Discusses the difficulties inherent in creating an authentic Chinese text of the legislation of Hong Kong. The article argues that the real difficulty lies in the need for a change in perspective, and once this change occurs, what remains is the technicality of linguistic manipulation. "Law" Chinese will best develop out of the English…

Investigates factors affecting students' ability to consistently apply the concept of adaptations. Individual interviews were conducted with 74 Year 10 students in Australia, of whom only 47% showed an understanding of the concept. It was found that the students were more likely to apply the concept to vertebrates. (AIM)

Uses example of racism to compare Vygotsky's and Piaget's perspectives on the development of mind within the framework of questions regarding the mutual influence of societies and individuals. Notes that Vygotsky emphasizes knowledge transmission from older to younger, whereas Piaget emphasizes construction of new knowledge with potential for…

Investigates students' conceptions and misconceptions relating to the construction of graphs. Qualitative analysis of students' responses identified three main alternative conceptions. Quantitative analyses of the data indicated that overall students did not enter the learning situation as a tabula rasa. Discusses the theoretical and practical…

Shares perspectives on what is happening at the national level in science education reform, why reform is needed, and the role that environmental education can play in this reform effort. Contains a discussion of the recent changes in science content and instructional goals. (DDR)

Discusses etymologies of mathematics words as a rich resource for deepening student understanding and appreciation of mathematics, history, and language. Presents detailed examples concerning the branches of mathematics, conic sections, and words of Arabic origin. (KHR)

Addresses the problem of relating distance and scale by way of alternative models of perception taken from the history of science. Makes specific suggestions to broaden the scientifically-based actual activity zone of students. (Contains 19 references.) (DDR)

The development of conceptions of academic ability was examined by comparing peer assessments made by preschoolers and children in grades 1-4. Findings from a team selection task showed that by fourth grade, children have acquired a clear conception of ability. Findings from a free classification task showed that academic skills did not factor…

Describes an activity in which students use data analysis and mathematical modeling to obtain insight into a geometrical question. Explores a simple case of the isoperimetric inequalities. (KHR)

Presents an instructional forum in which students and teachers work with researchers to engage in coordinated cycles of planning and implementing instruction and studying forms of students' thinking that emerged in the classroom. Reports on an 8-week teaching and learning study of elementary students' thinking about distribution, including their…

Children with mental retardation are particularly prone to failure on relational tasks such as oddity and match-to-sample, suggesting a differential sensitivity to relational information. This paper reports on several studies in which characteristics of stimulus arrays were enhanced. Results demonstrated the theoretical and practical significance…

Indicates the shortcomings of paper-and-pencil tests. Reports the effect of an interview-and-teaching method for students who obtained correct answers by a mechanical process but lacked a conceptual foundation. Five references are listed. (YP)

Investigates high school students' understanding of the physical relationship of chromosomes and genes as expressed in their conceptual models and in their ability to manipulate the models to explain solutions to dihybrid cross problems. Describes three typical models and three students' reasoning processes. Discusses four implications. (YP)

Discusses the causes and effects of conceptual errors inadvertently introduced and nurtured by scientists, teachers, and textbook writers. Cites ways to prevent the communication breakdowns that prevent the learning of science. (RT)

The literature is reviewed on the development of the temporal dimension in hearing-impaired students. Discussed are historical and cultural perspectives on the concept of time, perception of time, linguistic expression of time, and spatial and temporal orientation. Directions for future research are suggested. (Author/JDD)