Describes the use of a soroban, a base-10 computer which is a relative of the Chinese abacus, for developing concepts of number sense, place value, operation sense, and mental computation. Provides pictures of the soroban. (MKR)

Proposes a methodology called digraphing, which is useful in synthesizing various findings to develop meaningful categories of student conceptions. Describes how categories can be developed and discusses validity and reliability issues related to the digraphing methodology for synthesizing research studies. (Contains 57 references.) (Author/ASK)

Discusses the process of the construction of entities following a social semiotic approach that enables the use of new analytical tools and describes the rhetoric used in construction. Based on an analysis of the historical formation of the notion of cells by scientists, and analysis of a lesson on the microscopic observation of onion cells.…

Analyzes student responses to interview and written questions on wave physics using diSessa and Sherin's coordination class model which suggests that student use of specific reasoning resources is guided by possibly unconscious cues. (Author/MM)

Explains the distinction between the concepts of melting and dissolving. (Contains 15 references.) (YDS)

Focuses on efforts to facilitate the development of Master of Education science students' conceptual understanding of content, pedagogy, and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Uses a four-step conceptual process with participants to help them actively construct knowledge about fundamental science concepts and enhance their confidence and…

Describes students' difficulties in learning the meaning of capacitance in a charged body by considering that individuals construct mental representations in order to help their understanding of the way a physical system works under varied circumstances. Asserts that a critical study of the history and epistemology of science is likely to…

Motion in a circle troubled Newton and his contemporaries and troubles students today. Presents a clear presentation of certain aspects, particularly centripetal acceleration and centrifugal force. (Author/MM)

Constructs a teaching strategy to facilitate conceptual change in freshman students' understanding of electrochemistry. Provides students with the correct response along with alternative responses (teaching experiments), producing a conflicting situation that is conducive to an equilibration of their cognitive structures. Concludes that the…

Explores the conceptions of evolutionary processes held by a group of university students (n=126) before receiving instruction on evolution. Focuses on students' linguistic usage in order to speculate about the source of some of the conceptual problems students encounter in this area. (Contains 19 references.) (Author/YDS)

Describes the characteristics of the transfer point of information management to knowledge management (KM), what information resources management (IRM) does, and compares information and knowledge management and the roles of chief information officer (CIO) and chief knowledge officer (CKO). (PEN)

Recommends ways that teachers can scrutinize and modify their science teaching to avoid student misconceptions by focusing on clarifying conceptions, analyzing understanding, and making changes. (YDS)

Defines metaphor and its uses; explains the construction and application of metaphors in nursing education. Describes the transformation of the abstract psychiatric concept of therapeutic milieu into a visual metaphor. (SK)

Children's thinking about diversity of belief in 4 realms morality, taste, facts, and ambiguous facts was examined. Ninety-six participants (ages 5, 7, and 9) were interviewed about beliefs different from their own that were endorsed by characters with different status; their judgments of relativism, tolerance, and disagreeing persons were…

In this article, the author argues that people are systematically mis-educated about their own history and culture. They are taught by a series of slogans that create caricatures of significant events, individuals, and peoples. As a result, their understanding is so weak that they are unable to grasp the complexity of or learn lessons from past…