Reviews the use of the concept of "ideology" in interpretation of science education curricula, textbooks, and various practices. Provides examples from Norwegian curricula and textbooks. (Author/SOE)

Discusses why public perceptions of the importance of Kettlewell's investigations on the phenomenon of industrial melanism diverge from those of researchers who actually work on the phenomenon. Explains the important role photographic and film depictions of differential bird predation play in Kettlewell's popularizations. (Author/SOE)

Explores the benefits of utilizing non-scientific examples and analogies in teaching philosophy of science courses. Utilizes a lengthy analogy between musical styles and Kuhn's theory of scientific revolution to demonstrate this strategy. (SOE)

Explains the design and evaluation of a project aimed at fostering the critical thinking abilities and dispositions of first year students at an Australian university. Most of the tasks relate to applications of chemistry and physics in everyday life. Many students revealed that their thinking skills were enhanced by their experience in attempting…

Addresses Lawson's (2002) interpretations of Galileo's discovery of the moons of Jupiter and other cases that exhibit historical errors. Suggests that such cases can distort history and lessons about the nature of science. (SOE)

Criticizes Allchin's article about Lawson's analysis of Galileo's discovery of Jupiter's moons. Suggests that a careful analysis of the way humans spontaneously process information and reason supports a general hypothetico-deductive theory of human information processing, reasoning, and scientific discovery. (SOE)

Examines uses of evidence in university students' writing of scientific argument in an introductory-level oceanography course. Provides students with an interactive CD-ROM entitled 'Our Dynamic Planet' to write a scientific technical paper. Discusses ways of teaching students the construction of argument in scientific writing. (KHR)

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 how two electromagnetism textbooks approach the concept of electric field. Uses historical evolution of the field representation. Indicates that one textbook mixes up the historical and pedagogical reasons for the introduction of the concept of field while the other one presents a sketch that might lead students to understand the field…

Examines the evidence proffered by Arrhenius, van't Hoff, and Ostwald in favor of the theory of electrolytic dissociation and outlines objections raised by Armstrong, Fitzgerald, and Pickering. Discusses the implication of the controversy revolving around the nature of chemistry in relation to the teaching and learning of chemistry. (KHR)

Discusses the need for the publication "Breakthrough" as a resource providing teachers with information and activities about scientists past and present. Describes initial attempts to meet that need on a regular basis. (KHR)

Discusses the old claim in philosophy that attempts to undermine any realist account of truth and thus knowledge in science and elsewhere. Explains that the constructivists take this to heart and look for accounts of knowledge that are anti-realist and/or constructivist in which the role of the external world in knowledge is downplayed or…

Science writing from periods of great change in science can be used productively in the classroom to advance scientific literacy. Compares the scientific monograph with the short paper prevalent in the late 20th century and suggests that there are cases in which a small group of papers can serve the same function as a monograph. (Contains 30…

Identifies enhancing the judgments of cadets through education at a military institution like the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) as a crucial pedagogical issue facing instructors of History of Science and Technology (HST). Discusses the experience of helping cadets to meet such challenges in learning HST in the context of professional…

Explains how geology has been ignored as a pre-college science subject. Examines some of the historically-based influences that have affected its status within the educational system. Suggests that geology, as a science, having been treated as being derived from physics, is a key factor which is supported by episodes in which geology and physics…