Points out the importance of students' pre-existing beliefs on students learning and suggests that if new information does not fit with what the students already knows, he or she may simply choose to reject it outright, leaving classrooms having learned nothing. Presents four choices for addressing new information. (Author/YDS)

Demonstrates misconceptions of the meaning of temperature based on classical kinetic energy. Discusses some misconceptions about negative temperatures and the effect of compression. (YP)

Considered are two commonly used techniques, the interview and word association techniques. Highlighted is a third technique called the repertory grid. This third technique can be used to interpret students' knowledge based on an explicit, psychological theory of human behavior. (Author/CW)

Lists commonly held but inaccurate "myths" about teachers and education in the eastern and western United States. Gives a perspective on tools that communication has to offer teachers; concepts and contexts that can be researched and developed; and a cooperative responsibility that can be initiated with colleagues in education. (SR)

Although many school districts report success with outcome-based education, public opposition to it continues to grow. Led by conservative religious and citizens' groups, opponents believe that OBE will lead to continued educational decline, morally offensive textbooks, burgeoning school crime, and psychologically manipulative curricula. This…

Focuses on the provision of meaningful counterintuitive experimental evidence for students while taking into account the relations of theory, instruments, and experimental data. Discusses the use of experiments designed to test pupils' conceptual framework during the teaching of introductory electricity. (JRH)

Far too many school boards and administrators deny that music is one of the "basics." Few U.S. students have access to institutional or private music lessons that involve a balanced, sequential curriculum. Where music programs have been cut, economic crisis has often remained. Of all curriculum disciplines, music has the most experience with…

Examines the predator-prey relations and the preconceptions held by children (n=506) on the construction of food chains. Results show that the classification of herbivores and carnivores is based on children's preconceptions of size and ferocity and sheds light on the difficulties students have at higher education levels in the resolution of food…

Explores the ideal of community and its implications for higher education. Urges would-be reformers to beware prescriptions offering simplistic, universal answers to campus malaise. The learning community idea is attractive, but nostalgia is counterproductive. Demands for open access, real participation, and substantive programmatic change cannot…

Analyzes a senior secondary biology textbook in Nigeria, STAN Biology, for its misconceptions and alternative conceptions. Discusses how the classroom teacher might filter the conceptual problems before they are presented to students as knowledge. Provides examples of the identified misconceptions and alternative conceptions along with their more…

Discusses incidents of brush-ins with student proponents of the theory of creation science. Provides and answers eight questions typical of both the misinformation spread in creation science literature and the lack of research done by students. (MVL)

The current national focus on students' thinking is too narrow, limiting the kinds of reasoning activities they can experience. A literary orientation allows students to explore a horizon of possibilities concerned with emotions, relationships, motives, and reactions. Students generalize beyond the particular situation, using their understandings…

Reflects on the experience of attending high school in the mid-1940s in New York State. From a white, working-class neighborhood boasting no college graduates and a handful of high school graduates, the author managed to learn about Ibanez, Goya, Murillo, Velazquez, Neruda, Marti, and Azuela. Questions the need to reform "Eurocentric"…

This article examines the myths and realities surrounding grading for gifted students, drawing on educational research and anecdotal experience. It contends that current grading systems tend to lack psychometric validity and reliability, that schools should embrace national standards, and that higher order thinking skills should be emphasized in…

Discusses problems with science education in schools in the context of their causes, including a dysfunctional working definition of science. Describes and illustrates the Science/Technology/Society movement as a potential means to correct these problems. Presents examples derived from statewide efforts in Iowa. (14 references) (Author/MKR)