The Qatari government has made significant changes in the organization and staffing of schools over the past decade in an effort to improve the academic performance of school-aged citizens. Of interest is the need to encourage teachers to move from a didactic teacher-led mode of instruction to one that is more student-centred, but also…

Encourages the examination of incorrect responses given by students to questions in the belief that the responses will reveal information concerning subjects' logical thinking and concept-forming abilities. College students' incorrect responses to physical science questions are analyzed. (CP)

Researchers of problem solving in science often find themselves in the situation of studying complex problems within a scientific discipline while constrained by the necessity of studying simple, well-defined problems. They then often generalize the results to the more complex problem. In this paper, this process is explored as it applies to the…

Describes a study of factors in the development of reasoning on the balance beam (n=34 nonscience majors in a Physical Science class). From this study and others, the author developed a model of problem solving and problem-solving behaviors. The implications of this model for instruction are discussed. (PR)

Techniques are provided for distinguishing explanative information from other types of information in science prose, including the structural method, the logical method, and the empirical method. Research is then provided concerning techniques which increase the subjects' recall of explanative information, and thus the subject's problem solving…

The Search for Solutions (SFS) film series has been a popular and important component of many school science programs ranging from elementary to college level. Phillips Petroleum Corporation, funding agent for the SFS, reported that by 1984 some 26,000 schools, 83 percent of all public and private schools, had used the series. In addition, some 84…

Describes school science as a rite of passage, and exposes problems in school science that are made visible through the use of this metaphor. (PR)

Abstracts and abstractors' critiques of 10 published research reports related to curriculum, instruction, problem solving and teacher education are presented. Aspects addressed in the studies include: (1) verbal aptitude and the use of study questions; (2) the treatment of evolution in biology textbooks; (3) descriptions of characteristics of…

One of the goals of science education is to foster critical and scientific thinking skills. However, if the meaning of the terms "thinking critically" or "thinking scientifically" is not clear, these phrases will become vacuous slogans beyond translation in teaching methods and curriculum materials. Therefore, the fundamental aspect of these terms…

Presented is a paper developed by the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh and which is intended for science education researchers. Two major recommendations for the orientation of research in science education are proposed. The first is that currently espoused goals of science education should be reexamined…

Reviews three computer software programs: (1) "Discovery! Experiences with Scientific Reasoning"--problem solving for grades 4-12 (Apple II); (2) "Organic Stereochemistry"--a tutorial for organic chemistry for advanced secondary/college level (Apple II); and (3) "SHOW PARTNER (2.01)"--a graphics utility tool for…

Describes development and validation of a 24-item test which assesses student performance on a set of 12 objectives related to planning and constructing an investigation. In addition to sound psychometric properties, the test is distinctive because it includes a set of interrelated cumulative objectives which reflect autonomous problem solving.…

Abstracts and abstractors' critiques of nine published research reports related to problem solving, elementary school science, science process skills, and curriculum and instruction are presented. Aspects addressed in the studies include: (1) problem-solving skills of high school chemistry students; (2) spatial puzzles and the assessment of…

Presented is a compilation of papers focusing on new questions and new directions for research in science education. Papers are grouped into one of three related fields of research: (1) analysis of curriculum materials, especially science textbooks; (2) investigations of science understandings of students and experts; and (3) investigations of the…

Contains an annotated bibliography of articles which deal with computer-assisted testing. Includes the author's name, the periodical in which the article appeared, and a short description of the article. (TW)