Includes trade book reviews from 11 categories: Animals; Archaeology, Anthropology, and Paleontology; Biography (Charles. Darwin, Jackal Woman, Rachel Carson, and Marie Curie); Botany; Chemistry and Mineralogy, Environment and Conservation; Geology and Meteorology; The Human Body and Sexuality; Nature and Life; Ocean and Shore Life; and Physics,…

Discusses the use of analogies and other instructional strategies (problem solving, demonstration, group labs, and large group discussion) in dealing with students' preconceptions in physics. (PR)

A study investigated the relationship of social interaction and learning among women college students in a supplemental instruction program for science featuring a collaborative classroom structure. It was found that this culture of community and cooperation promoted intellectual risk-taking and connected understanding of concepts. Some new ways…

Reviews research from the past 40 years on students' and teachers' conceptions of the nature of science, clarifies the basic assumptions and logic which have guided earlier research efforts, contrasts the results from qualitative and quantitative research, makes recommendations about research methods, and suggests avenues for future research about…

Proposes the use of videotaped vignettes from movies, television programs, and commercials to illustrate physics concepts. Presents two examples, complete with methods of use and follow-up activities, of videotape recordings illustrating the concepts of gravity and projectile motion. Includes guidelines for use of copyrighted videocassettes and…

Outlines the use of concept maps as a tool for science curriculum development and discusses the changes that occur in the teacher's view of the curriculum with successive revisions of the maps. Describes and analyzes the maps created by sixth-grade teachers. (PR)

Reports a study (n=27) concerning the knowledge about image formation exhibited by students following instruction in geometrical optics in an activity-based college physics course for prospective elementary teachers. Student diagrams and verbal comments indicate their knowledge can be described as an intermediate state: a hybridization of…

Describes the use of the computer in the laboratory for data acquisition and analysis--specifically a method to measure the respiration rate in aquatic organisms. Demonstrates the use of computer-interfaced pH measurement in the introductory biology laboratory. (PR)

Presents an exciting way to acquaint students with current methods to clean up oil spills. Students also have the freedom to create new clean-up methods as they think through the problem and experiment to find effective solutions. (PR)

Investigation found that instruction through the use of the sociocultural mode has a positive effect on students' attitudes toward learning science (n=600 Nigerian students). The findings also indicate that anthropomorphic and mechanistic views can be presented in such a way as to promote positive attitudes toward the study of science in…

Describes a physics course designed to engage preservice elementary teachers in the practices and discourses of science through activities that would later be used with children. Presents an account of preservice teachers' progress in inventing and testing models, working with empirical data, critically evaluating and using authoritative sources,…

Describes a two-week lesson on electric fields that combined lecture, interactive video, lab experimentation, computer spread sheets, and computer-assisted-graphing. (PR)

Describes junior high school students' understandings of some common non-technical words used in science classes and compares results for students in Botswana and England. Finds that considerable concerns remain about the way in which teachers use words in science. Concludes that the greatest problems occur with second-language students in…

In an attempt to devise a methodology for characterizing children's intuitive theories of drug action, 217 children in Grades 1 to 6 were interviewed about how two substances, alcohol and cocaine, cause behavioral changes in their users. Measures tapped both structure (Piagetian complexity of causal reasoning, coherence, and construction of a…

Upper level college students majoring in biochemistry at the University of New Mexico have the opportunity to participate in an advanced biochemistry course entitled "Biochemistry Education." This course introduces theories of teaching and learning, provides opportunities for participation in course organization, design, and assessment…