Reports on some of the findings of a study involving 25 inner-city students and designed to use students' writing to follow their conceptual changes over a 12-week science unit. Students' writing showed changes in central concepts, complexity, and organization as the lessons progressed. Contains 31 references. (ZWH)

Describes an experiment designed to disprove the belief that an electrical field originating from a point inside a closed conducting surface cannot produce an electric field outside this surface. (ZWH)

Provides evidence that explanations provided by qualified science graduates and by writers of textbooks do not necessarily make sense from a scientific or even a logical perspective when critically examined. Suggests that the process of sharing ideas is problematic and teachers and pupils need to examine critically each other's understanding and…

Reports results of 14 studies on children's knowledge about thinking. Suggests that preschoolers appear to know that thinking is an internal mental activity that can refer to real or imaginary objects or events. However, preschoolers are poor at determining when a person is and is not thinking. This shortcoming is considerably less evident in…

Summarizes the history of the mathematical idea of function and presents questionnaire data from (n=117) mathematics teachers. Results showed that teachers had a tendency to think only in terms of continuous functions, yet had little skill in constructing continuous functions. They scarcely considered discontinuous functions. (14 references) (MKR)

A decade of Canadian research shows that teachers' prior practices influence how technology will be used. There may be trade-offs (in valuable activities) when using new technologies. Teachers often ascribe disproportionate power to computers, allow kids to work on programs with little supervision, and overlook "mouse wars" between…

Discusses a hermeneutical approach to science education that deals with the "misconceptions" problem. Addresses text interpretation and ontological phenomenology, the role of original papers and textbooks, hermeneutics and the history of science, and the use of a hermeneutical approach that bridges the life world and science world for the student.…

Discusses a well-known optical refraction problem where the depth of an object in a liquid is determined. Proposes that many texts incorrectly solve the problem. Provides theory, equations, and diagrams. (MVL)

Concepts used by two classes of grade eight students, one advanced and the other average, to explain the changes that occur when water is heated to boiling are presented. Little difference was found between groups in terms of the personal misconceptions used to explain boiling. The changes that take place in conceptual knowledge immediately after…

Combined free response questionnaire and interview procedure are used to probe students' ideas regarding how they believe they see both luminous and nonluminous objects and how they think they hear source of sound. From large sample of students studied (n=1901), prevalence of ideas in different age groups is compared, and progression can be seen.…

In October 1992 issue of "Educational Leadership," Marian Matthews communicates several misunderstandings about cooperative learning. Interview data from 15 middle schoolers in a wealthy district are not generalizable to all cooperative-learning situations. A cooperative-learning group is neither a seating arrangement nor individualistic learning…

Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning is described. Rote learning is contrasted with meaningful learning, which builds upon previous knowledge. Student's prior experience may leave them with misconceptions. Although erroneous, misconceptions are frequently logical and resistant to change. The author provides six strategies for facilitating…

Authors describe some alternative conceptions held by Portuguese physics students about mechanics and compare students' scientific conceptions with the evolution of historical ideas. Authors contend that teacher knowledge about the history of science can facilitate teaching for conceptual change in physics. (over 20 references) (Authors/PR)

This paper describes the current approach used in Israel for teaching photosynthesis to junior high school students. Authors identify two types of problems, psychological and instructional, that children experience in understanding photosynthesis. Presents a foundation and sequence for a new approach to teaching photosynthesis. (18 references) (PR)

This research used semistructured interviews to investigate students' (n=32) understanding of electrochemistry following a 7-9 week course of instruction. Three misconceptions were identified and incorporated with five previously reported into an alternative framework about electric current involving drifting electrons. Also noted was the tendency…