The Science Support Scale is not an appropriate instrument for measuring attitudinal changes in high school biology students. Factor analysis indicates that student interpretation of the items does not correspond to the theoretical subtest structure of the scale. (AL)

Describes a test, administered as a motion picture, designed to measure misconceptions about the particle model of matter held by students in grades two through six. Reliability values for tests of eight misconceptions are given and the correlations of misconception scores with measures of IQ, reading, mathematics, and science ability reported.…

Constructed response and multiple choice modes of programed instruction were compared. Both formats enhanced classification performance; the effect was greatest when the criterion test was in the same mode as the instruction. (AL)

Under current conditions evaluative research based on curriculum products of master teachers using basic knowledge from the social and natural sciences is more likely to contribute to the improvement of educational practice than is an attempt to build theories of teaching based upon rapidly changing philosophy and technique. (AL)

Cites 124 references to science education research literature and summarizes research on instruction, curriculum, teacher education, developmental studies, teacher characteristics, and instrument development. (AL)

Tested were six levels of a twelve-level hierarchical model for the attainment of concepts leading to the conservation of displacement volume. Presentation was by individual interview using either objects or drawings to present tasks. Results show five of six tested followed anticipated order and that method of presentation showed no significant…

Presents procedures, results, and conclusions of a study to see if psychological relations of association and similarity are consistent with a model to account for learned relations among concepts by college physics majors. The role of these relations in evaluating conceptual knowledge is dismissed. (DS)

The Instrument for the Analysis of Science Teaching was used to evaluate verbal behavior of teacher trainees instructing pairs of students in each of two science concepts. The greatest differences in teacher behavior was due to differences between students, not differences in science content. (AL)

Students in classes using a self-instructional unit on meteorology and climatology which provided research data from which generalizations could be drawn increased their critical thinking skills more than groups using conventional earth science texts but did not differ significantly in performance on an achievement test. (AL)

There were no differences in critical thinking, understanding of science, or achievement outcomes between students using an ISCS type instructional unit and those given group instruction over the same content. (AL)

Students using colored line drawings scored higher on criterion tests than those using realistic drawings, photographs, or black-and-white drawings in a programmed booklet describing the structure and function of the human heart. Students took longer to complete the program using colored line drawings. (AL)

Predictions from Anderson's theories of structured communication were tested in grade eitht biology classes. Students given verbal instruction with a high degree of structure performed better on acquisition tests than students receiving less structured lessons. (AL)

Five-year-old children were less successful in forming concepts of similarity of leaves and in communicating leaf shape to other students than older children. A preformed concept of leaf shape facilitates communication. (AL)

Reports on misconceptions held by intermediate grade students concerning chemistry textbook concepts, on the relation of reasoning ability to those misconceptions, and on the extent that textbooks encourage misconceptions. Concludes that the level of understanding displayed for the selected concepts, in combination with the nature of students'…