Research on predictors of achievement in science is often targeted on more traditional content-based assessments and single student characteristics. At the same time, the development of skills in the field of scientific inquiry constitutes a focal point of interest for science education. Against this background, the purpose of this study was to…

Worldwide, a tendency is visible in which upper secondary science curricula are innovated in the direction of context-based education. Crucial to these innovations is the way teachers interact with newly developed teaching materials and implement them in classroom practice. The focus of our research is to identify characteristics of the…

This paper presents two South African case studies designed to explore the influence of subject matter knowledge on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). In the first case study on teaching the mole in two township schools, the findings illustrate that the participant teachers favoured procedural approaches at the expense of conceptual…

Carries out a naturalistic small-scale study involving a class from a senior high school in Spain over two years. Analyzes students' essays on chemical change using text analysis techniques. Reports the development of four conceptual profiles and the implications of research for the process of teaching the concept of chemical change. (Author/KHR)

Explores the perspective of American suburban Midwestern high school chemistry students on the motivations for and implications of a particular form of classroom questioning behavior. Discusses the effects of the social atmosphere in high schools on scientific inquiry. (Author/KHR)

Compares outcomes of open-inquiry and expository versions of a chemistry laboratory experiment at the university level. Investigates whether the two versions would result in different outcomes depending upon students' attitudes towards learning. Indicates that the open-inquiry version shows the most positive outcomes, and students with low…

Examines 9th grade students' explanations of chemical reactions using two forms of open-ended essay questions, those providing students with key terms to be used as "anchors" on which to base their essay, and those that do not provide terms. Results indicate that more misunderstandings were elicited by the use of key terms as compared to…

Investigates the effectiveness of Student-Team Achievement Division (STAD) for teaching chemistry in randomly selected high school classes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Also examines the differences among groups with regard to gender, geographic area, and ability. Findings indicate that STAD is a more effective teaching method than…

Describes educational changes targeting the science curriculum in Africa in response to dissatisfaction with the educational system. Attempts to qualitatively analyze and reflect on the newly introduced chemistry curriculum for beginners at grade 7 (age 13) in Ethiopian primary schools. (Contains 40 references.) (Author/YDS)

Examined were the relationships between three qualities: students' knowledge of chemical terms, the relationships they recognize between these terms, and their achievement. Used were an explanation test, an achievement test, and a connectivity test. Results indicated knowledge of terms was a necessary, but not sufficient, prerequisite for…

Describes 10 steps for developing a diagnostic test of students' misconceptions and the use of two tests in chemistry (covalent bonding and structure) and in biology (photosynthesis and respiration in plants). Discusses the results and some implications for teaching science. (YP)

Reported are observational limits of detectability for several single stimulus and multi-stimuli observation tasks in secondary level chemistry. Provided are tables of actual results obtained including type of observation, chemical system used, method of determining stimulus magnitude, and observational thresholds. (Author/YP)

Identifies and describes the problems students have with the concept of neutralization. Analysis of over 7,500 students' answers to test questions over neutralization showed that many students understand the concept in its original meaning. Students assumed that in any neutralization reaction a neutral solution is formed, even if a weak acid or…

Written test was developed and administered to diagnose misconceptions in different areas of chemical equilibrium among 162 undergraduate chemistry students and 69 teachers of chemistry. Responses reveal widespread misconceptions among students and teachers in areas related to the prediction of equilibrium conditions, rate and equilibrium,…

The pencil-and-paper assignment "Represent water in its three states using a model" was given to pupils (n=227) from eighth to twelfth grades. The findings show that the dominant model used was the space filling type; movement of particles was indicated by a minority of pupils; size of the model changed when drawn in different states.…