This longitudinal case-study aimed at examining whether purposely teaching for the promotion of higher order thinking skills enhances students' critical thinking (CT), within the framework of science education. Within a pre-, post-, and post-post experimental design, high school students, were divided into three research groups. The experimental…

The purpose of this article is to review recent research on self-regulated learning and discuss the implications of this research for science education. We draw on examples of self-regulated learning from the science education literature to summarise and illustrate effective instructional methods and the development of metacognitive understanding…

Describes a study of freshman science majors (n=50) that explores the role of higher-order cognitive skills examinations in identifying misconceptions in chemistry. Discusses the use of such examinations in remediation via appropriate modification of teaching strategies. Contains 37 references. (DDR)

Investigates whether pupils aged 12-15 years perceive physical quantities as intensive or extensive. Written questionnaires were administered to 300 pupils comprising four tasks for each intensive quantity, density and pressure. Analysis reveals three models of consistent pupils' reasoning. (Author/SOE)

Discusses supporting factors necessary for teacher professional growth and issues of concern that are evident during one primary teacher's implementation of a unit that used constructivist pedagogical strategies. Support factors for teacher growth are found to be an appropriate program of professional development, teacher understanding of the…

Investigates students' (N=277) performance and the effects of pre-training on tasks rated high in ambiguity, in particular those where the solution to the tasks cannot be arrived at through predictable algorithms. Findings show pre-training to be a significant factor in improving students' ability to plan and carry out open-ended investigations.…

Discusses the importance of meaningful and critical examination of teacher beliefs in preservice teacher education. Explores the effectiveness of using tools such as individual spaces and community conversations on teachers' attitudes and emotions. (Contains 62 references.) (Author/YDS)

Explores the relationship between a teacher educator's explicit modeling of reflection on practice and (n=9) student teachers' developing use of reflection on practice. (Author/MKR)

Focuses on the provision of HIV/AIDS education for 16- through 19-year olds in colleges of further education and offers both qualitative and quantitative insights into the English approach to HIV/AIDS education for this age group. Reports that most colleges fail to meet the needs of young people and are offering very little education in this area.…

Presents a study of design questions that children ask as they work technologically in school. Discusses school aged children's technological work on "cubby building". Supports the view that children's design questions and briefs arise at various points throughout the lesson sequence, demonstrating the iterative nature of design, make,…

Probes, through interviews with members of the setting panel, the process of setting the first external test for the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) physics course when it was implemented in 1992. Some implications are noted for future efforts to reform curriculum and assessment in physics, and for current classroom practice. (Author/MM)

The explanations of thirty primary pupils for changes in matter were recorded through individual, semi-structured interviews. The analysis of data pointed to the construction of a system for classifying pupils' explanations of changes in matter. A parallel analysis of data focused on the identification and interpretation of associations between…

This paper addresses the question of how to develop prospective teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in science teacher education. The main focus is on the knowledge transformation process and on the cognitive strategies used to shift prospective teachers' explanations within the domain of modelling thermal physical phenomena. This study…

Given that the subject department is recognised by subject specialist teachers as the central and immediate unit of organization in secondary schools it is surprising that so little attention has been paid by researchers to the leadership dynamics within science departments. The leadership dynamics within the science departments of two…

Self-efficacy has been shown to be an issue of concern for primary teacher education students--many of them have low self-efficacy and this can negatively affect their future teaching of science. Previous research has identified four factors that may contribute towards self-efficacy: enactive mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal…