Reports on an ethnographic study of laboratory sessions in the departments of Physics and Chemistry at the University of Natal in Durban, South Africa, with specific focus on the comparison of the function of verbs in three first-year laboratory manuals. Several pedagogical implications are discussed. (JL)

Uses clinical case studies showing autistic children's fascination with and understanding of machines, family studies focusing on occupations of fathers and grandfathers of children with autism or Asperger Syndrome, and experimental evidence using picture-sequencing methods to identify physical or intentional causality to show that children with…

Describes the use of a computer-linked camera to demonstrate Coulomb's law. Suggests a way of reducing the difficulties in presenting Coulomb's law by teaching the inverse square law of gravity and the inverse square law of electricity in the same unit. (AIM)

Presents a unit that focuses on landslides and integrates earth science, physics, chemistry, and math. Includes activities to investigate porosity, permeability, cohesion, saturation, and gravity. (JRH)

Argues for an emphatic role for theory in everyday science teaching. Contrasts science's confidence in its theories with those of other sorts which students encounter in their everyday lives. Discusses common denominator science teaching in which teachers teach science in units based on different sciences. (DDR)

Discusses the decline of the number of students wishing to continue with physics in many countries. Brings together the relevant findings of two research projects and considers the effect of changes in the school curriculum. Contains 18 references. (DDR)

Investigates gender issues in Israeli advanced placement physics classes. Analyzes matriculation exam scores from approximately 400 high schools over 12 years. Conducts semi-constructed interviews with 50 advanced placement physics students (25 girls and 25 boys). Discusses changes in the ratio of girls, performance, and factors that are…

Discusses Einstein's special relativity theory and some of the developmental mathematics involved. Presents motivational classroom materials used in discussing relative-motion problems, evaluating a radical expression, graphing with asymptotes, interpreting a graph, studying variation, and solving literal and radical equations. (KHR)

Investigates students' ideas about gravity beyond the earth's surface. Presents a lesson plan designed to help students understand that gravity can act beyond Earth's atmosphere. Also helps students gain a more adequate intuitive understanding of how natural and artificial satellites stay in orbit. Reports that this strategy changed some students'…

Describes a practicum-based course for teaching Applied Arts students about color that considered students' previous ideas about color when devising experiments and assignments. The conceptual content was chosen to integrate scientific, technical, and perceptual aspects of color. Results of student evaluations and implications for classroom…

Highlights the need to make the undergraduate physics laboratory more exciting and commensurate with the time assigned for it in the curriculum. Suggests establishing a model undergraduate physics laboratory at one place then reproducing it in five places for a massive reorientation program for teachers. Contains brief outlines of 30 experiments…

Describes a simple computer-interfaced experiment for recording the response of an RC network to direct current and square input signals. Undertakes a systematic qualitative and quantitative analysis for the high- and low-pass configurations. Suggests some examples of open-ended problems to develop a feel for circuit behavior. (AIM)

A study compared 17 preschoolers, 18 7-year-olds, 17 10-year-olds, and 21 children with autism and 21 age-matched controls. Children with autism preferred to employ physical causality when reasoning about novel physical and psychological events. A multiple-choice task confirmed their impairment in intuitive psychology while highlighting superior…

Presents and analyzes a detailed example of classroom dialogues such as peer instruction, and describes the format, procedures, and curricular materials required for creating the desired lecture-room environment. (Contains 94 references.) (Author/YDS)

Identifies communication difficulties between students and students and instructors as important sources of barriers to achieving high-quality student practice. Proposes some strategies to address communication difficulties in the context of small-group, in-class problem solving. (Contains 36 references.) (Author/YDS)