Findings from a quasi-experimental study of children's ideas about the solar system and how these ideas changed in response to a 10-week intervention period of formal astronomy teaching at a single primary school in England are presented in detail. Initial interviews with all of the 9- to 11-year-olds involved revealed a relatively poorly…

It is recognized widely that learning is a dynamic and idiosyncratic process of construction and reconstruction of concepts in response to new experiences. It is influenced by the learner's prior knowledge, motivation, and sociocultural context. This study investigated how year 11 and 12 physics students' metacognition influences the development…

This paper describes the conceptualizations, or mental models, of the nature of the bonding and structure of metals of a group of U.K. college students. It is suggested that these mental models may be understood in terms of the students' prior learning about covalent and ionic bonding, and the prevalence of a common alternative conceptual…

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)

This paper examines the use of students' lived experiences in an urban elementary science classroom. Students bring different funds of knowledge that are accumulated through their lived experiences into the classroom, and I examine what those funds of knowledge mean to an elementary science teacher working in an urban school. I describe how a…

This study presents comparative case studies of preservice and first-year teachers' and expert teachers' conceptions of the concept of prior knowledge. Kelly's ("The Psychology of Personal Construct", New York: W. W. Norton, 1955) theory of personal constructs as discussed by Akerson, Flick, and Lederman ("Journal of Research in…

Reported is the production of an instructional methodology harmonizing with Piagetian theory and enabling teenage students, including those initially mismatched to the task, to understand the mole, as revealed by their performances on a test of basic skills considered fundamental to that concept. (DS)

Concept maps and structured/clinical interviews were completed by 25 fourth graders and 25 college freshmen to determine knowledge of the human circulatory system. Students (N=945) at various levels were then measured for misconception frequencies. Student preconceptions appear to be tenacious, but confrontation strategies may assist fundamental…

Chemistry learning involves establishing conceptual relationships among macroscopic, microscopic, and symbolic representations. Employing the notion of intertextuality to conceptualize these relationships, this study investigates how class members interactionally construct meanings of chemical representations by connecting them to real-life…

In the context of schooling, resiliency refers to the ability to thrive academically despite adverse circumstances. In this study the relationship between academic resilience and student's collateral learning is explored in 20 students of Cree ancestry. The individual resilience of each student was examined by identifying protective factors for…

Given the important role of science teacher educators in developing science teachers' understandings of nature of science (NOS), this study explores 15 Turkish "prospective" science teacher educators' beliefs about NOS in the context of teacher education reform in Turkey. A reflection-oriented qualitative approach was adopted in the…