Indicates the presence of complex structural, behavioral, and functional relations to understanding. Reports on a design experiment in which 6th grade children learned about the human respiratory system by designing artificial lungs and building partial working models. Makes suggestions for successful learning from design activities. (Contains 44…

Describes the use of concept mapping as a teaching technique in a graduate-level educational psychology course. Examines constructivist learning as a theoretical base for instruction, defines concept mapping, and outlines the classroom technique used. Asserts that concept maps guide, promote, and assist in knowledge construction as a metacognitive…

Discusses how biologists use evolutionary theory and provides examples of how evolutionary biologists test hypotheses on specific modes of selection and evolution. Presents an example of the successful predictive power of one evolutionary hypothesis. Contains 38 references. (DDR)

Investigates the intuitive beliefs held by students (N=2326) about a number of well-known physical events. Finds that the context of the question has a clear effect on the frequency with which different options are selected in physically similar situations. (DDR)

Presents the perspective of a science teacher educator on evaluation systems for courses and faculty. Critiques the traditional university course evaluation instrument and offers suggestions for augmentation. (DDR)

Focuses on hurricanes and tsunamis and uses these topics to address other parts of the science curriculum. In addition to a discussion on beach erosion, a poster is provided that depicts these natural hazards that threaten coastlines. (DDR)

Analyzes students' visual renderings of concepts related to the term "hypermedia" to determine whether groups, membership of which was based on a mixture of learning styles or a mixture of hypermedia knowledge, constructed concept maps that differed in terms of several factors. Learning style seemed to explain the types of interactions more than…

Outlines the aims and principles underlying recent reforms in the junior school physics course in China. Focuses on developing students' abilities and the benefits of experimentation rather than the simple transfer of knowledge from teacher to students. (DDR)

Explored the role of folktales of deception in developing 3- and 4-year-olds' theory of mind. Found that the story's deceptions elicit discussions that change over successive readings as the child shows increasing comprehension of the deceptions and decreasing need of parental support. Parent's and child's gender influenced frequency and…

The use of students' out-of-school experiences in science education is part of a wider problem related to the relevance of science in society. States that relevance in science education has not been systematically studied. (DDR)

Suggests that considerable insight into effective teaching strategies may be gained through the analysis of a small section of classroom interaction using multiple perspectives. Provides an example of using discourse analysis to explore interactions. Contains 40 references. (DDR)

Analyzes the evolution of the French physics curricula and experiments from the beginning of the century to the present. Shows the strong coherence of the aspects of energy presented through teaching content and experiments. (DDR)

Two experiments examined preschoolers' and adults' relative reliance on visual and verbal information in identification of animals and machines. Findings include both children and adults can use either visual or verbal cues in categorization, and a stricter definition is used in identifying animals. Results suggest that a perceptual to conceptual…

Explores parallels in children's moral and mathematical judgments. Considers how children coordinate these judgments with concepts of authority, particularly when using conventionally determined symbol systems to convey logical and social meanings. (JPB)

Observes 16 students from five elementary science classes to examine how students use tools when constructing new knowledge during science instruction, how control of tools is actualized from pedagogical perspectives, how language and tool accessibility intersect, how gender intersects with tool use, and how competition for resources impacts…