Presents evidence from the Yupiaq culture that demonstrates a body of scientific thought and epistemology that differs from that of Western science. Contends that this information can provide a more culturally relevant framework for science learning for some students. Contains 20 references. (DDR)

Investigates the effects of a constructivist versus objectivist learning environment on college students' conceptual change using a computer simulation of the human cardiovascular system as an instructional tool. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

This research compared high-load and low-load versions of a text by manipulating text presentation, text organization, and example context on measures of fact and concept learning. The low-load text presentation variable enhanced fact and concept learning and post-reading ease of comprehension ratings. The low-load text organization variable led…

This study examined 10th-grade students' use of theory and evidence in evaluating a socio-scientific issue: the use of underground water, after students had received a Science, Technology and Society-oriented instruction. Forty-five male and 45 female students from two intact, single-sex, classes participated in this study. A flow-map method was…

The notion of competence has received sustained and ongoing critical attention. Despite this, many important matters remain unclear. This article argues that much of the confusion can be traced to both proponents and opponents of competence variously sharing highly questionable assumptions about learning that revolve around viewing it as a…

This paper details the development of a taxonomy for conceptualizing teaching. This taxonomy is presented as a means to help educators understand and interpret what it is they do and continue in the process of searching and understanding. The purpose of developing a taxonomy, the basis for the dimensions--or subject matter--for the taxonomy, and…

Models and modeling are frequently used as instructional tools in science education to convey important information concerning both the explanatory and structural features of topic areas in science. The efficacy of models as such rests almost entirely upon students' ability to conceptualize them as abstracted "representations" of…

Difficulty in comprehending mathematical concepts is a consequence of the system of knowledge acquisition prevailing in schools, and more specifically, of the typical pattern of classroom interaction. In the common task-setting/task-solving pattern, the teacher divides the subject matter into segments. Students are involved interactively in…

Arguing that the word "knowledge" has become unfashionable, having been replaced by "science," this paper begins by positing that there are many sciences and that it is the task of basic theorist within each science to ascertain the appropriate procedures, principles, and canons of enquiry based on detailed knowledge of the…

The nature of novice programmers' mental models for BASIC statements following preliminary BASIC instruction was assessed with 30 undergraduates who were taught BASIC through a self-paced, mastery manual and who were simultaneously given hands-on access to an Apple II microcomputer. Following instruction, the students were tested to determine…

Proposals for teaching concepts have been dominated by traditional paradigms. A review of research on concept structure and formation reveals evidence for alternative paradigms, e.g., exemplar, probabilistic, and schematic models. The research also indicates problems regarding the traditional models. Implications for relating alternative models to…

Presents a study that analyzes an extensive database consisting of the written and oral discourse of students (N=23) as they described their thoughts on ontology, epistemology, and sociology of scientific knowledge. Contains 51 references. (DDR)

In the continuation of an earlier study, 69 high school students who had completed an epistemological beliefs questionnaire in 1992 completed the questionnaire again as seniors in 1995. Beliefs in fixed ability to learn, simple knowledge, quick learning, and certain knowledge changed as they grew older. (SLD)

Investigates young people's expression of mathematical ideas with a computer, the nature of mathematical practices, and the problem of mathematical meaning from cognitive and socio-cultural perspectives. Describes a mathematical activity system designed for learning and the role of digital technologies in helping to understand and reshape the…

Explored whether there are changes with age in understanding the specific distinction between natural and human-made phenomena and whether an appreciation of this distinction influences children's beliefs about the possibility of altering or transforming different categories of objects. Found that this distinction, a powerful organizer for adults,…