Describes a course based on the scientific approach to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Explores the biological and technological aspects of the search and the social implications of possible contact. (Author/CCM)

Uses survivor analysis to evaluate critical mass and minimum efficient scale in the production of Ph.D.s in four academic disciplines: economics, history, physics, and psychology. Finds that size and quality ranking are positively correlated in economics, history, and physics, but no such relationship is apparent in psychology. (Contains 17…

Analyzed the data produced in an experimental study on collaborative learning in which 10th graders were taught qualitative or quantitative knowledge of classical mechanics. Dyads who have been taught differently worked on problems beyond the competence of each student. Qualitatively taught students gained more from the information provided by…

Examines nearly 1500 U.S. college students at 16 universities and finds that gender and preparation both have an impact on success in introductory college physics courses. Concludes that efforts to ensure the success of women entering the physical sciences should concentrate on increasing the depth and reducing the vast coverage of most high…

Introduces a learning module integrating three disciplines--physics, chemistry, and biology--and based on four elements: carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and silicon. Includes atomic model and silicon-based life activities. (YDS)

Discusses instructional approaches on how to teach introductory thermal physics. Analyzes the relationship between heat and temperature and questions to what degree physics can be simplified. (Contains 22 references.) (YDS)

Discusses the results of a study that explored first year university students' ideas about measurement in the physics laboratory. Uses the 'point' and 'set' paradigms as a model to analyze responses to written probes. (Contains 21 references.) (DDR)

Describes an approach to incorporate active learning strategies into the first semester of a university-level introductory physics course. Combines cooperative and peer-based methods inside the classroom with project-based learning outside the classroom in an attempt to develop students' transferable skills as well as improving their understanding…

Investigates the relationship between evidence, ideas, understanding, reasoning, and exploration during a practical science activity for children aged 8-11. Reports on students' academic achievement on a pendulum activity. (YDS)

The present research study investigates how undergraduate students in an integrated calculus and physics class use physics to help them solve calculus problems. Using Zandieh's (2000) framework for analyzing student understanding of derivative as a starting point, this study adds detail to her "paradigmatic physical" context and begins to address…

Problem-solving research has consistently found that students have great difficulty when asked to apply concepts and principles discussed in texts and lectures. It is often unnoticed knowledge extensions or transformations that allow faculty experts to solve such problems. Because faculty members normally use these extensions automatically, they…

Many of us have an intuitive understanding of physics that works surprisingly well to guide everyday action, but we would not attempt to send a rocket to the moon with it. Unfortunately, the authors argue, our policy makers are not as cautious when it comes to basing our school accountability system on intuitive test theory. Intuitive physics…

Given the progressive loss of influence for the school relative to television in youngsters' everyday lives, this article describes the procedure and the results of including cartoons in the physics curriculum in secondary education. Work was carried out intensively with a small group of pupils and sporadically with a larger group. In the first…

Deconstructing cookbook labs to require the students to be more thoughtful could break down perceived teacher barriers to inquiry learning. Simple steps that remove or disrupt the direct transfer of step-by-step procedures in cookbook labs make students think more critically about their process. Through trials in the author's middle school…

In the spirit of the National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996), many teachers attempt to have their students experience science in a constructivist, inquiry-oriented manner. The egg bungee jump activity will certainly support that mode of teaching, and has the added benefit of providing a concrete context within which students can explore…