Questions whether belief in the paranormal is alive and well in preservice teachers. Studies undergraduate preservice teachers' (n=232) reactions to a series of eight statements reflecting paranormal New Age beliefs rated earlier by a faculty panel as "totally unbelievable." (Contains 29 references.) (Author/YDS)

Studies students aged 12 to 14 years (n=217) representing a wide ability range. Analyzes the responses of participants to the dissolution of a solid in both cold and warm water. Findings have implications for the teaching of all science theory but especially for conveying the purpose of models and the process of modeling. (Contains 29 references.)…

Reports on a study involving two each year-12, undergraduate and postgraduate Australian students. Elicits learners' mental models for chemical bonding using semi-structured interviews comprising a three-phase interview protocol. Concludes that learners across all three academic levels preferred simple, realistic mental models for chemical…

Explores children's conceptions of burning through observation and discussion of a number of challenging phenomenon. Finds that children's conceptions are both specific and contextually based. (Author/CCM)

This study investigated the effect of conceptual change text-oriented instruction over traditional instruction on students' understanding of solution concepts (e.g., dissolving, solubility, factors affecting solubility, concentrations of solutions, types of solutions, physical properties of solutions) and their attitudes towards chemistry. The…

A debate is ongoing in Hong Kong regarding whether local and international schools vary in the extent to which they provide classroom learning environments that support the development of students' higher order thinking and metacognition. This study investigated commonalities and variations in the metacognitive orientation of local and…

Investigates the use of the World Wide Web (WWW) as a research and teaching tool in promoting self-directed learning groups of 15-year-old students. Discusses the perceptions of students of the effectiveness of the WWW in assisting them with the construction of knowledge on photosynthesis and respiration. (Contains 33 references.) (Author/YDS)

Reports on the professional development project, the Beginning Elementary Science Teachers' (BEST), which is based on the premise that the first years of elementary science teaching can be very important in the development of long-term quality science teaching. Describes project experiences that allowed 13 beginning teachers to interact with…

Describes and compares physics students' understanding of concepts associated with electric and magnetic fields using interviews and written tests. Provides insights into a more detailed view of students' understanding of fields using the theoretical framework of the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome Taxonomy. (Author/MKR)

Analyzed metaphors used by science teachers in their classroom discourse and their influence on the image of science constructed by students. The use of role-determining objectivist metaphors signifies teachers' pedagogies being governed by an objectivist epistemology. Teachers need to reflect critically on their use of metaphors to develop a…

Explores the congruence of Palestine science teachers' beliefs about knowledge and learning with the recent constructivist/conceptual change epistemological basis of science education and the factors that influence these beliefs. Results indicate that only a small percentage of Palestinian teachers subscribe to the recent views of learning and…

Evaluates the introduction of in-class cooperative learning in a large lecture college physics sequence. Results indicate that cooperative learning sessions helped the students achieve at a higher level than expected. Concludes that in-class cooperative learning addressed student concerns about the learning environment and was perceived as an…

Discusses students' understandings of their own internal structure. Analysis shows the extent to which student understanding increases with age and the degree to which students know more about some organs and organ systems than others. Gender differences in the drawings were generally not large and there were some intriguing differences in the…

Reports on an investigation of the status of procedural knowledge in chemistry among students entering into bridging programs at two South African universities. Findings show that students overall tend to repeat in order to get a recurring reading. Very few students were able to use a line of best fit for a set of graphical data. Discusses…

Investigates, using Marton's theory of the structure of awareness, the aspects that students discerned and brought into their focal awareness while they studied four science stories in an instruction designed for fostering understanding of the nature of science (NOS). The data showed that when students studied the stories, many focused only on one…