Introduction: This study sought to answer three questions: 1) Would the level of domain knowledge significantly affect the user's search behaviour? 2) Would the level of domain knowledge significantly affect search effectiveness, and 3) What would be the relationship between search behaviour and search effectiveness? Method: Participants were…

The quality of a two-year college's physics program is determined in part by the quality of preparation and the overall workload of its teachers, along with the provision for adequate budgets, facilities, and support services. The guidelines presented in this booklet were prepared by a task force of the American Association of Physics Teachers…

This paper summarizes a report designed to provide the National Science Board Commission with information about recent advances in cognitive/behavioral science relevant to mathematics, science, and technology education, as well as prospective contributions from these fields if adequate levels of support are available. Following a summary…

The National Diffusion Network (NDN) is a federally funded system that makes exemplary educational programs available for use by schools, colleges, and other institutions. This publication contains information describing the science education programs currently in the NDN, along with procedural information on how to access these programs. The…

As part of an investigation of the effectiveness of a microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) activity in developing students' graphing skills, this study was specifically designed to examine the differences between females and males in both performance on graphing tasks and on their attitudes to graphs and graph-based activities. Results based on a…

During the summer of 1986 a conference funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) was organized to assess the current state of cognitive research on the psychology of physics problem solving, and to examine the needs of physics instructors and instructional designers that must be addressed by a psychological theory of physics problem solving.…

To prepare occupational students for employment, a basic understanding of scientific knowledge and the processes of science that have been applied in the development of tools, machines, instruments, and technological techniques or processes should be taught. When a second unit of science was included for all high school students in the New York…

This guide has been designed to help teachers, supervisors, and administrators set up a science or mathematics research program which should provide students with a set of basic "tools" for use in problem solving situations. The guide is organized into 17 chapters. The first 15 chapters focus on: organizing a research program; recruiting students;…

This book presents the life stories of 10 women who work in various fields of science as well as information on education and financial aid and getting a good job (focusing on jobs in academia and industry). The life stories, based on interviews with women scientists, are organized according to their academic fields: (1) biology--Dr. Beatrice…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--developed a handbook for a unit on "floating and sinking". The handbook contains information about ideas children and scientists have about the topic and several investigations and projects designed to help teachers move children gradually from intuitive explanations toward those which…

Problem solving is often identified as a goal of science education. What is considered problem solving varies from teacher to teacher. The ultimate goal of problem-solving education has been identified as a means of helping students develop higher-order thinking skills. This ERIC digest focuses on problem solving in secondary school science as…

To increase the connection between educational research and educational practice, a process called "curriculum reformulation" was used to incorporate recent advances in research on learning and instruction into science classroom experiences. The cognitive demands of a thermodynamics curriculum were successively refined while maintaining…

The target of difficulty of the Educational Technology Center (ETC) Heat and Temperature Group is basic thermal physics, particularly the differentiation between heat and temperature. High school teachers often find that thermal concepts are very difficult for their students to master and attribute students' difficulties at least in part to the…

This investigation focuses upon the question of: (1) how naive subjects organize and represent knowledge when solving problems; (2) how previous experience of a novice is used in solving a problem; (3) what kinds of information and knowledge are sought as well as overlooked by novices when solving problems; (4) what kinds of strategies novices…

Information is presented about the grade 12 diploma examinations for Mathematics 30, Biology 30, Chemistry 30, and Physics 30 that were administered in 1986. Topics explained include: (1) general format of the examinations (stating the content, emphasis, and time allotments); (2) examination schedules (listing the calendar dates and times for the…