Students with learning disabilities may gain from use of "flip-flop" study guides to gain key vocabulary and concepts. Rather than providing definitions for terms, the student provides terms for definitions and concepts in the study guide. Such guides allow the teacher to focus on particular concepts and provide repetition of information for…

Discusses the concepts delineated in the terms "induction" and "deduction" as presented in some of the scientific literature. The article endeavors to contribute to a greater awareness of terminology identification and of the tangents, plural forms, and crossings between didactic strategies that draw on "induction" or "deduction." (53 references)…

Adapted Keil's predictability method to examine adults' and preschoolers' conceptions of numbers, focusing on the ontological distinction between numbers and sets of objects. Found that children, like adults, attribute spatial-arrangement properties to collections much more than to numbers, although both are considered to have quantitative…

Examines the validity of claims that concept maps measure an important aspect of students' knowledge structures. Provides a working definition of concept mapping and a brief theoretical background, characterizes concept maps as a potential assessment in science, reviews empirical evidence on the reliability and validity of various concept mapping…

Comparison of pre- and posttest scores in mathematics computation of 2 classes of (n=91) ninth-grade students, 1 class emphasizing drill and practice and the other focusing on learning concepts, found the mean grade equivalent score for computation of the concept class increased more than 2 years and these students attempted to answer more…

States that the shift in meaning of the Periodic Table to represent regularities in the electron distribution in the shells of atoms can result in confusion between elements and atoms. (DDR)

Explores common schemes used by Spanish 10-12th grade students in concrete and abstract contextual situations to explain the internal structure of metals, the causes of electric conduction of metals, and the nature of this current. Concludes that students' conceptions change progressively as they are exposed to additional relevant information in…

Describes how to evaluate the effectiveness of demonstration assessments as assessment tools and instruments for developing conceptual understanding and critical thinking. (SAH)

Extends prior theory and research by postulating the existence of an intermediate class of concepts called 'hypothetical'. Investigates the hypothesis that three kinds of scientific concepts exist by constructing and administering a test on concepts introduced in a college biology course. Supports the hypothesis that intellectual development…

Compares and contrasts conceptions of science teaching by using two methods: analysis of metaphors used to describe teaching, and responses to open-ended questions. Participants were pre-service science teachers with undergraduate degrees in either physics, chemistry, or biology. (Author/SAH)

Discusses the origin and evolution of the meanings of the concepts 'amount of substance' and 'mole'. Identifies serious disagreements about these concepts among chemistry teachers and the recommendations of the international scientific community. Also draws attention to the didactic implications that these epistemological difficulties may have for…

Documents a quasi-scientific comparative study of two groups of 'recent school leavers' in the UK. Studies non-science university undergraduates and explores whether people living with the immediacy and relevance of higher-than-average levels of radioactivity were more knowledgeable and emotionally detached than a similar group removed from this…

A study investigated effects of variations in the number of instances comprising a category on concept acquisition by 31 children (ages 9-14) with mild intellectual disability and 19 controls. Intellectual disability had little effect on ability to abstract a category prototype but did reduce use of exemplar-specific information for recognition.…

Introduces conceptual physics, which does not have the computational roadblock typical to most physics courses and appeals to both science and non-science students. First published in 1990. (YDS)

Examined representation of pictorial exemplars of humans by 3- and 4-month olds. Results demonstrated an asymmetry regarding the exclusivity of categorical representations formed for humans and non-human animals. Categorical representations for humans included exemplar information, whereas categorical representation for non-human animals was based…