The current review examined modeling literature in top science education journals to better understand the pedagogical functions of modeling instruction reported over the last decade. Additionally, the review sought to understand the extent to which different modeling pedagogies were employed, the discursive acts that were identified as important,…

Eight chemistry textbooks written from 1758 to 1891 have been analyzed for the way they present the chemistry of the oxides of tin. This analysis gives insight into the foundation of a number of chemical ideas such as nomenclature and composition used in modern chemistry. Four major preparation techniques for the production of tin oxides emerge…

Human skilled behavior requires preparatory processes that selectively make sensory and motor systems more efficient for perceiving the upcoming stimulus and performing the correct action. We review the literature concerning these preparatory processes as studied by response-cuing paradigm, and propose a model that accounts for the major findings.…

The literature on crowding in residential and laboratory settings is reviewed, and a model of crowding highlighting the importance of perceived control and group orientation is discussed. (EF)

Discusses computational studies of learning in artificial neural networks and findings that may provide insights into the learning abilities of the human brain. Describes efforts to test theories about brain information processing, using artificial neural networks. Vignettes include information concerning how a neural network represents…

Describes effects which produce the semidiurnal tidal bulges, using elementary methods, without reference to fictitious forces and without recourse to a potential. (Author/HM)

Measurements of various parameters derived from different reaction time (RT) paradigms are found to be correlated with psychometric measurements of general mental ability. Such RT-derived measurements, when combined in a multiple regression equation, predict some 50 percent or more of the variance in intelligence. This relationship of intelligence…

This paper describes systems dynamics, reviews the literature of uses of systems concepts in distance education (DE), presents a preliminary model, and ends in a call to researchers to contribute to the building of a standard model of DE. (Contains 4 figures.)

Laboratory simulations combine the strengths of lab experiments and field studies while avoiding many of their liabilities. They permit the emotional involvement, the time needed for development of norms and interlocked systems of interaction, and the broad range of variables typical of field settings, yet allow for experimental controls and…

Describes problems in teaching problem solving and summarizes research in this area. Presents Guided Design or Guided Decision Making as a problem-solving approach in which groups of students work their way through a model of the problem-solving process as they wrestle with a discipline-specific situation. (PR)

This paper analyzes discrepant findings from research on science teacher knowledge and classroom discourse. In new science teachers' classrooms, discourse during laboratory activities differed in important ways from discourse during other types of instruction. Furthermore, teacher subject-matter knowledge had effects that were not predicted by the…

This paper examines a research paradigm that is particularly suited to experimentation-related computer-based instruction and integrated learning systems. The main assumption of the model is that one of the most powerful capabilities of computer-based instruction, and specifically of integrated learning systems, is the capacity to adapt…