In the spring 1995 "JLE" issue, Bruce Meredith and Julie Underwood posited that regular and special education have developed fundamentally different paradigms that hinder cooperation. James Tucker and Jeffrey Champagne responded that regular/special education's conflict over resources is decreasing. Thomas Kuhn would argue that…

Explains the philosophy that forms the basis of a high school physical science course based on astronomy and the activity-based textbook that accompanies it. Cites specific examples of misconceptions related to astronomy and recommends various diagnostic and concept change strategies. (DDR)

Describes a game used in precalculus that builds interest and confidence in the uses of inverse functions. The game is preceded by a worksheet that enables students to discover that f(x) and f-1(x) are mirror images of the line y=x. (DDR)

Explores the concept of "effective help" in affirmative action to remove the stigma of branding policy recipients as being "preferentially selected" and implying a lack of ability. Argues that help must conform to societal values and that, if it is directed toward removing discriminatory barriers, it does not produce these…

Investigates students' conceptions and misconceptions relating to the construction of graphs. Qualitative analysis of students' responses identified three main alternative conceptions. Quantitative analyses of the data indicated that overall students did not enter the learning situation as a tabula rasa. Discusses the theoretical and practical…

Defends affirmative action and explains its historical principles in order to dispel myths surrounding the program. Discusses the pervasiveness of inequality in society and discusses ways that decision makers in higher education can respond to critics of affirmative action. Examines college admission needs and the current legal and political…

States that newspaper and magazine journalism tend to depict handicapped persons as victims. Explains that teachers can help eliminate this stereotypic imagery through writing and critical reading exercises. (GG)

In order to understand and evaluate the continued prevalence of corporal punishment in school systems, this article reviews the following topics: (1) historical issues; (2) current demographics and correlates; (3) the effectiveness of corporal punishment in school settings; (4) myths; (5) alternatives to corporal punishment; and (6) social policy.…

Discusses the problem of symmetry avoidance using water as an historical example. Uses simple pi systems for the analysis. Provides methodology and examples. Investigates two naive arguments. (MVL)

Investigated was the use of cognitive conflict to probe the misconceptions held by preservice elementary teachers that in a division problem the quotient must be less than the dividend. Explains how preservice teachers' reliance on information about the domain of whole numbers and their instrumental understanding support their misconceptions.…

Describes students' misconceptions related to surface area and volume of solid body. Recommends changes in the National Curriculum for Mathematics to make an easy transfer from elementary to secondary school. Provides a table showing diverse levels of the content. (YP)

Describes a computer program presenting four genetics problems to monitor the problem solving process of college students. Identifies three main areas of difficulty: computational skills; determination of gametes; and application of previous learning to new situations. (Author/YP)

The ideas behind electrophilic addition to alkenes, and electrophilic substitution in benzene derivatives are discussed. Teaching these concepts to secondary school students is stressed. Five main points useful at this age level are summarized. (Author/CW)

Explored in this article are various cultural beliefs against the backdrop of the science syllabus prescribed by the Caribbean Examinations Council. Allowances for different beliefs between Caribbean islands are suggested. (CW)

Describes the nature of cognitive research. Misconceptions research in mechanics and electricity are reviewed. Research results on expert/novice differences in knowledge organization and problem solving are reviewed. Implications for classroom teaching are discussed. Lists 34 references. (YP)