Recent research documents students' misconceptions about key math and science ideas, parochial views of history, and tendency to reduce complex literary works to stereotypes. To improve understanding, learners should focus on activities asking them to generalize, find new examples, and apply principles thoughtfully. Teachers should pursue…

The pencil-and-paper assignment "Represent water in its three states using a model" was given to pupils (n=227) from eighth to twelfth grades. The findings show that the dominant model used was the space filling type; movement of particles was indicated by a minority of pupils; size of the model changed when drawn in different states.…

The effects of students' misconceptions, declarative knowledge, and stimulus conditions on students' solutions to a problem in basic electricity were studied for 80 undergraduates at Iowa State University (Ames). The implications of the findings of influence by knowledge and stimulus conditions are discussed. (SLD)

Contends that before teaching about the Holocaust teachers must assess their students' understanding of this event. Considers five student misconceptions about the origins of the Holocaust. Includes responses by students in grades 10-12. Explains the inaccuracy of each misconception, using the work of Holocaust historians as supporting evidence.…

Investigates how scientists, from both a practical and epistemological perspective, communicated the nature and relevance of their research to classroom teachers. Determines the congruence and/or dissimilarity in how scientists described their research to teachers and how they viewed their research epistemologically. Concludes that scientists from…

Summarizes the results of a study of 40 high school students with grade point averages of 2.5 or greater who had never received formal training in economics. The students worked on problems involving basic economic concepts including productivity, profits, opportunity costs, and supply and demand. Discusses their misconceptions. (MJP)

Acquiring subject matter knowledge and developing teaching methodology in university coursework facilitates changes in conceptions of teaching. Professional conferences and mentor programs help beginning teachers continue acquiring this content and pedagogical knowledge. Through this developmental stage, physical educator majors' and beginning…

Describes a study of high school students' and chemistry teachers' understanding of the gas laws which focused on the application of scientific concepts in practical situations instead of mathematical calculations in theoretical situations. (Contains 13 references.) (WRM)

The reform documents of the 1990s stressed that science is not practiced by a rigid scientific method, but science texts continue to describe the process as if it were rigid and linear. The purpose of this investigation was twofold: (a) to explore middle school in-service teachers' perceptions of scientific methodology and (b) to explore ways in…

Although electromagnetism is an important component of upper secondary school physics syllabuses in many countries, there has been relatively little research on students' understanding of the topic. A written test consisting of 16 diagnostic questions was developed and used to survey the understanding of electromagnetism of upper secondary school…

The 9th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2016) is held under the auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, in the USA. The conference, held June 29-July 2, 2016, follows the eight previous editions (Madrid 2015, London 2014, Memphis…

In 1944, noted conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote: "Acts of conservation without the requisite desires and skill are futile. To create these desires and skills, and the community motive, is the task of education." Almost sixty years later, in January 2003, the National Science Foundation released a report of its Advisory Committee for…

Earth science teachers know how frustrating it can be to spend hundreds of dollars on three-dimensional (3-D) models of Earth's geologic features, to use the models for only a few class periods. To avoid emptying an already limited science budget, the author states that teachers can use a simple alternative to the expensive 3-D models--sand. She…

In order to address HIV infection among college students, a comprehensive measure is needed that can be used with samples from culturally diverse populations. Therefore, this paper assessed the reliability and validity of an HIV/AIDS questionnaire that measures fours dimensions of HIV/AIDS awareness--factual knowledge, prejudice, personal risk,…

The candle burning experiment is usually conducted in lower secondary classes to prove the (about) 20% oxygen in air. The aim of this paper is to show that teachers misinterpret the results of the experiment to satisfy the objectives of teaching this experiment. However, when the results of this experiment are interpreted correctly, the objectives…