This study with 22 adults with mild to moderate mental retardation examined the nature of knowledge structures in this population as well as effects of presentation methods and response methods on ability to classify items. Results indicated major effects for disability severity, insignificant findings for presentation method, and a trend toward…

Argues that realist researchers regard serendipitous events in research with suspicion, resulting in the lack of analysis of the role of serendipity in the generation of research ideas. Analyzes the significance and impact of serendipity in the process of a case study. Deliberates the problematic nature of constructing research stories. (DSK)

Illustrates how the genesis and development of complex numbers can be explained by and supports a fallibilist model of trials and tests. Discusses the educational implications of this quasi-experimental approach. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

Seeks to identify some of the issues associated with the role of models in scientific explanations. Discusses factors which may influence the way that those explanations are understood and the judgment of their appropriateness by the various audiences involved. Contains 55 references. (DDR)

Describes and evaluates an elementary science methods course in which the nature of science and scientific inquiry are embedded and explicitly taught. As a result of the course, incoming conceptions of science as primarily a body of knowledge changed to a more appropriate, blended view of science as a body of knowledge generated through the active…

Examines how 20th century philosophers of science have influenced current physics educational research. Examines the introduction of a study of these philosophers in several courses, including the calculus-based introductory physics course on optics and modern physics. Concludes that students seem to have made a marked improvement in their…

This book discusses the act of understanding in mathematics. The first chapter, "Understanding and Meaning," inquires into the various senses and uses of the word "understanding" in ordinary language and discusses the notion of meaning and relations between understanding and meaning. The second chapter, "Components and…

A study was conducted to determine: why teachers think the way they do; what teachers know and what is transferred to students; and, how novice teachers and experienced teachers alike attempt to make sense of the world. The subjects of the study were 117 elementary education student teachers. A pretest was administered prior to student teaching…

The second of three articles on the ways in which people formulate their observations, this paper begins with a discussion of the assumptions underlying analytical and class-based models of cognition. The analytical approach to the measurement of cognition is found to be inappropriate because human cognition, and consequently language processing…

Although the ideas of Jean Piaget still dominate the field of science education, the range and severity of criticisms has increased progressively. In recent years, the emergence of a different theory of cognitive development has begun. This paper tentatively outlines a Lakatosian Research Programme for the alternative conceptions field. The…

This study examined whether evidence for understanding the distinction between natural and man-made aspects of the world can be found in young children. Children 3, 5, and 7 years of age were asked to make judgments about the origins of 12 objects and people's ability to change the objects. The objects were evenly divided into naturally occurring…

Although the critical thinking movement is a significant trend in both philosophy and teaching, there are certain points of view within the movement which have the potential for undermining its success. One of these developments, conceptual scheme talk, is contradictory to any intelligible notion of critical thinking. Believers in this concept…

Examines the relationship between mathematical knowledge and social practices of the Renaissance. Suggests that all efforts to understand the conceptual reality and the production of knowledge cannot restrict themselves to language and the discursive activity, but that they also need to include the social practices that underlie them. (Author/KHR)

Explores connections between naive epistemology and everyday instructional practice. Reviews examples of naive epistemologies as made up of fine-grained, context-sensitive resources. Presents strategies designed to help students tap those resources for learning introductory physics. Reflects on this work as an example of interplay between two…

Argues, based on a constructivist view of learning, that if knowledge is constructed rather than recorded as received, instruction must be viewed as creating learning environments that enhance the process of knowledge construction, and should guide, support, and accompany students in constructing an increasingly sophisticated understanding of…