Reviews literature on conceptual conflict as facilitator of student learning and alternative conceptions, describes theories explaining occurence of alternative conceptions and conflict role in conceptual change, discusses a model of learning as conceptual change and its instructional implications, and presents results of studies which apply the…

SCALE-UP is an extension of the highly successful IMPEC (Integrated Math, Physics, Engineering, and Chemistry) project, one of North Carolina State's curricular reform efforts undertaken as part of the SUCCEED coalition. The authors utilize the interactive, collaboratively based instruction that worked well in smaller class settings and find ways…

This study investigated the relationship in conceptual change scores between members of dyads paired for a photosynthesis simulation exercise. The relationship between an individual's epistemological sophistication and understanding of photosynthesis was also examined. The sample consisted of 255 biological sciences majors enrolled in a biology…

The knowledge structure in a course determines what strategies students need in order to learn the subject matter and what methods a teacher may use to teach it. The conceptual structures in university courses were analyzed to provide a baseline for understanding the characteristics and organization of course content. (Author/MLW)

Refutes David Tukey's argument that the consensus theory of epistemic rhetoric reduces spiritual experience to a social construct which denies the possibility of a divine reality. Examines Walter Rauschenbusch's "A Theology for the Social Gospel" to prove that consensus theory accounts for religious beliefs, providing a useful framework…

Examines the meaning of subject specificity, a crucial aspect of teaching and assessing critical thinking. Discusses a number of distinctions, including a distinction among domain, epistemological, and conceptual subject specificity. Outlines future research needs. (FMW)

Presents a framework within which to organize and synthesize existing knowledge about children's understanding of the mental states of imagination, pretense, and dreams. Concludes that by the age of three, children understand important fundamental aspects of the mental nature, origin, and truth-relation of fictional mental states, but that their…

Rebuts the arguments made by Suchting criticizing constructivism. (MDH)

Identifies four different types of science stories: (1) heroic; (2) discovery; (3) declarative; and (4) politically correct. Examines the philosophical assumptions that underpin heroic science stories. Considers the implications of these stories in the science classroom. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

Reports on the application of Gowin's epistemology to examples from geological inquiry which yield criteria of excellence responsive to the demands characteristic of geological problems. Supporting this approach is a case study about how geologists apply analogies. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

Discusses how scientific knowledge emerges from social, natural, political, cultural, historical, and economic contingencies of scientific work. Illustrates the advantages of familiarity with research in science and technology. Contains 96 references. (DDR)

Discusses two theories of cognitive development, Ausubel's theory of verbal learning and Piaget's development theory. Illustrates that both concept mapping and the learning cycle are rooted in these two theories. (DDR)

We seek to demonstrate how digital video technology can contribute towards our understanding of the process of development of conceptual understanding in physics. We use digital video to analyze 4 brief Physics by Inquiry sessions with 2 groups of preservice teachers. The instances include independent group work and instructor-student…

The objectives of this study were to: examine the potential interaction between students' epistemological beliefs and placement in a simulation condition (constructivist versus non-constructivist) on conceptual development; and to assess whether a constructivist computer simulation experience would result in a greater degree of conceptual change…

This paper provides a rationale for the selection of illustrations and visual aids for the classroom. The theories that describe the processing of visuals are dual coding theory and cue summation theory. Concept attainment theory offers a basis for selecting which cues are relevant for any learning task which includes a component of identification…