Describes an interdisciplinary approach to science learning in settings usually associated with the humanities or social sciences. Explains the program, its rewards and results, the self and identity seminar, why the program works, and ways of adapting the program. (RT)

How students restructured their scientific ideas in response to contradictions was studied with 166 male and female students (aged 12 to 14 years) who tested their predictions about water displacement by experiment. Conceptual change varied; all subjects tended to hold onto old ideas, even when presented with conflicting information. (SLD)

Examined 8- and 10-year olds' understanding of the unique features of and potential relations among mental activities. Found a developing tendency to organize mental activities on the degree to which memory was a component of the activity. Results suggest that a constructivist theory of mind develops in later childhood. (AA)

Describes observations, written samples, and interviews of (n=24) high school teachers learning concepts of group, subgroup, coset, normality, and quotient group in an Abstract Algebra course. General observations are made about the role of errors and misconceptions in light of an action-process-schema framework. (32 references) (MKR)

Uses manipulative materials to build and examine geometric models that simulate the self-similarity properties of fractals. Examples are discussed in two dimensions, three dimensions, and the fractal dimension. Discusses how models can be misleading. (Contains 10 references.) (MDH)

Explores management of expenditures for public education in welfare state. Faced with fiscal overload, Scottish government is seeking to curb expenditure by engaging the compliance of both professional educators and parents under the guise of school self-management. The government's case rests on a (democratic) rhetoric of choice and ownership but…

Examined inconsistencies in secondary school students' reasoning about the probability concept of equally likely events. Results of two studies suggest that the number of students who understand the concept of independence is much lower than the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress results indicate. (Contains 22 references.) (MDH)

A teacher relates how Foxfire and authentic assessment have changed her view of teaching, learning, and the nature of classwork itself. Proposes that conventional education not only supports belief in a large competence gap between students and teachers, but also perpetuates misconceptions concerning the nature of knowledge, self-worth, and…

Pragmatic and semantic problem solving are examined as processes that enhance acquisition of mathematical knowledge. It is suggested that development of mathematical cognition involves restructuring and that math teachers can help restructure children's knowledge systems by providing them with situations in which semantic and pragmatic problem…

Examines inconsistencies in science textbook discussions of vector quantities and force. Provides illustrations of textbook inconsistencies related to Newton's laws of motion and the concepts of centrifugal and coriolis force. (MDH)

Presents results of a study examining how introductory economics students use graphic analysis. Concludes that the difficulties students have in analyzing an economic problem graphically result from problems with concept formation. Suggests that videotaping can assist instructors to understand and anticipate the learning processes that students…

Educators will meet increasing numbers of children who are homeless, exposed to toxic substances, or infected with the HIV virus. The articles in this special section address the implications of these conditions for assessment, instruction, and administrative planning. Media-generated myths and misconceptions about the effects of these conditions…

Fourteen elementary and middle school teachers from an inservice physics course were found to share a common core of strongly held propositions that formed a coherent, but incorrect and contradictory, model of the sequential flow of electrical current. Theoretical and practical implications of these teachers' beliefs with respect to both…

Describes an African-American parent's efforts to ensure that her daughter be treated fairly in a second grade classroom. Because some teachers mistakenly believe that African-American children are not capable of performing well in the classroom, these teachers may inadvertently convey lower expectations and damage African-American students'…

If outcomes-based education is the darling of education reformers, it is the devil to conservative parents, taxpayer groups, and legislators who oppose it. Despite some initial successes in several states, critics charge that the states pushing OBE have no evidence that it works. Costs are another factor. So far, the ultraconservatives are…