Describes the objectives and the impact of the Double Helix Science Club upon students, teachers, and the nonschool community. This club, which has become a major concern in Australia with a membership of over 16,000 and a magazine distribution approaching 30,000, provides an effective vehicle for many teachers and public servants looking to…

Studies of the relationship between students' propositional knowledge (as measured by concept mapping tasks) and their study strategies (as measured by self-report questionnaires) for electricity in first-year university courses are described. The effect of propositional knowledge and prior knowledge on both conceptual knowledge and study…

Three modules on chemical equilibrium, developed as resource materials for a content-methodology course in chemistry for intending teachers and also for general chemistry courses at the senior secondary and tertiary levels, are described. The use of these modules in a methodology course showed a significant development of competence in the…

Reports on a case study in which students identify their diverse views on electric current and design a critical test to discriminate amongst those views. Employs a two-part model that differentiates charge from the agent causing it to move. Contains 43 references. (DDR)

Studies children's knowledge as revealed in extended conversations. Describes four types of conversations with young children who are learning science and technology. Contains 22 references. (DDR)

Finds that children are naturally generative in their construction of explanations but that they use conceptions in quite complex and fluid ways. Argues that naive conceptions maintain a valuable function. Contains 43 references. (DDR)

Constructs case studies of individuals to explore the way conceptions change over time, and the difficulties presented by the concept of atmospheric pressure. Evaluates different structural theories of conceptual change. Contains 62 references. (DDR)

Presents the results of an analysis of science-classroom lab talk which focuses on topics and manner of talk as an approach to understanding the social context of undergraduate lab work. Argues that lab instructors should pay attention to how "scientific" the lab talk is, and to sociability among students. Contains 32 references.…

Reports on a pilot investigation into the perceptions of graduate teachers (n=9) of their science teaching during their first 18 months as educators. Emergent themes relate to the teachers' perceived self-confidence in teaching science, and to school influences such as collegial support, resources, and the perceived importance of science in the…

Investigated students' metaphors for themselves as learners in an 11th-grade chemistry classroom. Discovered that students' metaphors were congruent with their views of learning and learning processes as evidenced by multiple data sources. Argues that students' metaphors can provide valuable information for practicing teachers and researchers who…

Describes the development and validation of an instrument on Student Perceptions of Teachers' Knowledge (SPOTK) in relation to their pedagogy. Uses features of teachers' knowledge from the research literature related to instruction, representation, subject matter knowledge, and assessment of students' understanding to generate categories in the…

Describes the validation and use of English and Chinese versions of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) in a study of high school science classrooms in Australia (n=1081) and Taiwan (n=1879). Data analysis supported each scale's internal consistency reliability, factor structure, and ability to differentiate between classrooms,…

Describes a study of a range of challenging activities centered on evaporation and condensation done with elementary school children. Analyzes children's explanations in light of the existing literature. Finds that older children display a surer sense of ontological categories, greater epistemological sophistication, greater precision in language…

Reports on a study of the attitudes of South Australian primary school students toward science. Finds that overall interest in studying science has decreased since a similar study was performed in 1980. (Contains 22 references.) (Author/WRM)

Employs discourse analysis techniques to examine the approach taken in addressing minority group knowledges in two recently-published sets of junior secondary science texts, with a specific focus on the incorporation of indigenous knowledge into the texts. (Contains 44 references.) (Author/WRM)