Considers how computers might help broaden assessment practices by examining the types of test items that might be used in computer environments. Explores ideas from cognitive psychology and research on problem solving. Contains 17 references. (DDR)

Reports on the Seventh Annual Conference on Chemical Education which explored the assumption that science courses focus too much on the product of science and not enough on the process. Problem solving was examined as a possible route toward developing the necessary critical-thinking skills. Covers the keynote address, Problems versus Exercises,…

Presents a qualitative study of the ways in which technology is characterized by educators in a Canadian school district preparing to implement technological problem solving within the framework of a mandatory elementary science program. Highlights include an epistemological basis for technology education, and curriculum development and…

Examines solutions presented by preservice teachers for solving graphical and numerical problems involving the arithmetic mean. Participants presented two methods: algorithmic computation and balancing deviations about the mean. A significant difference was found between science and mathematics preservice teachers in the use of balancing…

Details a study of secondary science teachers (N=8) and their questioning strategies. Identifies and describes commonly used teacher responses to student questions in the secondary science classroom. Contains 39 references. (DDR)

Investigates whether and how peer collaboration facilitated students' problem solving in physics. Finds that students' success was due to how they interacted and whether and how they invoked the relevant physics principles. (Author/CCM)

Compares the impact of a role-play versus a conventional discussion on students' argumentation on an issue involving animal transgenesis. Applies two different debate situations and asks students to decide whether or not to approve a giant transgenic salmon farm being set up in a seaside village. (Contains 30 references.) (Author/YDS)

Introduces five approaches--problem solving/problem based learning, authentic assessment, writing and communication skills, peer and self evaluation, and fostering curiosity. Suggests that these approaches bring critical thinking to the learning process. (Contains 15 references.) (YDS)

This study was an attempt to identify the epistemological roots of knowledge when students carry out hands-on experiments in physics. We found that, within the context of designing a solution to a stated problem, subjects constructed and ran thought experiments intertwined within the processes of conducting physical experiments. We show that the…

Can students with learning and attention difficulties in school actually be talented scientists in disguise? This article presents a model that was highly successful in identifying and developing scientific talent in these special students. The factors that contributed to the success of the model were the following: The emphasis was on helping…

Cooperative learning allows individuals with varying abilities to work alongside their peers. Students are placed into achievement levels based on placement test scores. The Regular College Preparatory (RCP) level is a score of 59% or lower and Academic College Preparatory (ACP) level is a score of 60-92% on the placement test. The purpose of this…

Human Biology courses are typically offered for non-biology majors who, like students in high school biology courses, have varying degrees of motivation and background. The primary focus is on explaining the biology behind human health and disease, but human ecology, human evolution, and human genetics may also be covered. Hence, Human Biology…

One of the challenges of science education is for students to develop scientific knowledge that is personally meaningful and applicable to real-life issues. This article describes a middle-school science intervention fostering adolescents' critical reasoning in the context of HIV by strengthening their conceptual understanding of HIV biology. The…

Many students face chemistry courses with a sense of fear and foreboding because it is a required course. Yet at the same time, fundamentals of chemistry have become intertwined in countless professions to say nothing of its growing importance in our everyday lives. Educators must bridge this dichotomy between attitude and importance. This paper…

The research described in this paper leads to an instructional design approach which is an alternative to the consideration of such issues as mathematical skills or level of cognitive development. The approach uses an analysis of traditional instructional tasks to specify the underlying cognitive processes and structures necessary for the…