This paper presents a study that illustrates how the author and an in service secondary school teacher used basic synchronous computer mediated communications (CMC) technology to help them uncover students' physics preconceptions and thought processes (including their misconceptions and misunderstandings) in a real class setting. In this paper, I…

This article discusses studies that provide the historical and contemporary patterns of father involvement in the USA to provide researchers with an understanding of contemporary fatherhood. It describes the historical patterns and research studies on father involvement that created methodological and conceptual challenges in conducting studies…

Race and gender affect the way in which African-American female principals perceive and enact their roles in predominantly African-American urban schools. Using empirical data drawn from a larger qualitative study, this article examines and challenges racial and gendered assumptions about African-American leadership, and specifically American…

We studied students' conceptions of correctness and their influence on students' correctness-related practices by examining how 159 students had analyzed the correctness of error-free and erroneous algorithms and by interviewing seven students regarding their work. We found that students conceptualized program correctness as the sum of the…

Much has been written to convince content-area teachers to include literacy instruction as part of their regular content instruction. The purpose of this study was to determine how the messages available in the literature are framed and how they might be viewed by content-area teachers, especially mathematics teachers. The analysis revealed that…

The experiment examined the effects of exposure to pretrial publicity (PTP) and delay on juror memory and decision-making. Mock jurors read news articles containing negative PTP, positive PTP, or unrelated articles. Five days later, they viewed a videotaped murder trial, after which they made decisions about guilt. Finally, all participants…

In this article we investigated 4th, 6th, and 8th grade students' misconceptions about light, sight, vision, source of light and examined students' conceptual development of these concepts at different grade levels. Data collection was done using five two-tiered test questions with one open-ended question, an interview about concepts and a drawing…

Even though photosynthesis is an obligatory part of the science curriculum, research has shown that students often have a poor understanding of it. The authors advocate that classroom coverage of the topic of photosynthesis should include not only its biochemical properties but also the role of photosynthesis or photosynthetic organisms in matter…

This study explores the parameter-related misconceptions of two college students enrolled in a Pascal programming course. Findings indicate that both students appeared to conceive a direct procedure-to-procedure linkage, with the connection being made by identically named formal parameters. Both students were able, by making seemingly innocuous…

This article outlines and appraises the method of shared concern as developed by Anatol Pikas and applied as a technique for resolving bully-victim problems in schools. It includes a description of how the method can be applied in schools, and critically examines some objections that have been raised to its use. These objections are shown to be…

The results of this survey are widely distributed to educators, policymakers, business executives, and the media to help America's leaders and the general public better understand what Americans know about the environment and how that knowledge relates to their attitudes and daily actions. The 1999 National Report Card examines the results of a…

Discusses the problem of dissemination of misinformation--either intentionally or innocently--while attempting to change environmental attitudes. Warns about unwillingness to engage in self-examination in ways that other professional fields do, and states that interpreters, in exchanging accuracy of information for persuasive power, risk losing…

Examines the relationship between science knowledge and pseudoscientific beliefs. Uses a survey method in the study and investigates paranormal beliefs as a whole. Concludes that strong scientific knowledge does not prevent a person from having pseudoscientific beliefs. (Contains 14 references.) (YDS)

Using a new method of data analysis (statistical implication) and a method of postcorrelative treatment reveals students' preconceptions in conditional probability stemming from concrete references and makes explicit the procedures of problem solving that reflect these conceptions. (24 references) (Author/MKR)

Outlines a test-based diagnosis system for misconceptions in DC electric circuits and its three parts: problem library, problem selector and diagnoser. Discusses misconception discrimination and diagnosis theories, and reports the system supports satisfactory diagnosis. Includes an analysis of nine student misconceptions about electrical circuits…