Reviews research on student learning of science conceptions and presents major findings. Traces changes in science teaching and learning over the last two decades and looks at a variety of teaching schemes that aim to support meaningful learning in science, some based on conceptual change. (Contains 13 references.) (Author/YDS)

Guidelines are given for teaching basic concepts (such as "above,""least," and "different") to students who are educable mentally handicapped. Stressed is direct and systematic instruction in basic concepts as an integral part of the curriculum with concrete, representative, and abstract applications. (DB)

Three predictions are supported by experiments with 17 autistic children, aged 9-19: autistic children will fail to distinguish mental and physical entities, they will be unaware of the mental function of the brain, and they will be unable to contemplate their own mental states. Results suggest that these deficiencies are autism-specific.…

Replies to Jeffery Bineham's critique of intersubjectivist rhetoric (presented in a previous article in this issue). Argues that rhetoricians must (1) examine world views and more particularly views of human nature which are presumed by rhetorical theories; and (2) come to a better understanding of what is entailed by a spiritual dimension to…

Discusses consensus ontology and contrasts it with alternatives. Responds to four previous articles in this issue (by D. Tukey, J. Hikins, R. Scott, and D. Zarefsky) by discussing the nature of rhetoric, the possibility of nonsocial influence, and the possibility of ethical judgment. (KEH)

The article identifies five incorrect beliefs about mathematics often held by students who have difficulty with mathematics. They include: the relative size of numbers is more important than the relationships between quantities; computation problems must be solved by using a step-by-step algorithm; mathematics problems have only one correct…

A total 72 children of 3 1/2, 5 1/2, and 7 1/2 years were asked questions about their behaviors and internal states, and of a best friend and an acquaintance. Results indicated even young children have concepts of themselves and other persons that are not restricted to specific points in time and may form basis for later dispositional conceptions.…

Claims that even if objections to eudaimonism are completely correct, critics still have not explained how anyone might develop a eudaimonistic moral conception. Concludes that moral personality is a legitimate object of study and discusses the challenges posed by taking moral personality seriously. (MOK)

Reviews three studies to examine the contributions of analogies to conceptual change. Suggest that educators reconsider the way that they define, assess, and interpret conceptual change in students. Seven recommendations are made. (52 references) (ZWH)

Examines variation in the organization of domain-specific knowledge by chemistry students (n=50) and chemistry teachers (n=4), by investigating individual and group differences in student concept maps about chemical equilibrium. Presents a suitable methodology for comparing and documenting changes in the organization and structure of conceptual…

Discusses findings of a study designed to achieve two goals: (1) determine the affect of peer collaboration on high school biology students' acquisition of concepts related to photosynthesis, and (2) examine interactions in a collaborative peer group situation to determine how these interactions relate to the development of concepts associated…

Describes a study with the main objective of constructing models based on strategies students use to solve chemistry problems and to show that these models form sequences of progressive transitions termed "problemshifts" that increase the explanatory/heuristic power of the model. Results implies that the relationship between algorithmic…

Contrasts Fodor's theory of children's Very Simple Theory of Mind, with the view that children's concepts cross-cut the adult conceptual system: young children do not distinguish between the state of affairs a belief is about and how this state of affairs is thought of, which puts a severe limit on their understanding of belief as distinct from…

Presents a model of the hierarchy or gradations of a student's knowledge of things and the words that signify them, ordering these variations in terms of difficulty. Offers strategies for matching vocabulary instruction to student's prior knowledge, promoting natural growth in meaning vocabulary, lifelong vocabulary learning, and teaching specific…

In three experiments, children listened to a story and were asked to repeat "the last word" or "the last thing" they heard. Found that children as young as 4.5 to 5 years treat both open and closed categories as words and clearly differentiate between words and things, contradicting the notion that children cannot focus on…