Describes the Student Science Training Program (SSTP) held in Hawaii for 30 high school students gifted in science and math. The seven-week program presents coursework, laboratory experiments, recitation/discussion, computer programming, field trips, research participation, and socialization. (MVL)

Describes the quartz tuning fork, frequency divider, liquid crystals, and light polarization of a digital-readout watch. (MVL)

Describes two activities to help students think about and understand the concepts of star brightness and apparent and absolute magnitude, as well as how a star's location in the universe affects these characteristics. (JRH)

Administered a questionnaire containing common earth/space science alternative conceptions to preservice elementary teachers (n=122). Suggests that many misconceptions originate in the classroom and that preservice elementary education teachers have many of the same misconceptions that their future students will have. (35 references) (Author/JRH)

Presents a model to analyze conceptual evolution in the classroom, based on the notion of conceptual profile. Suggests that it is possible to use different ways of thinking in different domains, a new concept does not necessarily replace previous ideas, and learning science is to change a conceptual profile and become conscious of different zones…

The term "microgravity" has begun to appear in science texts as a substitute for "weightlessness." Presents examples to clarify three common misconceptions about gravity and weightlessness. Further examines these and other examples with respect to microgravity to make distinctions between the terms and avoid additional…

Discusses a study designed to investigate pupils' conceptions about fluids and particularly liquids in equilibrium, with reference to the concept of pressure. Based upon the results obtained, several mental models of how pupils understand liquids in equilibrium were proposed. (ZWH)

Describes an activity, bungee jumping, that is fun and effective in illustrating energy transformation. The activity incorporates biology, physics, and calculus into one unit. (ZWH)

Two groups of four children each were involved in a qualitative study designed to interpret the nature of fourth graders' understandings of electric circuits. Conclusions regarding knowledge restructuring are presented as well as implications for teaching, assessment, and research. (ZWH)

Two questionnaires were given to 38 students (16-18 year olds), in which they were asked to classify a list of different conceptual entities by several ontological features. The results suggest the form of a fundamental "ontological space" and locate some scientific concepts in this space. (Author)

Discusses the following questions based on the assumption that students' personal experiences and prior beliefs about plane mirrors can promote interesting discussions: (1) How mirror images are formed? (2) Why doesn't paper behave like a mirror? (3) Does a mirror left-right reverse objects? and (4) Why are corner images of two perpendicular…

Comments on an earlier paper by Lerner and von Eye on sociobiology and human development; general theory in science, especially evolutionary theory; adaptation and behavior plasticity; and modern behavior genetics. Examines assertion that "heritability says nothing about the extent to which a trait is commonly inherited." Discusses…

Discusses how teachers can incorporate a science poetry contest into the curriculum to encourage students to use poetry to express their thoughts about the natural world. (BB)

Students establish simple cell developmental cultures to observe the process of spermatogenesis, mitosis, and meiosis in living cells. Using the background information, hints for further exploration, and experimental procedures provided, teachers can easily modify this experiment to suit their students needs. (ZWH)

Argues that the history of physics can be used in physics teaching to provide students with dependable physics knowledge but to also train students to see their knowledge in varying contexts of change. (PR)