Examines the relationships between the development of proportional reasoning strategies and three cognitive variables from Pascual-Leone's and Case's neo-Piagetian theories: (1) degree of field independence; (2) M-space; and (3) short-term storage space. Describes the ability of students to transfer problem-solving schemata to new contexts as well…

Examines seventh grade life science students, tenth grade biology students, and college zoology students for understanding of the concept of diffusion. Describes the differences among the grade levels in sound or partial understanding, misconceptions, and no understanding. Discusses the effect of developmental level on understanding. (KR)

Describes the problem-solving behaviors of six novice subjects attempting to solve an electrostatics problem in calculus-based college physics. The level of qualitative thinking exhibited by these novices was determined. Sound procedural knowledge and problem representation were suggested as an integral part of skilled problem solving in physics.…

Presents several dimensions of students' science perceptions in grades 1-12 in a rural county school system. The pupils' viewpoints are related to school and nonschool experiences and to the views of local adults. The students' perceptions were also used as a basis to explore issues raised by school administrators and teachers. (KR)

Naturalistic data-collecting strategies (interviews with 20 eighth graders) were used to identify and characterize students' understandings about the concept of burning. The analysis showed that students' understandings were fragmented, inconsistent, and at variance with scientific knowledge. (Author)

A control group of 40 eighth graders completed a unit on elements and compounds. An experimental group of 42 completed concept maps on the same topic. Results of a one-tailed T test demonstrated the usefulness of concept maps as advance organizers. (KR)

Describes the development of a valid and reliable method to quantitatively analyze the content of science textbooks, especially those used in middle and senior high school science courses. The approach employed four aspects of scientific literacy to determine curriculum balance in textbooks. (KR)

Reviews research from the past 40 years on students' and teachers' conceptions of the nature of science, clarifies the basic assumptions and logic which have guided earlier research efforts, contrasts the results from qualitative and quantitative research, makes recommendations about research methods, and suggests avenues for future research about…

Explores the nature of explanations used by 20 middle school science teachers utilizing the constant comparative analysis method in analyzing transcripts of classroom discourse. Discusses a subsuming categorical framework for the 10 types of explanations generated, along with examples of each type, namely: analogical, anthropomorphic, functional,…

Indicates statistically significant increases for participants in three-week institute involving measures of their acceptance of theory of evolution, measures of their understanding of both applied evolutionary principles and nature of applied science, and measures of their reduced anxieties regarding teaching of evolution. Further, participants…

More than 1,600 middle school students, including an experimental group exposed to the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS), were administered the Modified Nature of Scientific Knowledge Scale. Results indicate that the students utilizing the traditional science curriculum possessed a significantly better understanding of the testable nature…

Reports on 18 months of action research that examined the effectiveness of using the history of science to promote British students' understanding of the nature of science. Both quantitative and interview data offer substantial evidence of a strategic movement away from serendipitous empiricism and toward an appreciation of the interactive nature…

After proposing and defining the superordinate concept of "historicality," fundamental interrelationships between time, events, memory, meaning, personal knowledge, public knowledge, and the histories of science are explored. Relevant research findings that demonstrate the confluence of scholarly thought concerning historicality across five…

Proposes a theoretical model of cognitive development and applies this model to the secondary analysis of two large-scale studies which focus on the acquisition of formal operational schemata by adolescents in the United States and Israel. Results support the "unity" hypothesis of cognitive development that the various schemata of formal thought…

Utilizes a quasiexperimental design to examine the impact of microcomputer simulations on environmental problem solving by community college students. The experimental group of students (n=34) showed a highly significant improvement in problem-solving skills after being exposed to three simulation models that focused on lake pollution analysis,…