This seminar paper explores the role that historians of technology can play in the reevaluation of the relationship between technical and social change. Historians of technology need to ask questions about the nontechnological aspects of society which have influenced technical change in the past. In the realm of ideas, historians should check…

Uses capillarity as an example of a problem in physics which has been explained mathematically in two different ways. Argues that only one explanation is indeed valid and demonstrates this opinion through experimentation and discussions. Proposes that mathematics should be used in physics as a tool to predict, not to explain. (TW)

Describes the reasoning patterns characteristic of the abstract thinking required for higher levels of school science. Discusses control and exclusion of variables, ratio and proportion, conservation involving models, compensation and equilibrium, correlation, probability, combinatorial thinking, coordination of frames of reference, and…

Describes research findings concerning children's difficulties with the concepts of circuit, current, and electrical energy. Discusses some possible approaches to instruction. (CW)

Reports on a study to test the validity of the assumption that a teacher's conception of the nature of science directly influences his/her classroom behavior. Recommends a redirection in science education to promote more adequate conceptions of the nature of science in secondary schools. (TW)

Surveys British people over age 15 with the purpose of assessing the level of scientific knowledge among the public. Discusses the relationships between highest level of formal education, sex, and the answers given to questions. Illustrates how little school science instruction is remembered into adulthood. (CW)

The assessment framework underlying a science performance monitoring program is process-oriented and intended to appeal to generalizability theory for a suitable estimation paradigm. Preliminary applications are described. Results suggest that computerized question-banking, domain-sampling of questions, and generalizablity theory together provide…

Presents results of interactive discussions between teachers and educational researchers on student learning theories. Emphasizes the need for development of alternative teaching and learning activities for understanding science concepts. Also recommends active engagement of the learner and consideration of existing knowledge in constructing…

Discusses students' formation of concepts about energy, classifying responses as living/nonliving, human (vitalism or activity), and nonhuman (supply or demand). Observations were based on class discussions and free writing, followed by questioning to check on stability of concepts. Also collected and reported are student responses (examples of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pair problem solving technique incorporating Polya's problem solving strategy on undergraduate students' performance in conceptual and algorithmic questions in chemistry. The subjects of this study were 89 students enrolled from two first year chemistry classes. The experimental group was…

Through a wealth of creative write-to-learn strategies, this book offers inspiring techniques to coax out the reluctant scientists in the classroom. Newly updated and expanded, this NSTA best seller is a storehouse of practical ideas and examples for use with students at all ability levels. It provides classroom-tested writing activities that…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how general problem-based learning (PBL) models and social-constructivist perspectives are applied to the design and development of a Web-based science program, which emphasizes inquiry-based learning for fifth grade students. The paper also deals with the general features and learning process of a Web-based…

Recent research shows that of all the subjects in the curriculum, primary (elementary) teachers in Great Britain felt least confident about technology. This book presents stories from history along with accompanying projects to teach technology in the primary grades. By focusing on technology in history, students were steered away from the…

This study explored computer-based image processing as a study strategy for middle school students' science concept learning. Specifically, the research examined the effects of computer graphics generation on science concept learning and the impact of using computer graphics to show interrelationships among concepts during study time. The 87…

This paper describes the philosophy, implementation, and assessment of the Natural Sciences (NatSci) Program at the University of New Mexico which is designed to provide preservice elementary and middle school teachers with the understanding of science content and processes necessary to teach science confidently and competently in their future…