Examines the way in which students cooperate in Taiwanese and Australian science classrooms. Concludes that students from Taiwan and Australia have a range of understandings and interpretations about what it means to cooperate in science classrooms. There are complex connections between cooperative behavior, student academic ability, sex, and…

The main purpose of this study was to explore the effects of long-term constructivist-oriented science instruction on elementary school students' process of constructing cognitive structures. Furthermore, such effects on different science achievers were also investigated. The subjects of this study were 69 fifth graders in Taiwan, while they were…

The purpose of this 2-year study was to investigate Malawian teacher educators' perspectives and dispositions toward teaching about ecological sustainability issues in Malawi, a developing country in sub-Sahara Africa. This study was embedded in a larger theoretical framework of investigating earth systems science through the understanding of…

Discusses ideas, pro and con, about performance-based teacher education and certification and the procedures used in New Jersey to develop teacher performance criteria. Indicates that the involvement of the teaching profession is desirable in the teacher preparation and certification process. (CC)

Investigated were the problems of whether a sex difference in spatial visualization ability exists among early adolescent students (ages 11-13), and whether the spatial visualization ability of these boys (N=32) and girls (N=27) is differentially affected by instruction. (HM)

Illustrates the construction of conceptual models on pressure and flotation using high school students' previous ideas on these concepts. Identifies three models and uses them to analyze students' ideas about physical phenomena and to recognize the inferential structure they use. Contains 28 references. (DDR)

Focuses on one target group of seventh-grade science students (N=19) who are working to achieve consensus and a coherent explanation of light and shadow effects. Articulates the beginnings of a framework for consensus building with inquiry discourse. Contains 41 references. (DDR)

Investigates how scientists, from both a practical and epistemological perspective, communicated the nature and relevance of their research to classroom teachers. Determines the congruence and/or dissimilarity in how scientists described their research to teachers and how they viewed their research epistemologically. Concludes that scientists from…

This research examined 9- to 15-year-old children's understandings about basic genetics concepts and how they integrated those understandings with their broader theories of biology. A cross-sectional case study method was used to explore the students' (n = 90) understandings of basic inheritance and molecular genetics concepts such as gene and…

Describes an effort to identify topics that should and should not be emphasized in a workshop for elementary and junior high school teachers. Questionnaires, administered to teachers (N=135) before and after workshops, focused on topic familiarity and teaching experiences with topics before and after workshop. (JN)

States that the relationship between mathematics and physics in the first year college level might be similar for populations from different national and cultural backgrounds. Reports student responses in two schools on topics covered by a mathematics test. The similarities and differences between the two groups are discussed. (YP)

Investigates preservice elementary teachers' theories about science teaching and learning through their reflections on integrated media case-based instruction. Constructs a profile of the teachers' images of themselves as future science teachers. Contains 43 references. (DDR)

Describes and analyzes two science methods courses at the elementary and secondary levels for how they addressed four ideas: (1) how students learn science; (2) how teachers teach science to students; (3) how prospective science teachers learn about the first two ideas; and (4) how methods instructors teach prospective science teachers about the…

Describes a study that explored the interplay between students' scientific epistemological views (SEVs) and their learning in school laboratory activities. Finds that students having SEVs oriented to constructivist views of science tend to focus more on negotiating the meanings of experiments with their peers than students with SEVs more in line…

Presents a detailed case study of a ninth grade science teacher to explain how school science constrains the development of her professional knowledge. Concludes that the version of experiment and inquiry seemingly prescribed by the institutional science of school is antithetical to the sort of explanatory inquiry the teacher uses when planning…