Children with autism may seem to not care about things or have the same range of emotions as those of us who see them and care for them. But they do have empathy and they can be taught how to communicate it, says the author, a teacher of children with autism. We simply need to listen to them, watch them, and be with them in their moment.

The international community of the researchers in science education unanimously agrees on the necessity to take into account, in the elaboration of educational strategies, to specify that all development of educational strategies, the conceptual complexity of the scientific models as well as the various conceptions of the learners. In the present…

In 1973, the domestic climate was surprisingly similar to today in that the economy was bad, unemployment was high, an energy crisis was looming, and there was social and political unrest across the country. At that time, a college education was considered expensive, yet as is true now, education was seen as the doorway to economic opportunity.…

Responds to the comments made by Newman et al., Tryon, and Teo on the current author's original article. In the original article on public skepticism toward psychology, the author delineated eight reasons why many laypersons are dubious of our field's scientific status. The author argued that although some of these sources (e.g., hindsight bias,…

Drawing on the experience of carrying out a literature review commissioned to support the Review of Teacher Education in Scotland, this paper discusses the role of literature reviews within the movement for "evidence-based policy" making. The first part of the paper discusses the purposes of such reviews and some of the misconceptions…

Physics is a subject where pupils hold a great number of deeply seated misconceptions. Sound is a prime example, as it requires the visualisation of a form of energy that moves imperceptibly through an invisible medium. This article outlines some of the common misconceptions that pupils hold regarding the nature of sound and how it is transmitted,…

This study explores the ideas of Greek prospective primary teachers about the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, particularly about its causes, consequences and cures. For this purpose, a survey was conducted: 265 prospective teachers completed a closed-form questionnaire. The results showed serious misconceptions in all areas (causes, consequences…

The annual Intermedical School Physiology Quiz (IMSPQ), initiated in 2003, is now an event that attracts a unique, large gathering of selected medical students from medical schools across the globe. The 8th IMSPQ, in 2010, hosted by the Department of Physiology, University of Malaya, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, had 200 students representing 41…

Floating and sinking might be common phenomena, encountered on a daily basis, but still represent conceptually complex scientific topics. Research has shown that most students have certain experiences and their own "theories" that explain why objects sink or float. Unfortunately, many of these "theories" are either misconceptions or are valid only…

The goal of this study was to identify student misconceptions and difficulties in writing symbolic-level balanced equations for dissolving ionic compounds in water. A sample of 105 college students were asked to provide balanced equations for dissolving four ionic compounds in water. Another 37 college students participated in semi-structured…

This article describes some misconceptions about random variables and related counter-examples, and makes suggestions about teaching initial topics on random variables in general form instead of doing it separately for discrete and continuous cases. The focus is on post-calculus probability courses. (Contains 2 figures.)

Previous studies have found that preschoolers are confused about the relationship between two-dimensional (2D) symbols and their referents. Preschoolers report that 2D images (e.g. televised images and photographs) share some of the characteristics of the objects they are representing. A novel Comparison Task was created to test what might account…

This study aimed to investigate the impacts of contextual factors on the use of students' conceptions. A total of 106 students received a questionnaire involving open-ended questions on acid-base and equilibrium concepts. Of these students, 16 students who provided complete and accurate responses to the questions participated in an interview. In…

The learning triangle described by Black, Wilson, and Yao (this issue) offers a powerful vision for improved student learning. Learning theory clearly plays a central role in the construct-centered approach presented by the learning triangle. But the assumption of such an important role requires Black et al. to devote corresponding care to the…

The misinformation effect is a term used in the cognitive psychological literature to describe both experimental and real-world instances in which misleading information is incorporated into an account of an historical event. In many real-world situations, it is not possible to identify a distinct source of misinformation, and it appears that the…