Focuses on the role of Thought Experiments (TEs) in ongoing processes of conceptual refinement for physicists and physics learners. Analyze TEs related to stellar evolution and general relativity. Identifies the stages at which crucial errors are made in these TEs and the cognitive processes which lead to these errors. Discusses implications for…

Analyzes Korean 8th grade students' achievement in physics-related areas of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R) and investigates the implications for revising the physics-related areas in the national curriculum. (Contains 44 references.) (Author/YDS)

Introduces a new way of evaluating instructional strategies using computers. Discusses two basic theories, instructivism and constructivism, in terms of their effectiveness in conceptual learning. Outlines the radical forms of constructivism. Introduces and evaluates two versions of a multimedia physics software based on the inventive model and…

Explores self-reflection skills and views in the context of an introductory physics course for first-year engineering honors students. Measures students' conceptual learning gains using standard survey instruments. Finds that students with high conceptual gains tend to show reflection on learning that is more articulate and epistemologically…

Explains how physics teaching can be more relevant for elementary and secondary students by integrating physics and earth science content that students can relate to and understand. Identifies and explains Earth contexts that can be appropriately implemented into the physics curriculum such as waves, magnetism, and electricity. (Author/YDS)

Reports in detail on the results of a study indicating that physics students' prior understandings of key concepts are systematically related to the way they approach their studies, their perceptions of learning context, and the quality of the outcomes of their studies. Includes references. (CMK)

Presented are problems that teachers can use to stimulate students' thinking about the subject of mathematical scaling. Food and eating examples are used to illustrate this concept. (CW)

The teaching of physics as an integral part of an undergraduate oceanography course is described. A general outline of oceanography and the corresponding physics topics is given. The objectives, organization, and difficulties of such a course are discussed. (CW)

Presented is a demonstration of magnetostatic image poles in the presence of ferromagnetic materials. The experimental set up and probable results are discussed. Real and image systems are illustrated. (CW)

An ethnographic account of the community of academic physicists is based on interviews, and a picture of what physics is like as a discipline is constructed. The features of its epistemology that differentiate it from other disciplines and characteristics (career structure, value-system and preferred modes of communication) are described.…

Considers pressure, volume, entropy, temperature, Helmholtz free energy, Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and internal energy. Suggests the mnemonic diagram is for use with simple systems that are defined as macroscopically homogeneous, isotropic, uncharged, and chemically inert. (MVL)

Results of a British study indicate that, among potential applicants (N=177), a small demand exists for a proposed science education degree program. Findings suggest that recruitment of science and math teachers may be hampered because the satisfactions provided by teaching are unlike those sought by science and math specialists. (IAH)

Describes the discovery and characteristics of superconductors. Discusses some experiments on the levitation of a magnet over a superconductor. (YP)

Describes experimental procedures to produce magnetic fields with a thermocouple. Provides diagrams showing the apparatus, tables of experiment data, and background information on the theory. (YP)

Describes the change of earth's magnetic field at the boundary between the outer core and the mantle. Measurement techniques used during the last 300 years are considered. Discusses the theories and research for explaining the field change. (YP)