This book reports on the findings of a 3-year research project, Learning in Science, carried out in New Zealand. It documents the teacher development process for a group of science teachers as they used new teaching activities to take into account students' thinking, constructivist views of learning, and alternative conceptions. The professional…

The Probability Inquiry Environment (PIE) is being designed as a computer-mediated collaborative inquiry environment to aid middle school students in learning elementary probability. This paper reports on a study in which seventh grade students engaged in probabilistic reasoning while interacting with a preliminary version of PIE. By analyzing the…

This paper examines sixth-grade children's thinking related to solving ratio and proportion problems before these children had received any instruction in the domain. It explores unitizing and norming, one of the processes identified by both content analyses (Behr, Harel, Post, & Lesh, 1990); Harel, Behr, Post & Lesh, 1990) and research in…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which problem analysis facilitated the subsequent processing of expository text, both for novices and a comparison group. A text on osmosis consisted of six-pages and was used as reading material. The ninth-grade students were considered novices because they were unfamiliar with the…

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.…

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 document contains a set of instructional materials about photosynthesis that were used in a research study of middle school science teaching during 1985-86. The Middle School Science Project investigated ways to help middle school science teachers use teaching strategies that were identified in earlier studies as particularly effective in…

This document contains a set of instructional materials about cellular respiration that were used in a research study of middle school science teaching during 1985-86. The Middle School Science Project investigated ways to help middle school science teachers use teaching strategies that were identified in earlier studies as particularly effective…

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…

Cites studies related to students' misconceptions about the particulate nature of matter. Stresses that a good understanding of these concepts is fundamental to the study of chemistry itself. Reports on a study of preservice elementary teachers views of the particulate nature of matter before instruction on the topic. (TW)

This study took place within the context of a four-year local systemic reform effort collaboratively undertaken by the Science Education Center at the University of Iowa and the Iowa City Community School District. The goal of the project was to move teachers towards an interactive-constructivist model of teaching and learning that assumes a…

The publicly supported higher educational institutions, with their large demands on State treasuries, are naturally objects of inquiry to the taxpayer, who is more and more alarmed at the increasing public burdens. The alarm is often based upon misconceptions and inaccuracies. The only way to check such fear is through the proper use of facts.…

Identifies and describes misconceptions held by preservice elementary teachers about the greenhouse effect, atmospheric ozone, and acid precipitation. (Contains 28 references.) (DDR)

Examines and corrects political science textbook errors concerning the electoral college. Textbooks frequently attribute specific provisions and functions of the college to the federal government when, in fact, they are controlled by the states. Historical dates and contingency provisions are other areas erroneously cited. (MJP)

A yearlong, qualitative investigation of fourth and fifth graders in two elementary classrooms refines an emerging conclusion about children's historical thinking--their tendency to see historical events in terms of individuals' personal intentions and interactions and to ignore the role of societal institutions (government and the economy). An…