Considered are concepts and skills appropriate for basic teacher preparation, and those that should be reserved for more advanced, specialized preparation. The cyclical continuum of teacher education and models of teacher development are discussed. (MNS)

Why percent is such a difficult mathematical concept to learn was explored in this review. The privileged language of percent has lost explicit references, has misleading additive terminology for multiplicative meanings, and has multiple uses for the preposition "of." Implications for teaching percent more effectively are discussed. (SLD)

Ninth- and 10th-grade students (n=310) participated in a study designed to determine the effect of three variables (viewing a demonstration, engaging in student to student discussion, and/or reading a refutational text) on conceptual change in physics. Results revealed that reading the refutational text helped students change their intuitive ideas…

Describes a lesson designed to teach a computer programming construct, the "if-then" statement, and to help students gain insight into computing concepts, stimulate students' creativity, and develop their higher order thinking skills. (JKP)

Identifies some of the major factors underlying common problems that students have in acquiring an understanding of chemistry concepts. Suggests and discusses the use of concept maps as an aid in ensuring that meaningful learning rather than rote learning has occurred among students. Contains 32 references. (ZWH)

Limitations in children's understanding of the symbols of arithmetic may inhibit choice of appropriate solution procedures. The teacher's role involves negotiation of new meanings for words and symbols to match extensions to solution procedures. (MKR)

Using conceptual change as theoretical lens, describes the structure of (n=4) learners' conceptual ecology within biological evolution and illustrates how this ecology influences the process of conceptual change. Prior conceptions relate to evolutionary theory, scientific and religious orientations, view of biological world, and acceptance of…

Presents lessons and reproducible student worksheets for grades three to four and grades five to six to investigate large numbers and comprehend their magnitude. (MKR)

Interviews with fourth, fifth, and sixth graders found that they thought about the concept of average as mode, median, and/or a procedure. Presents approaches to develop the concept of average. (MKR)

Describes the use of analogies to explain scientific concepts. Presents the teaching-with-analogies model. (JRH)

This study of 15 pupils (ages 7-10) with severe learning difficulties found that mental age (as measured by the British Picture Vocabulary Scale--a measure of receptive language ability) was correlated with counting performance. The study also found that being able to count accurately did not automatically lead to understanding the principles of…

A study with three- and five-year olds contrasted two important proposals regarding children's assumptions about word meanings: the taxonomic assumption proposal and the shape bias proposal. Results suggest that perceptual similarity, particularly shape similarity, is very important in early word meaning but that children gradually shift their…

Reviews Karmiloff-Smith's "Beyond Modularity," suggesting that her work highlights phenomena that seem counter intuitive when regarded from current developmental frameworks, and advocates that understanding them requires more complex perspectives than can be supported by either extreme nativist or domain-general models of cognitive…

Nine sixth-grade students were asked to identify plants by their common names. In the event that students did not know the correct response, researchers observed a variety of avoidance strategies. The study demonstrated that students at the elementary level should be introduced to the concept of genus before more abstract levels of the botanical…

Describes work toward development of environmental decision-making modules that bring together the content of the applied disciplines and the decision-making process. These modules allow students to participate in environmental decision-making in the context of an understanding of the environmental issue. (LZ)