Examined 6-, 9-, and 14-year-olds' imagination of the unknown within a storytelling context. Performed phenomenological analysis of the two youngest groups' drawings and the oldest group's story on the "heffalump" theme. Derived eight categories providing an image-analysis of the concept of the "unknown" structured as "something-otherwise," that…

This study examined 6- to 8-year-old Slovenian children's acquisition of matrix completion proficiency and compared microgenetic and age-related changes on the task. Microgenetic analyses indicated that: variability of children's errors increased before they discovered the correct strategy, the correct strategy became dominant shortly after…

Discusses a companion course designed to accompany an introductory chemistry course for preservice teachers. Includes examples of curricular materials and student work. (DDR)

Reports on a study of a pilot model of a laboratory training course that provides preservice secondary science teachers the opportunity to explore pedagogical possibilities and gain hands-on experience running a general chemistry lab. (DDR)

Presents research on different techniques to determine the level of understanding among middle school students regarding the phases of the moon. Quotes student responses to provide some insight into students' level of understanding of general knowledge about the moon, moon phases, and modeling the phases. Presents implications for teachers. (KHR)

Examines senior high school students' cognitive orientation toward scientific or social information, designated as information preference, and associated preferential reasoning modes when presented with an environmental issue concerning nuclear energy usage. Investigates the association of information preference variable with academic and personal…

Explores connections between naive epistemology and everyday instructional practice. Reviews examples of naive epistemologies as made up of fine-grained, context-sensitive resources. Presents strategies designed to help students tap those resources for learning introductory physics. Reflects on this work as an example of interplay between two…

Analyzes how educators currently frame historical stories to portray the process of science. Discusses the importance of narratives of error and recovery from error in illustrating the nature of science and its limits. Emphasizes history that conveys the nature of science effectively. (Author/KHR)

Discusses the nature of tasks used to elicit the development of such systems by middle school students. Analyzes mathematical reasoning development of students across tasks and the diversity of thinking patterns identified on problem tasks. Discusses student reasoning about the relationships between and among quantities and their application in…

Presents a case study in which two 8th grade students developed knowledge for modeling a physical device called a winch. Demonstrates that students have and can use criteria for evaluating algebraic representations. Explains how students can develop modeling knowledge by coordinating criteria with knowledge for generating and using algebraic…

Advocates a constructivist approach to learning mathematics in which children are given ample time to think and reflect about numbers and exchange ideas with peers. Teachers should construct a classroom environment in which children invent methods to solve problems. Every child's thinking must be assessed in order to guide each to a higher level…

Focuses on Elman's (1990) statistical analyses of the hidden unit activation patterns in his simple recurrent network on sentence prediction, first to highlight the feasibility of such analyses and then to show how connectionist explanations contribute to the development of effective explanatory theories. Argues for the evolutionary nature of…

Argues, based on a constructivist view of learning, that if knowledge is constructed rather than recorded as received, instruction must be viewed as creating learning environments that enhance the process of knowledge construction, and should guide, support, and accompany students in constructing an increasingly sophisticated understanding of…

Presents the results of a survey on volcanism completed by secondary students (N=1000) in Northern Italy. Findings indicate that these students, who live in a non-volcanic area, firmly believe that their area is volcanic. (DDR)

Describes an approach that challenges students to construct illustrations of chemical reactions by using colorful Bingo card paint markers. Enables them to visually demonstrate their understanding of chemical notations and the law of conservation of mass. Also discusses teaching chemical formulas, a modeling lab, illustrating chemical reactions,…