Findings from physics education research strongly point to the critical need for teachers' use of multiple representations in their instructional practices such as pictures, diagrams, written explanations, and mathematical expressions to enhance students' problem-solving ability. In this study, we explored use of problem-solving tasks for…

Mathematics and science have similar learning processes (SLPs) and it has been proposed that courses focused on these and other similarities promote transfer across disciplines. However, it is not known how the use of these processes in lessons taught to children change throughout a preservice teacher education course or which are most likely to…

STEM education in elementary school is guided by the understanding that engineering represents the application of science and math concepts to make life better for people. The Engineering Design Process (EDP) guides the application of creative solutions to problems. Helping teachers understand how to apply the EDP to create lessons develops a…

The purpose of this study was to examine elementary teachers' science teaching concerns after participating in a two-year extensive and sustained science professional development intervention. The intervention consisted of two types of teacher professional development across two years including: (a) summer institutes (60 hours across two years)…

This paper is based on an online graduate program for middle school science and mathematics teachers in Texas titled Integration of Science, Mathematics and Reflective Teaching (iSMART). Launching the program for its first cohort in fall 2010, the authors attempted to answer the following two questions in this paper: (a) How do the members of the…

Outlines a plan of action designed to enhance growth in problem-posing skills. The "blueprint" provides a model for teachers and teacher educators who wish to integrate more problem posing into their curriculum. Specific activities and instructional strategies are cited to illustrate the development of problem posing as a process in the classroom.…

This model is useful in identifying specific learning problems and in providing techniques for the teacher to motivate and teach students at all levels. What it is and how it can be used are discussed, illustrated by specific strategies for geometry and science. (MNS)

The National Science Education Standards (NSES; National Research Council [NRC], 1996) include Science and Technology as one of the eight categories of content standards. The science and technology standards establish connections between the natural and designed worlds and provide students with opportunities to develop decision-making abilities.…

Identifies the accurate and inaccurate conceptions about osmosis from interviews of (n=16) outstanding science students. (22 references) (Author/MKR)

This paper reports on the experiences of a small collaborative inquiry group consisting of a high school science teacher, Deidre, and two university researchers, the authors of this paper, as they explored an active, inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning referred to as Problem-Based Learning or PBL (Barrows, 1994; Barrows & Tamblyn,…

Discussed are three recent psychological experiments that demonstrate (1) how students can be instructed to falsify on two tasks that model scientific reasoning and (2) how the possibility of error in the data affects their attempts to falsify. Games were used in the treatments. (MNS)

A study to investigate one of the mechanisms teachers may use to convince themselves incorrectly that students have learned science concepts requiring formal operational ability is presented. The investigation indicates instructors may actually teach and test for memorization of algorithms rather than understanding. (MP)

Three definitions of "back-to-the-basics" are given and discussed. The idea that science provides opportunities to practice the most "skill-thinking" is also discussed. (MK)

Presents correct solutions to an osmosis problem of two high school science students who relied on inaccurate and inappropriate conceptual knowledge. Identifies characteristics of the problem solvers, salient properties of the problem that could contribute to the problem misrepresentation, and spurious correct answers. (27 references) (Author/MKR)

Reports research supporting the hypothesis that concrete-operational college students playing the game Master Mind with an observer where there is verbal interaction designed to stimulate thinking about the problem-solving situation will show greater cognitive growth than subjects not playing the game. Implications for science instruction are…