Shows how findings from science education, instructional design, and educational psychology can help journalism students develop explanatory skills for technical phenomena. Emphasizes understanding readers' key difficulties, appreciating distinct explanatory goals, and practicing well-tested explanatory strategies. Discusses key difficulties and…

A model of the phenomenon of the desert mirage is presented using Snell's Law and simple programing techniques. Optical trajectories predicted by the model are illustrated. (CW)

Presented are two lessons which illustrate acceleration for elementary school students. A poster for use in these activities is provided. Teaching methods used in these lessons are discussed. Student questions concerning automobile racing are presented with answers. (CW)

Illustrated is the usefulness of keeping track of the directions of atomic orbitals in predicting the shapes of molecules. The application of this technique to all cumulenes and its use in the determination of aromaticity in cyclic systems is discussed. (KR)

Investigated was the effect of concept mapping on science achievement. It was concluded that mapping concepts prior to, during, and subsequent to instruction led to greater achievement. (CW)

The evolution of ideas about the concept of chaos is surveyed. Discussed are chaos in deterministic, dynamic systems; order in dissipative systems; and thermodynamics and irreversibility. Included are logistic and bifurcation maps to illustrate points made in the discussion. (CW)

Presents a laboratory experiment which illustrates the formation of tris(phenanthroline)cobalt complexes in the 2+ and 3+ oxidation states, the effect of coordination on reactions of the ligand, and the use of a ligand displacement reaction in recovering the transformed ligand. Uses IR, UV-VIS, conductivity, and NMR. (MVL)

Presents a short reaction sequence that allows the student to determine by spectroscopic methods the constitution and stereochemistry of the reaction products. Reports the interpretations needed to illustrate the usefulness of the spectroscopic method. Notes the products of the Michael-Aldol reaction have not been reported in the literature. (MVL)

Discusses the difficulties which students have in interpreting science diagrams and the ways in which some diagrams may be misleading. Presents several diagrams as examples. (YP)

Develops an experiment that could be done in two- to three-hour blocks and does not rely on cold room procedures for most of the purification. Describes the materials, methods, and results of the purification of bovine heart lactate dehydrogenase using ammonium sulfate fractionation, dialysis, and separation using affinity chromatography and…

Described is a lesson in which the midpoint of the measuring stick (center of gravity), the balance point of the stick (fulcrum) and the arithmetic mean are assumed to be the same point. Provides content background, lesson outline, procedure, evaluation, teacher notes, and diagrammatical representations. (RT)

Technological literacy including a meaning for both literacy and technology, the nature of technological knowledge, and the decision-making skills in a technological society are discussed. Suggested are implications for instruction both at the preservice level and the in-service level. (YP)

Investigates high school students' understanding of the physical relationship of chromosomes and genes as expressed in their conceptual models and in their ability to manipulate the models to explain solutions to dihybrid cross problems. Describes three typical models and three students' reasoning processes. Discusses four implications. (YP)

Describes a computer program presenting four genetics problems to monitor the problem solving process of college students. Identifies three main areas of difficulty: computational skills; determination of gametes; and application of previous learning to new situations. (Author/YP)

Describes an experiment to determine the density of air within a 10 percent error range using a basketball and a triple beam balance. Provides the typical data and a graph. (YP)