceptual understanding, conceptual change, and knowledge transfer. (Author/CCM)

Discusses the events surrounding a famous picture of Albert Einstein in which he poses near a blackboard containing a tensor form of his 10 field equations for pure gravity with a question mark after it. Speculates as to the content of Einstein's lecture and the questions he might have had about the equation. (Contains over 30 references.) (WRM)

Uses aquarium and computer mirages to explain natural mirages caused by severe temperature inversions and appropriate topography. (WRM)

Reports on a long-term, large-scale study of a one-semester, conceptually-based, introductory astronomy course with data from more than 400 students over three semesters at the University of New Mexico. Finds that novice students show large, positive gains on assessments of conceptual understanding and connected understanding of the knowledge…

Describes the erroneous use of the term "dissolve" in chemistry textbooks to refer to what is, more properly speaking, a chemical reaction. (WRM)

Describes a study that used the ordered-tree technique to investigate knowledge change across the first semester of a college course in organic chemistry. Finds that over the course of the semester, students' knowledge trees became more similar to those of their professors. Discusses possible assessment uses for the ordered-tree technique.…

Describes the construction and use of a portable "sparker" or "lightning machine" that can be used to demonstrate dielectric breakdown of air. (WRM)

Describes the evolution of scientific visualization in technical and engineering graphics. Outlines a scientific-technical visualization curriculum illustrated with applications. Discusses the role of technology education in the new curriculum. (SK)

Explores the origins of the myth expressed in many early geology textbooks that clay and shale are impervious to water. Misconceptions about the effects of molecular attraction on groundwater appear to have arisen from errant interpretations of correct physicochemical concepts. (PVD)

Demonstrates that scientific laws about nature and their representative models, as taught and described by theory, are often different from the method as practiced. Focuses on the use of the Periodic Table as a scientific model. Contains 26 references. (DDR)

Students learn about marine food chains, bioaccumulation, the energy pyramid, and potential ocean pollutants and their effects on ocean ecosystems in this activity which involves having students pull drawings of marine organisms which include diatoms, copepods, anchovies, bonito, and killer whale out of a bag, then demonstrating the food chain by…

Discusses conceptual knowledge and communication, focusing on differences between talk and text. Describes a study of Swedish seventh graders that compared knowledge and achievement in problems from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and concludes that it is doubtful if the items test knowledge of science concepts to…