Describes a method to teach introductory astronomy students about the phases of the moon. Uses video techniques to aid students in developing the skill of visualizing the same phenomenon from different frames of reference. (JRH)

Presents a method to teach the concept of beats as a generalized phenomenon rather than teaching it only in the context of sound. Involves using a video camera to film a computer terminal, 16-mm projector, or TV monitor. (JRH)

Presents a lecture and play in which the students themselves become the elements of the immune system. Aims at facilitating student comprehension and retention of the complicated processes associated with the immune system. Includes objectives, outline, background information sources, instructor guide, student narrator guide, extension, and topics…

A review of applications of motion study in developmental disabilities identifies two eras of research focus in the 1990s: (1) studies establishing the effectiveness and efficiency of tasks designed with motion study principles and (2) studies examining the interaction between motion study-based task designs and other variables such as choice,…

Describes an innovative strategy for helping students understand the concept of what it means to be "alive". (Author/CCM)

The equation of motion for a mass that moves under the influence of a central, inverse-square force is formulated and solved as a problem in complex variables. To find the solution, the constancy of angular momentum is first established using complex variables. Next, the complex position coordinate and complex velocity of the particle are assumed…

If one looks at a rain cloud with the Sun behind one's back, the sunlight and water drops may interact just right, revealing the familiar arc of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Many of people have been pleasantly surprised to see a rainbow in the sky, but probably have not considered why they occur. Rainbows are caused by…

Young students are familiar with the observable effects of force and motion but may not have considered the many varieties demonstrated in simple ways every day on the playground. A force is simply a push or a pull. A force can make an object move, move more quickly, change direction, slow down, or stop. Forces cannot be seen but their effect can…

Look at a map and locate Seattle, Washington. Follow that latitude east to International Falls, Minnesota. These spots are at roughly the same latitude. Yet the average January temperature in Seattle is a relatively balmy 7? C (45? F) when compared to International Fall's -15? C (4? F). While traveling north, temperatures tend to go down. This is…

Venture into the author's seventh-grade classroom on any given day, and one is likely to see students hypothesizing, designing experiments to test their explanations, analyzing data, writing formal publications of results, and debating over scientific procedures in an attempt to justify their control of variables. Students are motivated, on-task,…

A reply in relation to Campbell's rule is presented where the issues of discrepancies in the average value between the two values is discussed and the graphical analysis which had uncovered an aspect of selecting a numerical value for Campbell's rule that was earlier overlooked is appreciated. The cause of the discrepancies in the average value…

The heliocentric, or Sun-centered model, one of the most important revolutions in scientific thinking, allowed Nicholas Copernicus to calculate the periods, relative distances, and approximate orbital shapes of all the known planets, thereby paving the way for Kepler's laws and Newton's formation of gravitation. Recreating Copernicus's…

In this article, we offer an approach to conceiving of the relation between literacy practices and space-time. Literacy, embedded in other forms of activity, has a unique role in producing and organizing space-time relations, and such relations provide for different forms of cognition and learning. Closely examining how literacy practices produce…

In 4 experiments, the authors investigated the reversal of spatial congruency effects when participants concurrently practiced incompatible mapping rules (J. G. Marble & R. W. Proctor, 2000). The authors observed an effect of an explicit spatially incompatible mapping rule on the way numerical information was associated with spatial responses. The…

Flexibility in conceptual projection constitutes one of the most challenging issues in the embodiment and conceptual metaphor literatures. We sketch a theoretical proposal that places the burden of the explanation on attentional dynamics in interaction with mental models in working memory that are constrained to be maximally coherent. A test of…