Discusses Vygotsky's theories about concept formation, his distinctions between everyday and theoretical concepts, and how empirical generalizations can lead to misconceptions. Examines the implications of these theories for mathematics instruction and its relationship to the current mathematics reform. (34 references) (MDH)

This article reports on a study that was designed to describe prospective elementary teachers' prior verbal and diagrammatic knowledge about various aspects of light, seeing, shadows, and mirror images. Data were collected through individual interviews using simple apparatus. Included are some inferences about how students' ideas may have emerged…

Although student achievement in most subjects has not declined over recent decades, there is little room for complacency. This article debunks four myths: there really was no SAT decline; test scores are at all-time highs; the top half of American students are internationally competitive; and the American education crisis is not general but…

Discusses students' understanding of the qualitative conservation of matter and how this understanding is influenced by previous instruction in chemistry and task variables. Results show the influence of group membership, task content, and problem context on students' performance. (ZWH)

Analyzes students' attempts to answer examination questions involving stoichiometry and chemical equilibrium and reports that the majority of the students do not fully understand either concept. Concludes that the main difficulty with these topics is that they are highly abstract and first taught to students before they have reached the stage of…

Presents a simple experiment--a marble rolling on a tilted desk--to introduce students to moving bodies. Makes difficult subjects such as measurement, calculus, modeling, and uncertainty easier to identify by putting them into a simple context. Discusses misconceptions, models, and measurements. (JRH)

Presents student survey results (n=708) of misconceptions held regarding the atmosphere. Results indicated a basic lack of understanding concerning atmospheric processes and phenomena. Although misconceptions generally decreased with increasing education, some seemed to be firmly rooted. (PR)

Presents a conceptual framework and notation for learner modelling in intelligent tutoring systems based on the computational distinction between behavior, behavioral knowledge, and conceptual knowledge and between the system, the learner, and the system's representation of the learner. Approaches to learner modelling based on a review of the…

Challenges the parameters defining the field of educational politics and a dominant paradigm stifling the exercise of power and gender, social class, racial, and sexual difference. Briefly reviews current feminist theories and work in cultural studies as they relate to educational policy and politics. A newly defined "public sphere" has…

Comments on the articles presented in this issue devoted to the Japanese perspectives on conceptual change. Discusses the overall conveyed message: The human cognitive system is a thematically organized knowledge base with agentive causality as the main mechanism for explain phenomena and analogy as the main mechanism for promoting conceptual…

Comments on the articles presented in this issue devoted to the Japanese perspectives on conceptual change. Suggests that different approaches to knowledge acquisition and conceptual change should be carefully examined in light of their implications for the teaching of science. Discusses critically the issues advanced from the Japanese…

States that the terms hydrostatic pressure, static pressure, dynamic pressure, and impact pressure are poorly named and suggests new names to better explain the physical properties. (MVL)

Many educators have not recognized the dual philosophies of assimilation and pluralism underlying multiculturalism. Confusion arises as schools ask social science teachers to infuse multiculturalism into their courses while expecting them to produce graduates who are culturally literate in the traditional sense. Simple awareness and ongoing…

Presents an exercise that attempts to correct for the common discrepancies between theoretical and experimental predictions concerning projectile motion using a spring-loaded projectile ball launcher. Includes common correction factors for student use. (MVL)

Provides six short story problems that are solved using common physics concepts. Includes solutions. (MVL)