Describes a study of freshman science majors (n=50) that explores the role of higher-order cognitive skills examinations in identifying misconceptions in chemistry. Discusses the use of such examinations in remediation via appropriate modification of teaching strategies. Contains 37 references. (DDR)

Discusses some of the conceptual difficulties encountered by undergraduate students in learning certain aspects of chemical equilibrium and thermodynamics. Discusses teaching strategies for dealing with these difficulties. (JRH)

Discusses strategies for overcoming common student misconceptions. Strategies include using pretests followed by teaching techniques planned to contrast new information with students' previous ideas; using pretests followed by time for students to question ideas and test their knowledge; and giving students a real-world task that can only be…

Describes an investigation that explores students' understanding of the translation, rotation, and deformation of an object. Findings illustrate that students have difficulty appreciating that these different phenomena can occur simultaneously. Discusses some implications for teaching. (DDR)

Argues that surveying what new students understand about the basics of a subject can be illuminating. Presents a case study of A-level chemistry students and suggests that, although the details of what was uncovered are idiosyncratic, the paucity of understanding of fundamental concepts may be common. Presents suggestions for responding to such a…

Australian educators' belief that U.S. teachers are often sued for careless teaching is a popular misconception. Courts claim that imposing liability on teachers would be against the public interest. Britain's House of Lords recently held that educators assume a duty of care when advising on students' educational needs. This article examines…

Presents an activity that investigates the reflections on a mirror. Focuses on the relationship between a person's height and the mirror's height. (YDS)

Reports on the use of a non-traditional approach to constructing a geological timeline that allows students to manipulate data, explore their understanding, and confront misconceptions. Lists possible steps to use in engaging students in this constructivist activity. (DDR)

Reports on research into the cognitive basis of children's alternative conceptions regarding light and sight. Highlights three factors that were found to interfere with effective teaching in science and suggests ways teachers can modify their approaches to circumvent them. Discusses ambiguity and the role of language, experience and concepts, and…

Discusses the success myth and the American multicultural heritage and education's unintentional perpetuation of this myth. Argues that the roots of this misconception are found in most white educators' failure to understand the differences between the immigration of white Europeans and the forced immigration of Africans. Society's assimilation…

Presents an activity investigating what happens when a decimal point is in the wrong position or used at all. (YDS)

Integrates story telling into a science activity on the density of liquids in order to increase student interest. Shows the relationship between mass and volume ratio and how they determine density. Includes teacher notes. (YDS)

Investigates 53 11-year-old children's understanding of the concepts of force and energy using a modified interview-about-instances technique. Identifies three frameworks which appeared to guide the pupil's thinking, only one of which was consistent with the accepted scientific definitions. Reports sex differences related to the frameworks.…

A sample of 144 college students responded to content- and application-based questions derived from popular newspaper and magazine articles on contemporary health topics. Overall rate of reader misunderstanding was nearly 40 percent, with a uniform error rate for each of 16 articles, leading to a conclusion that consumer misunderstanding of…

BASIC programing was taught to 95 undergraduates from a manual emphasizing the language's syntax or from a manual that included additional material on the underlying semantics. Both approaches produced equivalent learning of syntactic features of BASIC; however, semantically trained students developed fewer misconceptions and performed better on…