Desribes the transformation of science education throughout the last two decades into a specific field of research and knowledge associated with the establishment of the constructivist position. Analyzes some of the current criticisms of the constructivist orientation and studies their implications for the development of science education as a…

Describes a study providing evidence of how students' talk and writing about the nature of science differs depending on the particular scientific topic under discussion. Describes the relationship between theory and evidence, warrants for belief, and nature of observation. (Contains 25 references.) (Author/YDS)

Draws the attention of teachers of basic university physics courses to student problems concerning the interpretation of the symbolic language used in physics. Reports specific difficulties found in the first physics course related to different kinds of statements expressed in the mathematical language. (Contains 15 references.) (Author/YDS)

Explains that the geometrical interpretation of general relativity provides the formalism with intuitive imagery and an interpretation often presupposes a substantival space. Special relativity can also be interpreted substantivally, which is the key to laying out an internally coherent substantivalist line running from Newtonian mechanics to…

Reports on a study designed to: (a) show how the importance of the history of chemistry has been recognized in the classroom; (b) demonstrate how criteria based on history and philosophy of science can be used to evaluate the presentation of atomic structure in general chemistry textbooks; and (c) compare new (1970-1992) and old textbooks…

Examines the role played by metaphor in supporting and conditioning thinking about theoretical models of learning in science education. With special reference to von Glasersfeld's theory of radical constructivism, suggests that much of the controversy appearing in the academic discussion of this theory stems from the injudicious use of metaphors…

Analyzes how electric and magnetic lines of force were conceived by Faraday and how they are understood by a group of Argentine university students after receiving instruction. Results show that many students possess ideas similar to those of Faraday in that lines of force are conceived as real physical entities responsible for the transmission of…

Reports on an exploratory study of the ideas that students in the fourth semester of engineering have about conservation. Reviews the Piagetian position on the importance of conservations in logical operational structures in child development. Discusses the development of conservations in science during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries and…

If students are restricted to making educational experiments only, they might acquire incorrect ideas concerning the nature and role of the experimental method because the educational experiment differs greatly from the scientific experiment by its tasks, complexity, number and variability of experiments and devices used, measurements, and…

Traces the history of secondary school science in Mauritius to identify factors that may have influenced its link to technology of local significance. Reports that while there are many educational and vocational opportunities, the education system is founded on literary lines with examinations. Subsequent selection at different levels has become…

Interdisciplinary science education provides a rich setting for encouraging the formation of meaning within the minds of students. Provides an example of this interdisciplinary setting when environmental science is informed by the study of economics in the classroom. (Author/MM)

Describes strand maps in general and in relation to the Benchmarks for Science Literacy. Examines three draft maps entitled "Evidence and Reasoning", "Scientific Investigations", and "Scientific Theories" which together represent one section of Benchmarks Chapter 1 on scientific inquiry. (Author/MM)

Describes a proposed middle school curriculum designed to coordinate the major subject areas around a single coherent story line and tell the epic tale of the development of formal intellectual culture from its distant origins to the present day. Ourstory explores the history of scientific culture from the perspective of foundational disciplines…

Describes students' difficulties in learning the meaning of capacitance in a charged body by considering that individuals construct mental representations in order to help their understanding of the way a physical system works under varied circumstances. Asserts that a critical study of the history and epistemology of science is likely to…

Presents an example of a reconstruction of the debate concerning the foundations of general relativity on the basis of cultural and educational criteria. In particular, the debate is shown as guided by the concept of space and the different perspectives from which such a concept can be viewed. (Author/MM)