There is a growing consensus among educational researchers that traditional problem-based assessments are not effective tools for diagnosing a student's knowledge state and for guiding pedagogical intervention, and that new tools grounded in the results of cognitive science research are needed. The ConMap ("Conceptual Mapping") project, described…

This is the first in a series of reports that explore the career experiences of workers with physics training. A survey conducted in 1994 examined the education and employment experiences of a large sample of members of an academic honors society for undergraduate physics students. The analysis focused on 328 holders of bachelor's degrees in…

The Comprehensive Unified Physics Learning Environment (CUPLE) is a project that brings together innovative uses of the computer for physics teaching into a single, multi-purpose learning environment. The status of college-level introductory physics teaching is reviewed. In these courses, physics instructors have been forced to be satisfied with…

From the theoretical reference frame of constructivism, much of the rhetoric and positive research findings in support of microprocessor based laboratory (MBL) activities facilitating science learning can be interpreted in terms of the increased opportunities for student-student interactions and peer group discussions about familiar and discrepant…

This CD-ROM, designed for students in grades K-2, explores the world of simple machines. It allows students to delve into the mechanical world and learn the ways in which simple machines make work easier. Animated demonstrations are provided of the lever, pulley, wheel, screw, wedge, and inclined plane. Activities include practical matching and…

This document contains an annotated bibliography aimed at the teaching of the physical sciences at the tertiary level to those who wish to become more informed about teaching related research evidence and undertake science education research. The bibliography offers an overview of teaching and learning in the physical sciences and key references…

Using interesting interactive educational tasks increases student motivation in difficult subjects such as biology, physics, and chemistry and creates more effective science instruction. This paper presents a method for developing interactive educational tasks that make science subjects easy to understand. (Contains 10 references.) (YDS)

This handbook was prepared to help science teachers, administrators, and other school staff members understand and avoid situations in which accidents might occur in the science laboratory, on field trips, or during outdoor education experiences. Suggestions contained in this publication are generally agreed upon and recommended for consideration…

This video contains the detailed description of the 1975 attempt to re-create the adventures of the first Polynesian explorers in the Pacific, a project in which Nainoa Thompson participated. Mr. Thompson, an educator who presents programs in "wavefinding," begins his address with an overview of Polynesian and Pacific geography, origins,…

Reform in science and technology education started in Israel in 1992 with the release of the "Tomorrow '98 Report." The report featured 43 recommendations for new programs, special projects, changes, and improvements that are both educational and structural in the areas of curriculum development and implementation, pedagogy of science,…

This paper is concerned with the role of spreadsheets as a tool for the development of mathematical models in science, one aspect of a collaborative project which worked with two groups of pre-university students from Mexico and the United Kingdom. The purpose of the modeling activities designed was to engage students in creating an…

Discusses the theory and experimental procedures for using Young's eriometer to determine the diameters of blood corpuscles, lycopodium powder, and wool fibers. (CC)

Presents eight readers' letters and one editor's reply in which discussions are related to effects of zero-population growth on scientific creativity, employment crisis of industrial physicists, efficiency of ionic pumps, and the naming system of laws and effects in physics. (CC)

Presents sixteen questions designed to measure the level of scientific and historical knowledge that professors, researchers, and students possess in the area of physics and the arms race. (CC)

Discusses the use of a board game, Reversi, in a class of nonphysics majors to explain the investigative techniques of physics by analogy. (CC)