One of the challenges faced in teacher education is how to teach preservice teachers about complex topics, especially those that involve the roles of the teacher and students relative to one another and to what is being studied. This paper describes a secondary science methods course and presents activities from the course which allow teachers to…

Elementary teachers must make thousands of decisions about their teaching practices every day. From whom should they first seek a response? Who should be asked the next question? Will the students be in groups for this activity or do it alone? While many science educators have clear visions of strategies they should employ in science classrooms,…

For the past eight years postgraduate science teachers in training (approximately 50 each year) have been given Assessment of Performance Unit (APU) questions under strict test conditions as part of an initial learning experience in an education course. The APU questions were originally devised to explore the range of understanding of 15-year-old…

Ranger Rick's NatureScope is a creative education series dedicated to inspiring in children an understanding and appreciation of the natural world while developing the skills they will need to make responsible decisions about the environment. Contents are organized into the following sections: (1) "What Makes an Insect an Insect?,"…

Chemical change is a central theme of Chemistry which has itself been called the central science. This was the title of a popular American text book. I am thus putting forward the idea that chemical change is an idea central to science as a whole, so that it would be one of the ideas children should understand clearly whilst at school. This is…

Science teachers seek to increase student learning within the area of science. Through the implementation of National Science Education Standards, teachers are provided insights into learning techniques, strategies, and other guidelines for effective learning instruction. Teachers agree science is a complex discipline, which can be seen in the…

Discusses the concept of time zones around the world and describes a teaching aid that is useful in helping students to understand this concept. (JR)

Still pictures, slides and motion pictures were used in this study to present concepts in biology involving time, space and motion. (Author)

Argues that critical attitudes, which include cognitive and affective dimensions, are best developed by use of interactive learning materials. Four exercises developed for science students on tertiary level courses to promote critical attitudes are described, and their evaluation techniques outlined. Results of preliminary trials of the exercises…

The ability to perceive and understand that liquid remains invariantly horizontal was studied with 64 hearing impaired junior and senior high school students. Significant results were found for training on the most difficult bottle positions. No differences in performance were found between the male and female hearing impaired students.…

Several examples of misinformation and advanced topics included in current chemistry textbooks are provided. Suggests that since these books tend to be too long, too advanced, and too heavy, revisions should be shorter and less costly, with confusing aspects of chemistry (such as molecular-orbital theory) left out completely. (JN)

Discusses seven energy frameworks (such as human-centered energy, energy as an ingredient, energy as a product, and energy as an obvious activity), illustrated by extracts taken from transcripts of students interviewed by the interview-about-instances approach. Considers difficulty in effecting as well as methods for creating conceptual change.…

This study was conducted to determine the cognitive demand made by an eighth-grade science textbook. Reasoning patterns and science concepts were listed and compared. Concrete reasoning was required more often than formal reasoning, but some points of difficulty for students who are not formal reasoners were noted. (MNS)

Outlines a course in which toys are used to demonstrate physics concepts, stressing available or easily constructed toys. A recent lecture sequence included toys demonstrating equilibrium, force/torque, linear/angular momentum conservation, energy conservation/storage, flying, vibrations, programed music, and others. Illustrations of selected toys…

College students (N=52) were given unfamiliar or novel problems (written and interview responses) to determine how they characterize living things, criteria they use to distinguish between living/dead/nonliving, and to determine if their idea of life included the interrelationship between organisms and biosphere. Results and implications are…