This work aims to assess the difficulties encountered by students of the Ecole Normale Superieure of Kouba (Algeria) intending to teach physical science in the integration of the hybridization of atomic orbitals. It is a concept that they should use in describing the formation of molecular orbitals ([sigma] and [pi]) in organic chemistry and gaps…

The focus article by Coburn and Turner (this issue) seeks to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding data use in the context of data-use interventions. This commentary focuses on what the authors see as a glaring omission in what is otherwise a valuable framework: the issue of "useful data." It is their contention that the usefulness…

This article presents a lesson that uses prediction items, clickers and visuals via PowerPoint slides to help prospective middle-school teachers address two common misconceptions: multiplication makes bigger and division makes smaller (MMB-DMS). Classroom research was conducted to explore the viability of such a lesson. Results show that the…

Information spreads online at a much faster rate than ever before, often without being confirmed by trustworthy sources. Students must be able to evaluate the online source and the online source's information for accuracy and credibility. In public speaking, argumentation, and persuasion classes (among others), students are taught to use confirmed…

Grammar is often misunderstood in the language teaching field. The misconception lies in the view that grammar is a collection of arbitrary rules about static structures in the language. Further questionable claims are that the structures do not have to be thought, learners will acquire them on their own, or if the structures are taught, the…

This book offers a definitive, scientifically grounded guide for better teaching and learning practices. Drawing from thousands of documents and the opinions of recognized experts worldwide, it explains in straight talk the new Mind, Brain, and Education Science--a field that has grown out of the intersection of neuroscience, education, and…

Using Wiggins and McTighe's (1998) concept of Big Ideas, the authors planned and designed an electricity investigation to address common student misconceptions about static electricity. With Styrofoam plates and transparent tape, elementary students investigated many properties of electrically charged and uncharged objects in a 5E learning cycle…

Students bring many misconceptions about psychology to the introductory psychology course. We investigated whether scores on a 10-item Knowledge of Psychology Test (adapted from Vaughan, 1977) taken on the first class day were related to final class grades in 11 introductory psychology classes taught by the same instructor at three colleges. A…

There are many things outdoor educators agree on. For example, a warm meal feels great at the end of the day. Cotton fabrics take forever to dry in the field and should thus be avoided. Most small groups generate less impact than large groups do. Mosquitoes and black flies come straight from hell. And, all backcountry water must be treated due to…

This essay attempts to distinguish and discuss the importance and limitations of different ways of being wrong. At first it is argued that strictly falsifiable knowledge is concerned with simple (instrumental) mistakes only, and thus is incapable of understanding more complex errors (and truths). In order to gain a deeper understanding of mistakes…

In this article, the authors describe how they used formative assessments to ferret out possible misconceptions among middle-school students in a unit about weather-related concepts. Because they teach fifth- and eighth-grade science, this assessment also gives them a chance to see how student understanding develops over the years. This year they…

In this essay, Ryan Bevan explores the pedagogical implications of taking virtue epistemology as the philosophical foundation of educational theory rather than following the instrumentalist approach that is currently dominant. According to Bevan, the critical thinking strategies characteristic of instrumentalism generally work to further the…

The myth that gifted children constitute 3% to 5% of the school population was addressed in the 1982 issue of the "Gifted Child Quarterly" by Joe Renzulli, a fact that is more than a little intimidating to one charged with addressing the same myth 27 years later. In his 1982 article, Renzulli interpreted the 3% to 5% myth as an implicit…

This article offers a response to "Reply to Li, D'angiulli, and Kendall: The Early Development Index and Children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds" by Janus, Hertzman, Guhn, Brinkman, and Goldfeld. The authors disagree with Janus et al.'s claim that their paper contained a number of errors and misconceptions. They…

Although many have documented the high value Latino families place on education, prevalent discourses nonetheless characterize Latino immigrant parents as not caring about their children's education. This paper describes the practice-based components of a participatory action research project in which we created a collaborative film, intended for…