This study describes the use of the double-slit thought experiment as a diagnostic tool for probing physics teachers' understanding. A total of 9 pre-service teachers and 18 in-service teachers with a variety of different experience in modern physics teaching at the upper secondary level responded in a paper-and-pencil test and three of these…

In China, the philosophy of science and technology (PST) is derived from "Dialectics of Nature" (DN), which is based on Engels' unfinished book "Dialektik der Natur." DN as a political ideology provides political guidance for scientists and engineers. Therefore, since 1981, "Introduction to Dialectics of Nature"…

In human history, the origin of the numbers came from definite practical needs. Indeed, there is strong evidence that numbers were created before writing. The number "1", dating back at least 20,000 years, was found as a counting symbol on a bone. The famous statement by the German mathematician Leopold Kronecker (1823-1891), "God…

This is an editorial report on the outcomes of an international conference sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) (REESE-1205273) to the School of Education at Boston University and the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University for a conference titled: "How Can the History and Philosophy of…

Numerous empirical studies have provided evidence of the effectiveness of an explicit and reflective approach to the learning of issues associated with the nature of science (NOS) (c.f. Abd-El-Khalick and Lederman in "J Res Sci Teach" 37(10):1057-1095, 2000). This essay reports the results of a mixed-methods association study involving…

The prospective virtues of using history and philosophy of science in science teaching have been pronounced for decades. Recently, a role for nature of science in supporting scientific literacy has become widely institutionalized in curriculum standards internationally. This short review addresses these current needs, highlighting the concrete…

Teach For America (TFA), an organization that places college graduates as teachers in low-income areas for 2 years, contributes to teacher attrition. With this mixed methods study in one urban region, we investigated teachers' professional decisions at the end of 2 years. Respondents fell into categories in relation to the organization's…

Schools located near to airports are exposed to high levels of noise which can cause cognitive, health, and hearing problems. Therefore, this study sought to explore whether this noise may cause auditory language processing (ALP) problems in primary school learners. Sixty-one children attending schools exposed to high levels of noise were matched…

This mixed-methods study examines educational experiences of Latino immigrant young adult dropouts in New York City, along with pre- and postmigration factors that impact school participation. Due to age, interrupted schooling, and limited English proficiency, high schools view this population as hard to serve. Increasing numbers of these youth…

Educational achievement is a key determinant of future life chances, but children growing up in poverty tend to do worse by many academic measures. Family, school, and neighborhood contextual characteristics may affect academic outcomes. In an attempt to explore neighborhood and individual-level factors, we performed multilevel analyses to explain…

Although some creationist objections to evolutionary biology are simplistic and thus are easily refuted, when more technical arguments become widespread it is important for science educators to explain the relevant science in a straightforward manner. An interesting case study is provided by misguided allegations about how cytochrome c data…

This paper is the first part of a three-part project "How the principle of energy conservation evolved between 1842 and 1870: the view of a participant". This paper aims at showing how the new ideas of Mayer and Joule were received, what constituted the new theory in the period under study, and how it was supported experimentally. A…

"The Scientific Method" as it has been portrayed in popular and introductory contexts has been declared a myth. The variation that one finds in introductory presentations of "The Scientific Method" is explained by the fact that there is no canonical account among historians and philosophers of science. What, in particular, is…

With the goal of producing scientifically literate citizens who are able to make informed decisions and reason critically when science intersects with their everyday lives, the National Research Council (NRC) has produced two recent documents that call for a new approach to K-12 science education that is based on scientific practices, crosscutting…

The unique contributions of romanticism and romantic science have been generally ignored or undervalued in history and philosophy of science studies and science education. Although more recent research in history of science has come to delineate the value of both topics for the development of modern science, their merit for the educational field…