Some descriptions of learning represent the process as the development of organisations of elements. Various organisations have been proposed, for example, schemata and conceptual structures. Such representations assume that mental entities, such as concepts, are sufficiently stable and differentiated to be treated as units. We discuss these…

The aim of the study is to examine the effect of teaching activities supported with metaconceptual processes on 7th grade students' conceptual understandings and attitudes of law related concepts in social studies course when compared with traditional instruction. In this quasi-experimental study, convenience-sampling method was used. This study…

In this study, the purpose of which is to investigate the effectiveness of conceptual change texts, the data was obtained through 'Concept Achievement Test' by Çalik and Ayas, 'Attitude Scale toward Conceptual Change Text' by Yalvaç and 'Science Teaching Self-Efficacy Belief Instrument' by Enochs and Riggs. The scales were conducted as pre-test…

The research assessed secondary school students' conceptions of acid-base strengths by using the conceptual change instruction accompanied with concept maps and analogies. These teaching strategies were employed to help them make unfamiliar events familiar. Within a quasi-experimental design, the sample of the study consisted of 73 secondary…

The study investigated the mental models of primary school children related to the day/night cycle. Semi-structure interviews were conducted with 40 fourth-grade and 40 sixth-grade children. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data indicated that the majority of the children were classified as having geocentric models. The results also…

Fifty-five preschool children, ages three and four, used an Apple II microcomputer to learn reading readiness concepts of "above,""below,""left," and "right." Available during indoor play periods for three weeks at a nursery school on the Stanford University campus, the microcomputer was accepted…

Students come to the classroom with theories that they have actively constructed from their everyday experiences. However, some of these theories are incomplete half-truths. Although such misconceptions interfere with new learning, students are often emotionally and intellectually attached to them. Some common mathematical misconceptions involve:…

Examines the Social Sciences Framework adopted by the California State Board of Education in 1974 with the aim of helping classroom teachers implement the strategies presented in the framework. (Author/DB)

A study examined: (1) the feasibility of using concept maps as a measure of content achievement; and (2) whether these measures were sensitive to knowledge learned after reading expository text. Subjects, 131 eighth-grade students, were taught a mapping technique which required them to analyze ideas into propositions and then arrange them into…

A progress report on a research project directed toward facilitating deeper understanding of economic concepts at the university level is presented. The purposes of the project are to explore phenomena conceptualization and to investigate why some students are more successful at a learning task than other students. In the analysis of a…

Individuals of all ages hold coherent, theory-like beliefs in a variety of realms that may be at odds with formal, academic theory. Research on such informal theories suggests that individuals may develop key concepts in ways that are ontologically incompatible with the same concepts as they exist in formal or academic theories. This…

Compared effectiveness of teacher-demonstration and self-paced modes of teaching concepts and problem-solving skills in college chemistry. Results showed the self-paced mode significantly more effective for teaching concepts and problem-solving skills. Results of an attitude test also showed that most students (N=60) preferred the self-paced…

This paper proposes some possible areas of research and tentative theoretical guidelines for the Learning in Science Project (Primary)-- LISP(P). This new project, designed to investigate the teaching and learning of science in the primary school, arises from the work of the original Learning in Science Project (LISP). LISP(P) has two…

Focuses on the conceptual change processes of 17 fourth-grade students as they grapple with the abstract concept of human rights. Discusses limitations and successes in students' learning within the framework of conceptual change and motivation research. (CFR)

Differences in levels of subject matter learning at the university level were explored to determine how a learning task is approached between those who are successful and those who are less successful. Students read a selected social science text, (Paul Samuelson's "Economics", for example), related the material learned, answered content…