While problem-based learning (PBL) has a relatively long history of successful use in medical and pre-professional schools, it has yet to be widely adopted by K--12 teachers. This may be due, in part, to the numerous challenges teachers experience when implementing PBL. In this paper, we describe specific hurdles that teachers are likely to…

As a part of a doctoral thesis considering the history of teaching physical and chemical change, 641 chemistry/science textbooks have currently been examined. These books are from many different countries and date from the eighteenth century to the present time. The books have described a wide variety of experiments to illustrate the difference…

The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) survey of California Latino youth perceptions of college financial aid reveals: (1) Ninety-eight percent of respondents felt it was important to have a college education; (2) Thirty-eight percent of respondents did not feel the benefits of college outweigh the costs; (3) Not being able to work and incurring…

This book attempts to reflect on the value and purpose of practical work as part of the science curriculum: why are practical exercises so necessary and what do they contribute to the science learning process? The chapters in this book examine issues such as: how practical work is perceived by students and teachers; the possibilities and perils of…

Showing evidence of planing multicultural education in curricula is required by the National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) for accreditation of professional education programs. This paper presents discussions on this issue over the last three decades, points out the increasingly diverse student population in the United…

Reviews "Dismantling Desegregation: The Quiet Reversal of Brown v. Board of Education" (Gary Orfield, Susan E. Eaton), a book that describes the return of segregated schooling in U.S. cities and its relationship to segregated neighborhoods. Suggests that the book focuses on public policies while overlooking the importance of moral considerations…

Discusses the use of analogies and other instructional strategies (problem solving, demonstration, group labs, and large group discussion) in dealing with students' preconceptions in physics. (PR)

Discusses group process and design issues that should be considered when a group member has a hearing impairment. Different levels of hearing loss and the differing communication modes are reviewed; differences in cognitive processing based on communication mode are considered. Recommendations for accommodation are given. (LKS)

Presents 13 examples in which the intuitive approach to solve the problem is often misleading. Presents analysis of these problems for five different sources of misleading intuitive generators: lack of analysis, unbalanced perception, improper analogy, improper generalization, and misuse of symmetry. (MDH)

Reports a study (n=27) concerning the knowledge about image formation exhibited by students following instruction in geometrical optics in an activity-based college physics course for prospective elementary teachers. Student diagrams and verbal comments indicate their knowledge can be described as an intermediate state: a hybridization of…

Educator violence against students (verbal and physical assaults and the undermining of students' constitutional rights) erodes rather than enhances school safety. Unnecessarily harsh disciplinary practices create a violence-prone climate mirroring U.S. society--the most retributive of Western nations. Democratic classroom practices can help…

Describes junior high school students' understandings of some common non-technical words used in science classes and compares results for students in Botswana and England. Finds that considerable concerns remain about the way in which teachers use words in science. Concludes that the greatest problems occur with second-language students in…

This study investigates the effect of a conceptual change approach over traditional instruction on students' understanding of chemical equilibrium concepts (e.g. dynamic nature of equilibrium, definition of equilibrium constant, heterogeneous equilibrium, qualitative interpreting of equilibrium constant, changing the reaction conditions). This…

The authors sought to assess the perception of risks for coronary heart disease (CHD) in college men and women. They surveyed 470 undergraduates from 2 major 4-year institutions who completed a questionnaire that measured perceived risks for heart disease. Sixty-eight percent of the respondents rated their risks as lower or much lower than those…

Inappropriate assessment procedures result in the misdiagnosis, misidentification, and misplacement of many African American students in special education. This article discusses poor teacher judgment, lack of cultural awareness among teachers, cultural discontinuity between home and school, and bias inherent in current tests used in special…