Offers perspectives on how conceptual changes actually take place in students. Proposes that elements of Kuhn's concept of scientific paradigms and Wittgenstein's concept of the "language-game" be considered in an analysis of conceptual change. Explains how components of these models relate to science learning. (ML)

Reviews and assesses major crisis conditions in science education. Cites specific findings from key status studies and reports. Proposes that goals be reassessed and that successes in science teaching be measured in terms of such goals. (ML)

Explores the relationship between teaching and socialization through a case study report of the classrooms of three junior-high science teachers. Provides a brief characterization of socialization and the substance of science teaching and discusses the factors which appear to be relevant to these characterizations. (ML)

Explores sex differences in science achievement and examines the possible environmental determinants of these differences. Males scored significantly higher on science achievement and motivation and perceived their classroom environment more positively than females. (ML)

The study sought to determine if increased lesson structure could aid elementary school students with low perceptual structures. Findings indicated that increased lesson structure did not significantly improve science achievement for the participating grade four and five students. (ML)

Explores the issue of the consistency of use of students' conceptions across different tasks which probed understandings of aspects of pressure, heat, and biological evolution. Findings indicate that children have alternative frameworks for all investigated areas. (ML)

Discusses the learning potentials of science museums. Examines studies that relate to visitor use and learning. Contrasts learning in museums with most school-based learning, particularly with regard to the museum's emphasis on the use of objects as the focus on learning. (TW)

Describes a study in Nigeria comparing achievement in biology with a student's preference for cooperative or competitive learning situations. Proposes that rural children prefer cooperative learning strategies while urban children prefer competitive ones. Presents data proposing that learning preference (cooperative vs competitive) directly…

Reports on the results of case studies of science teaching at the elementary level. Two teachers from two elementary schools were studied. Addresses issues in elementary science teaching ranging from the importance at the elementary level to gender differences in science instruction. (TW)

Reports on a study to extend the concurrent and predictive validity of the Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument by including a sample of middle school science teachers. The validity criteria for the study involved observing student engagement and integrated process skill achievement. (TW)

Describes five ways that high school students explain a chemical change. Discusses the differences in conceptual understanding of the students based upon their responses to questions about simple reactions. Presents additional classifications of conceptions of chemical reactions done by other researchers. (TW)

Describes a hierarchical system of problem-solving strategies employed for the solution of a specific kind of problem about speed. Presents the results of 563 high school students tested with problems relating to distance, speed, and time. Provides a rationale for the methods used. (TW)

Proposes a framework for interpreting current research in science education. Presents four prototypes for describing research which are derived from comparisons and combinations of "spontaneous" and "formal" knowledge. Discusses possible applications of the use of the framework in science education. (TW)

Presents a summary of science education research for 1983. The 422 reports reviewed were placed into one of seven clusters for analysis/discussion: learning and instruction; curriculum development and evaluation; cognitive development studies; test development; teacher education; science education research completed in foreign countries; and…

Reviews science education research over the past decades, examining trends in research and noting emphases and gaps in the coverage of science teaching and learning issues addressed by the research. Areas addressed include the content (antecedent conditions), transaction (interactions), and outcomes (results of instruction) for the domain of…