Based on the assumption that teaching behavior is influenced or determined by teachers' theories and beliefs of teaching, this study sought to examine how middle school science teachers perceive their instructional roles and how they go about improving their instructional effectiveness. Eleven teachers from two middle schools of the Midwest…

Derived from the perspective which views teachers and students as rational humans with limited capacity of perception and reasoning, this study describes how teachers differentially treat students and examines what underlies the differential treatment. Three science teachers from an urban middle school in the Midwest participated in the study.…

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to understand the conceptual frameworks that sixth-grade students use to explain the nature and structure of matter and molecules; and (2) to assess the effectiveness of two alternate instructional units in helping students change those conceptions. The study involved 15 sixth-grade classes taught by 12…