Results of a systematic investigation into university students' (n=236) misunderstandings of d.c. simple circuit operations are reported. These results provide evidence of various misconceptions present before and after teaching the following topics: a battery as a source of constant current; the functional relation expressed by Ohm's law; power…

The consistency, if any, with which force concepts are used by individual students in different, but closely related, contexts was investigated. A total of 534 university and high school students were tested to elicit their beliefs about the forces acting on various objects. Students' beliefs about the forces acting on objects at rest and in…

It is difficult for students to unlearn misconceptions that have been unknowingly reinforced by teachers. The examples "multiplication makes bigger,""pi equals 22/7," and the use of counter examples to demonstrate the numerical property of closure are discussed as potential areas where misconceptions are fostered. (MDH)

Debunks eight misconceptions concerning U.S.'s alleged "lavish" spending on education in comparison to other countries. The share-of-national-income approach and measures of per pupil spending are frequently misinterpreted and often exclude education need and education resource cost. Nations with an expensive, highly productive labor…

Reviews research indicating that students' cognitive models hold random events to be equiprobable Examined 87 students between the ages of 15 and 17 to determine whether masking a random event using geometric figures would affect the students' view of the event as equiprobable. Results indicated that masking overcame the equiprobable bias of the…

Discusses geometrical reasoning in the framework of the theory of Figural Concepts to highlight the interaction between the figural and conceptual components of geometrical concepts. Examples of students' difficulties and errors in geometrical reasoning are interpreted according to the internal tension that appears in figural concepts resulting…

Critiques Nicholas Lemann's recent book on the 1940-70 Black migration from the South to the urban North, particularly the thesis that the modern-day Black urban underclass is composed mainly of ex-sharecroppers and their descendants. Traces the theory's political history and discusses evidence that many Black migrants achieved relative success.…

Argues that entertainment media, especially feature films, have a powerful impact in shaping knowledge and beliefs about the world. Presents four ways that teachers can use feature films to enhance the teaching of world history and to counteract misconceptions that students acquire through the mass media. (DB)

Discussed are the implications of the three main stages of conceptual change--"awareness, disequilibrium, and reformulating"--on misconceptions of grade 10 students in Israel. The difficulties and problems encountered with the procedure are included. (KR)

Representing English, history, geography, science, graphic arts, intermediate special education, physical and health education, and environmental studies, six Ontario (Canada) teachers cooperating on an integrated curriculum project found that their "separate" subject areas came together naturally in a theme approach to teaching. Success…

Support for Minnesota's cross-district public school choice laws is strong. In 1992, 76% of Minnesotans favored choice as 1 part of the comprehensive reforms needed. This article debunks seven widely circulated myths about the state's choice plans, particularly regarding program effects, benefits for disadvantaged students, parental selection…

This study found no significant relations between junior high school students' (n=50) prior alternative frameworks on energy and their cognitive levels of operation. Significant differences in learning outcomes were achieved by students (n=29) who had higher cognitive level scores. The extent to which students succeeded in learning the energy…

Use of concept mapping as an assessment tool allows links to be made between concepts, and shows both scientifically correct propositions and misconceptions. Annotated drawings offer an alternative form of expression to children who may hold ideas but find it difficult to express them in words or to recognize links between them. (PVD)

Presents the history of the theory of evolution and states that the creationist world view had been abandoned by even religious scientists before 1859. Argues that the public's perception of evolution could be improved by presenting a more complete picture of the theory's development, emphasizing the contributions of Christian--often…

Discusses the approach of creationist groups to the distortion of science and the selective presentation of often-apocryphal evidence. Argues that the strategy is persuasive to those poorly educated in science, that people like to be persuaded that their views are right, and that they are intelligent people capable of figuring out science for…