The purpose of this study was to understand and describe the misconceptions of students with visual impairments about seasonal change. Students who participated in traditional instruction exhibited alternative conceptions before and after instruction, whereas those who participated in inquiry-based instruction had alternative conceptions before…

This article presents a simple activity using Archimedes' principle that helps students to develop their scientific thinking and also to identify and correct their misconceptions. The exercise consists of linear and reverse processes.

Based on students' alternative conceptions of the topics "electric circuits", "electric charge flows within an electric circuit", "how the brightness of bulbs and the resistance changes in series and parallel circuits", the current study aims to present a combination of different conceptual change methods within a four-step constructivist teaching…

Retracing the history of one's discipline helps demonstrate that its practices of experimentation are also a product of its times, notwithstanding often deeply entrenched beliefs to the contrary. Deception of participants is an experimental tool about which many currently harbor strong beliefs; some, for instance, deem it indispensable. Having…

The study examines the general public's perceptions of, and response to, mental disorders in children by using the National Stigma Study-Children. Results concluded that lack of knowledge, skepticism, and misinformed beliefs are the reasons for low utilization rates for children's mental health problems.

In this article, the author responds to the paper "Exploring pre-service teachers' understanding of statistical variation: Implications for teaching and research" by Sashi Sharma (see EJ779107). In that paper, Sharma described a study "designed to investigate pre-service teachers' acknowledgment of variation in sampling and…

Over the last three decades, many studies have been conducted to identify students' preconceptions on various science topics. It is time now for a synthetic study of preconceptions to enhance our understanding of students' everyday cognition and to benefit our effort in developing effective instructional inventions for conceptual change. Through a…

This article addresses some of the common myths in the field of exercise physiology. Some of the myths are misconstrued facts that have developed over time, such as the myth of localized fat reduction. Other myths are unproved or collective beliefs used to justify a social institution; we see this occur in the form of "fitness fads." Society is…

Teaching social studies for understanding is complicated and challenging, but is rewarding when done effectively because students often exceed expectations. They construct understandings of the content, acquire a language to talk about it, and find a host of examples for applying it to their lives. Barbara Knighton, one of the authors of this…

Background: Children have been shown to hold misconceptions about illness, and previous work has indicated that their knowledge can be improved through the use of interventions. Aims: This study aims to evaluate interventions based on the provision of factual information for improving understanding of contagious illness. Sample: The participants…

The classic experiment presented in this problem-solving test was designed to identify the template molecules of translation by analyzing the synthesis of phage proteins in "Escherichia coli" cells infected with bacteriophage T4. The work described in this test led to one of the most seminal discoveries of early molecular biology: it dealt a…

This study reports middle school astronomy classes that implemented photographs and classroom response systems (CRSs) in a discussion-oriented pedagogy with a curriculum unit for the topics of "day-night" and "cause of seasons." In the new pedagogy, a teacher presented conceptual questions with photographs, her 6th grade…

The four college years is the last important developmental period of a young person's life, and what happens then can and often does have substantial consequences. He can be awakened and fired up to develop himself and his talents, he can plod through largely untouched or unenlightened, he can be frustrated and turned off, he can transfer, or he…

The focus on grades and what they represent happens in every middle grades classroom--some students completely understand the concepts when reviewed, but perform poorly on the quiz; some gifted students score high on tests but appear bored in class. With the current emphasis on school accountability by standardized test scores, middle level…

Historians work in a discipline with few inherent concepts and are obliged to draw upon many fields in recreating the past. Yet authors of most school history texts, state and national standards and curriculum materials seldom incorporate economic analysis in their work. Just look at state standards that include Adam Smith and John Locke but draw…