Educational researchers and teachers are well aware that misconceptions--erroneous ideas that differ from the scientifically accepted ones--are very common amongst students. Daily experiences, creative and perceptive thinking and science textbooks give rise to students' misconceptions which lead them to draw erroneous conclusions that become…

Because of an interest in the concept of opportunity to learn (OTL) in the English language arts from the perspective of students, the authors surveyed over 1,800 students in grades 9-12. OTL was defined as perceptions of access and exposure to reading and writing content, as well as curriculum tasks and materials. The findings uncovered three…