Focuses on student and in-service primary teachers' learning about balanced and unbalanced forces in a range of contexts and identifies significant features of the learning process from the learners' perspectives. (Contains 33 references.) (DDR)

Explores high school students' collaborative efforts in solving qualitative physics problems and investigates how and whether confronting students with varying views improves problem solving skills. (Contains 22 references.) (DDR)

Identifies middle school and college students' prior ideas about electrostatic induction. Presented students with observational evidence that supported or refuted their own prior ideas in an interview format. Concludes that the Lakatosian rather than the Popperian view is more acceptable in understanding students' responses to conflicting…

Presents a series of standard demonstrations as examples of activities that can be used to introduce multiple concepts and tie different sections of an introductory physics course together. Contributes to changes in classroom dynamics by stimulating student engagement and encouraging inclusivity. (Contains 23 references.) (DDR)

Speculates about reasons for the lack of use of concept mapping as an instructional strategy. Concludes that the two main barriers to its extensive adoption are the epistemological beliefs of classroom teachers and the underlying philosophy of the curriculum. (Contains 45 references.) (DDR)

Describes trends in students' explanations of biological change in organisms. Student responses to questions on how graphically depicted phenomena occur were analyzed and most students were unable to offer causal explanations. (Contains 27 references.) (DDR)

Examines third year university physics students' use of models when explaining familiar phenomena involving interaction between metals and electromagnetic radiation. Concludes that few students use a single model consistently. (Contains 27 references.) (DDR)

Explores whether construction of integrated knowledge structures by students can be stimulated by concept mapping and better visualization of concepts and their interrelationships. Significant effects of concept mapping as an instructional method could not be detected. (Contains 18 references.) (DDR)

Describes a qualitative study in which 16-year-old Norwegian pupils dealt with a socio-scientific issue. Investigates aspects of students' decision-making concerning a local version of the well-known controversial issue of whether or not power transmission lines increase the risk for childhood leukemia. Some of the resolution strategies imply that…

Compares the impact of a role-play versus a conventional discussion on students' argumentation on an issue involving animal transgenesis. Applies two different debate situations and asks students to decide whether or not to approve a giant transgenic salmon farm being set up in a seaside village. (Contains 30 references.) (Author/YDS)

Discusses linguistics in the teaching of science, specifically the key linguistic processes through which students learn rather than the mechanics of classroom interaction. Demonstrates the importance of communication skills in the classroom and the value of language analysis in determining the effectiveness of a teacher's instruction. (Contains…

Reports on studies of students with severe learning difficulties and shows that they could, under appropriate conditions, display impressive concentration and curiosity, and often appeared to achieve valuable learning. Describes some of the dilemmas that may arise in developing these kinds of activities for special education. (Contains 35…

Encourages Level 1 students (those taking a subject for the first time at the higher education level) to develop a deeper learning approach. Uses a cooperative learning approach to pose conceptual questions for interactive discussions and changes both teaching method and form of examination paper for a Mechanics module. (Contains 17 references.)…

Introduces the Iowa Chautauqua Program (ICP) which was disseminated through the U.S. Department of Education as an exemplary model of professional development for inservice teachers. Results reveal intricate relationships between classroom implementation by teachers and program implementation by the school district. (Contains 24 references.)…

Examines relations between changes in the beliefs of individual students and the distribution of beliefs in the classroom. Suggests that the conceptual environment is an indicator of the conceptual tension in a group. Shows that conceptual change of individuals does not necessarily result in changes in the classroom conceptual environment, and…