Focuses on the use of the Artemis web-based interface, which provides a digital library for students to search, organize, and evaluate science information related to project-based investigations. Describes high school science students' use of the scaffolding features embedded in Artemis. Reports that students relied upon the Organizational Feature…

This study uses a conceptual problem-solving test to investigate the effect of a series of pictorial analogies on the concepts of density, pressure, and atmospheric pressure in Year Eight classrooms. Findings indicate that students taught with the pictorial analogies scored significantly higher than their counterparts. Low achievers were the most…

Explores student performance in chemistry examinations on items that require higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) or lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS). Findings indicate that students performed considerably lower on questions requiring HOCS than on those requiring LOCS. Performance on questions requiring HOCS may not correlate with that on…

Examined how elementary students in three classes using different teaching strategies, presented with discrepant event problems in science, begin the problem-solving process by exploration of the problem space. Because of the constraints imposed by each teaching strategy, none of those used was considered entirely satisfactory. Appendix contains…

Learning environment research should take into account postpositivist ways of thinking to assist students and teachers to construct a more emancipatory learning environment. A critical perspective could lead to research playing a larger role in the transformation of science classroom learning environments. Presented a case study of a middle school…

Used a constructivist teaching/learning approach to improve first year preservice primary teachers' confidence in, and attitude to, teaching science. Benefits reported were ownership of knowledge, development of pedagogic skills, and the use of group work to develop ideas. Concerns raised included uncertainty when exploring knowledge for…

Presented a categorization of types of science education research, their possible contributions to cognitive science, and the potential of results from cognitive science for enriching the science education research accounts. Explored the relationship of an example of cognitive work to cognitive science. (15 references) (Author/JRH)

Analyzes Australian students' public and private statements to themselves and their peers collected in the course of a multiyear study of teacher management of communication in cooperative learning groups. Data reflect how students perceived and responded to subtle features in the public enactment of the curriculum, the task, and the setting…

Investigates whether and how peer collaboration facilitated students' problem solving in physics. Finds that students' success was due to how they interacted and whether and how they invoked the relevant physics principles. (Author/CCM)

Reports on a longitudinal study that mapped the transition between primary and secondary school from a student perspective. Explores how this transition impacts the way students think about, learn, and enjoy science at school. Describes the changes in organization, curriculum, and teacher-student relationships that occur at this time. Contains 52…

Reports on science-specialist student teachers' conceptions about science and technology and corresponding priorities for school science. Students' conceptions were measured after interacting with a case documentary that depicted students collaborating in the development and evaluation of pneumatic-controlled robotic arms. Indicates that many…

Reports on a qualitative study in which preservice science teachers (PSTs) enrolled in an advanced methods course participated in a complex, data-rich investigation based on an adapted version of the "Struggle for Survival" curriculum. Uses the Galapagos Finches software and emphasizes giving priority to evidence and constructing…

The views of 40 primary students on ozone and its depletion were recorded through individual, semi-structured interviews. The data analysis resulted in the formation of a limited number of models concerning the distribution and role of ozone in the atmosphere, the depletion process, and the consequences of ozone depletion. Identifies five target…

Reports on a longitudinal study based on Years 7-12 for girls' achievement in mathematics and science. The data suggest that Year Nine is crucial for girls' perceptions of how they have performed in math and science in relation to boys' achievements in these fields. (AIM)

Examines student discourse in both small and large contexts. Explores the role of shared inquiry and the nature of consensus-building in students' development of explanations from a collaborative knowledge-building stance. Concludes that two forms of discourse (constructive and generative, dialectic and persuasive) effectively promote progressive…