Analyzes senior high school students' astronomy conceptions by means of a written questionnaire presented during the beginning of the first semester. (Contains 42 references.) (Author/YDS)

Presents information on using analogies in science instruction. Describes the Teaching-with-Analogies Model. Presents an example for homeostasis. (PR)

Presents a three-week interdisciplinary unit for starting the school year that focuses on the concept of flight. Enables students to acquire knowledge and develop process skills that they need later in the semester. (JRH)

Notes the continued lack of success and participation by minority students and white females in science. Discusses creating equitable contexts for learning. Looks at teacher training, gender and ethnicity, and experience working with diverse populations as factors in teacher effectiveness. Argues that debates are needed regarding incorporating…

Introduces a case study for upper grade levels and undergraduate students that is designed to increase students' ability to read and comprehend scientific information. Discusses ecological parameters and evaluates trophic level interactions. Questions the fluctuations in the moose and wolf populations and the growth rates of balsam firs. Includes…

While it is most often the case that an understanding of physics can simplify mathematical calculations, occasionally mathematical precision leads directly to a better physical understanding of a situation. Presents an example of a mechanics problem in which careful mathematical derivation can lead directly to a deeper physical understanding of…

Presents a physics lab activity in which students determine if an electrode configuration simulates a section of concentric cylinders or concentric spheres. (WRM)

Explains why one orientation of an asymmetric spring-and-mass system leads to a higher frequency of 0000000000 than another orientation. (WRM)

Explains the shape distortions that take place in fluid packets (bubbles or drops) with steady flow motion by using the laws of Archimedes, Pascal, and Bernoulli rather than advanced vector calculus. (WRM)

Studied the ideas of 5-year olds regarding the concept of light, using individual interviews. Found that children identify light with its source or its effect rather than as a distinct entity, a representation at odds with the scientific concept of light. (Author/JPB)

Presents several variations on a demonstration in which alcohol vapors are combusted in large small-necked bottles, causing a blue flame to shoot from the bottle's mouth. Describes variations with different pure alcohols, temperature, alcohol/water solution concentration, oxygen concentration, type of container, and the addition of salt for color.…

Describes the history of the study of dinosaurs and current topics of research in the field. Contains 18 references. (WRM)

Discusses the nature and orientation of the forces that allow an engineless airplane (a glider or sailplane) to fly. A glider flying at constant velocity provides a nice example of an object moving under the action of several forces that add to zero. (WRM)

Presents activities designed to help children experimentally determine what the dark areas of the moon consist of, and compares primary children's ideas about the moon with those of early scientists. (WRM)

Describes an exercise in which students can use flashlights, mirrors, and colored paper to discover scientific principles regarding optics. Addresses the concepts of angles of incidence and reflection, colored vs. white light, and mirror images. (WRM)