Discusses the value of journal assignments for diagnosing and trouble-shooting misconceptions and for helping with lesson plans. Examples of assignments are included as well as student responses. (AIM)

Reports on discussions with a year 10-group, following their first lesson on heat energy transfer, that revealed they still had not realized that insulation acted as a barrier; instead they saw it as an active warming agent. Describes a teaching method based on a woollen hat that challenges their naive ideas. (Author/JRH)

Highlights five unsupported but popular notions about homework and offers five reality-based perspectives on the subject. It explains that homework is not the panacea to schools' problems, that it does not foster discipline and personal responsibility, and that parents do not always want their children to receive homework, particularly in the…

Examines whether first-grade students adopted misconceptions about temperature from the story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and whether they could make conceptual changes when presented with activities that challenged the misconceptions. Results indicate that students adopted misconceptions embedded in the story but made conceptual…

Investigates students' changes in conception about diffused shadows during Nussbaum and Novick's suggested sequence of teaching. Reports that (a) students'"entering" ideas were unstable, (b) language and materialistic views of light influenced students' ideas, (c) students' ideas were influenced by group concepts of the nature of light,…

Addresses Lawson's (2002) interpretations of Galileo's discovery of the moons of Jupiter and other cases that exhibit historical errors. Suggests that such cases can distort history and lessons about the nature of science. (SOE)

Describes interesting problems encountered when building a model of the solar system in an elementary classroom. Uses mathematics and technology to help solve problems and answer questions. Finds that investigating misconceptions can lead to exciting science lessons. (NB)

Examines students' misconceptions and proposed mechanisms related to current flow in electrolyte solutions and the salt bridge. Confirms reported misconceptions and identifies several new ones. Discusses probable sources of misconceptions and some methods for preventing them. Contains 27 references. (JRH)

Addresses affirmative action's success at creating a more equal workplace. Explores some potential psychological costs of this policy--costs that paradoxically may undermine its objectives--and their implications for achieving the goal of workplace equality. (GR)

Investigates students' (N=736) conceptions of inertia and compares these conceptions with historical changes in the concept. Findings indicate considerable similarities as well as dissimilarities between students' conceptions and the views of past scientists. Contains 31 references. (Author/JRH)

Focuses on the importance of building from mistakes in mathematics instruction to develop better reasoning and problem-solving abilities. (Contains 11 references.) (YDS)

Investigates the amount of science portrayed by terrestrial television in the United Kingdom and the public comprehension of that science as shown on television. Concludes that the lack of comprehension of the scientific basis of many advertisements is indicative of the lack of relevance of science education to people in modern society. (Author/LM)

Argues that instructional techniques consistent with constructivist epistemology are not the only means by which students construct meaning. Suggests that the choice of instructional strategies should be based on the nature of the content, students' needs, and teacher objectives. (Contains 23 references.) (SK)

Unexpected results in an investigation using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) provide valuable learning opportunities. (Author/MM)

Uses a video, "A Private Universe", to introduce preservice teachers to students' alternative conceptions and the concept of conceptual change. (YDS)