Presents the portion of a larger study of A-level British students understandings of calculus that deals with ambiguities inherent in the phrases "tends to,""approaches,""converges," and "limit." Responses to two questionnaires indicate that the four phrases generate everyday connotations that are at odds…

Reports the rationale, design, validation, and uses of the "Force Concept Inventory," an instrument to assess the students' beliefs on force. Includes results and implications of two studies that compared the inventory with the "Mechanics Baseline." Includes a copy of the instrument. (MDH)

Examines the context of rural communities in Australia and the extent to which inaccurate stereotypes about rurality have misshaped public policy and programs. Advocates developing a rural development plan that capitalizes on the unique attributes of rural Australia and focuses on rural empowerment, environmental concerns, entrepreneurship, and…

Concept mapping with "Learning Tool," a computerized mapping program, was used to assess changes in the content and organization of 17 preservice teachers' concept maps for the topic of effective teaching. This study illustrates how concept mapping can be useful in describing students' evolving constructions of knowledge in a particular…

Discusses the two overgeneralizations "multiplications makes bigger" and "division makes smaller" in the context of solving word problems involving rational numbers less than one. Presents activities to help students make sense of multiplication and division in these situations. (MDH)

Study (n=62) at suburban community college tested method of conceptual change in which treatment students worked in small cooperative groups on tasks aimed at eliciting their misconceptions so that they could be discussed in contrast to scientific conception that had been taught in direct instruction. Treatment group had significantly lower…

Teaching strategies associated with a conceptual change model of science teaching were examined in a study of seventh-grade life science teachers (n=13). Greater use of conceptual change teaching strategies was associated with use of the special instructional materials, not with the training. Students in classes where teachers were provided with…

Research into the supposed "natural physical superiority of Blacks" indicates that Blacks may have some physical advantages over Whites but that these advantages are insignificant unless fully developed in a nurturing and competitive environment. Social and psychological factors seem to be the most influential in Black athletes' success…

Describes a lesson on pseudoscience for a teaching methods course that promotes active student participation, is not a laboratory activity, and follows the sequence of the three phases associated with the learning cycle model. Contains a true-false science questionnaire to be administered to students as a bridge to discussion. (PR)

Provides an overview of the research concerning students' perceptions of foreign nations. Compares and contrasts the various measurement techniques including the two most commonly used; semantic differential scales and pair comparisons. Suggests methods for alternative analysis and offers recommendations for future research. Includes a sample…

Reports on an innovative program that allowed preservice and classroom teachers to have personal experience with a constructivist approach to learning science. Preservice and classroom teachers collaborated to prepare, implement, and evaluate a simple hands-on science-teaching project that focused on learner acquisition of knowledge through active…

Research says the school-improvement mechanisms favored by policymakers-more certification tests (like the Massachusetts Educator Certification Test that 59 percent of candidates failed in 1998), higher cut scores, and severe penalties for institutions not meeting pass rates-are unlikely to deliver increased accountability and better teachers.…

The Alcohol-related Harm Prevention (AHP) program is a normative education and skill-acquisition program designed to reduce serious, long-term alcohol-related harm in college students. Without admonishing students not to drink, which is likely to fail in many student populations, the AHP program attempts to give students the necessary perceptions,…

Despite the ubiquity of the term "inquiry" in science education literature, little is known about how teachers conceptualize inquiry, how these conceptions are formed and reinforced, how they relate to work done by scientists, and if these ideas about inquiry are translated into classroom practice. This is a multicase study in which 14 preservice…

Research shows that misconceptions about human blood circulation and gas exchange persist across grade levels. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to investigate the prevalence and persistence of blood circulation misconceptions among prospective elementary teachers; and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of learning activities for…