bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Are high school chemistry textbooks gender fair?
Authors: Bazler Judith A. , Simonis Doris A.
Published: October 2006

This study compared two generations of seven high school chemistry texts (1970/1973) and current editions analyzed for gender fairness in illustrations and in concrete analogies. Results support these conclusions: (a) considering the texts as a group, there are significant differences between relative frequencies of named and unnamed illustrations of men and women and no significant differences between relative frequencies of illustrations of boys and girls in seven high school chemistry texts in the 1970 editions compared to current edition of the same texts; (b) a current best‐seller is the only text that has achieved balance between male/female illustrations; (c) the other texts overwhelmingly favor pictures of males; (d) most current texts had more analogies than their 1970 editions; the former favored images reflecting girls' interests.
Comments on “the uses of Lawson's test of formal reasoning in the israeli science education context”
Authors: Bomide Gabriel Sunday
Published: October 2006

In a recent article that appeared in this journal, Hofstein and Mandler (1985) reported a study which employed the Lawson's (1978) classroom test of formal reasoning to determine, among other things, the relationship between achievement in science and mathematics in a sample of Israeli students. Based on their findings, the authors raised objections to the classroom utility of the test for diagnosing students' developmental levels. The present author, however, argued that the case has not been properly established in view of one major methodological problem which seemed to characterize the study. Accordingly, the plea to abandon Lawson's test of formal reasoning was questioned.
A qualitative study of middle school students' perceptions of factors facilitating the learning of science: Grounded theory and existing theory
Authors: Spector Barbara S. , Gibson Charles W.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this study was to explore middle school students' perceptions of what factors facilitated their learning of science. Florida's Educational Reform Act of 1983 funded programs providing the state's precollege students with summer learning opportunities in science. mathematics, and computers. The programs were intended to encourage the development of creative approaches to the teaching of these disciplines. Under this program, between 50 and 60 high‐achieving middle school students were in residence on the University of South Florida campus for 12 consecutive days of study in the World of Water (WOW) program. There were two sessions per summer involving a total of 572 participants. Eighi specially trained teachers were in residence with the students. Between 50 and 70 experts from the university, government. business, and industry interacted with the students each year in an innovative science/technology/society (STS) program. An assignment toward the close of the program asked students to reflect on their experiences in residence at the university and write an essay comparing learning in the WOW program to learning in their schools. Those essays were the base for this study. This was a qualitative study using a discursive approach to emergent design to generate grounded theory. Document review, participant observation, and open‐ended interviews were used to gather and triangulate data in five phases. Some of the factors that middle school students perceived as helpful to learning science were (a) experiencing the situations about which they were learning; (b) having live presentations by professional experts; (c) doing hands‐on activities: (d) being active learners; (e) using inductive reasoning to generate new knowledge; (f) exploring transdisciplinary approaches to problem solving; (g) having adult mentors; (h) interacting with peers and adults; (i) establishing networks; (j) having close personal friends who shared their interest in learning; (k) trusting the individuals in their learning environment, including adults and students; and (1) experiencing a sense of self‐reliance. The preceding information was used to generate a series of hypotheses which were woven into a theoretical model. This model suggests that middle school science teacher education would be enhanced by helping prospective and in‐service teachers develop and implement strategies that build trust, provide immersion in learning, and use inductive reasoning. This model is currently being used as the theoretical base to convert a traditional junior high school in the South to a middle school.
Toward a social‐contexts frame of reference for science education research
Authors: Charron Elisabeth
Published: October 2006

During recent decades there has been little research on social or cultural factors affecting science education. Recent literature reviews have indicated that of the studies addressing such factors, most focus on broad sociodemographic variables such as socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, and region. There is a need for research that depicts better‐differentiated social contexts for science education in their full complexity. Social scientists from several other fields have recently developed a promising model for research in context. Three critical conceptual and methodological strands of the model are discussed, along with their implications for science education research.
Using examples and analogies to remediate misconceptions in physics: Factors influencing conceptual change
Authors: Brown David E.
Published: October 2006

Examples are often recognized as important in teaching conceptual material, yet little research has been done concerning the best use of examples in attempts to remediate misconceptions. This study questions the effectiveness of a traditional teaching‐by‐example technique. Results indicate that when students hold a misconception, presenting a principle with supporting examples to show the range of application of the principle may be ineffective. Rather, it appears that examples are more effective when they help students draw on and analogically extend existing valid physical intuitions in constructing a new conceptual model of a target situation. To help students in this constructive effort, first, the examples used must be understandable and believable to the students, not simply to the teacher or textbook author. Second, even when an example is compelling to the student, it may not be seen as analogous to target problems drawing out a misconception. In that case, analogy relations may need to be explicitly developed. Third, qualitative, visualizable models may need to be developed which give mechanistic explanations for phenomena.
A cross‐age study of student understanding of the concept of homeostasis
Authors: Westbrook Susan L. , Marek Edmund A.
Published: October 2006

Student misconceptions or alternative conceptions of scientific phenomena have become a point of focus in science education research. Cross‐age studies are useful for describing the understanding about a particular concept held by students across several grade levels. The present research utilized 7th‐grade life science students, 10th‐grade biology students, and college zoology students to evaluate changes in student understanding of the concept of homeostasis. Responses from 100 students from each grade level were selected for analysis. Each student was asked to respond to a test packet consisting of a biographical questionnaire, two Piagetian‐like developmental tasks, and a concept evaluation statement (CES). The CES was used to measure the students' understandings of the concept of homeostasis.

Understanding of the concept increased across grade levels, but that understanding was limited. Thirty percent of the college students indicated at least a partial understanding of the concept, while only 3% of the seventh‐grade students showed partial understanding of homeostasis. Although the older students were more likely to offer a response to the CES, those responses were often errant. Thus, the number of students exhibiting misconceptions increased across the grade levels as the number of students responding to the CES increased. Certain errant notions concerning heart rate, breathing rate, temperature constancy, and perspiration were persistent across the age‐experience continuum. A relationship was found to exist between development level and student understanding of the concept.
Conceptual difficulties experienced by senior high school students of electrochemistry: Electric circuits and oxidation‐reduction equations
Authors: Garnett Pamela J. , Treagust David F.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this research was to investigate students' understanding of electrochemistry following a course of instruction. A list of conceptual and propositional knowledge statements was formulated to identify the knowledge base necessary for students to understand electric circuits and oxidation‐reduction equations. The conceptual and propositional knowledge statements provided the framework for the development of a semistructured interview protocol which was administered to 32 students in their final year of high school chemistry. The interview questions about electric circuits revealed that several students in the sample were confused about the nature of electric current both in metallic conductors and in electrolytes. Students studying both physics and chemistry were more confused about current flow in metallic conductors than students who were only studying chemistry. In the section of the interview which focused on oxidation and reduction, many students experienced problems in identifying oxidation‐reduction equations. Several misconceptions relating to the inappropriate use of definitions of oxidation and reduction were identified. The data illustrate how students attempted to make sense of the concepts of electrochemistry with the knowledge they had already developed or constructed. The implications of the research are that teachers, curriculum developers, and textbook writers, if they are to minimize potential misconceptions, need to be cognizant of the relationship between physics and chemistry teaching, of the need to test for erroneous preconceptions about current before teaching about electrochemical (galvanic) and electrolytic cells, and of the difficulties experienced by students when using more than one model to explain scientific phenomena.
Learning about evolution and rejecting a belief in special creation: Effects of reflective reasoning skill, prior knowledge, prior belief and religious commitment
Authors: Lawson Anton E. , Worsnop William A.
Published: October 2006

Students in three sections of a high school biology course were taught a unit on evolution and natural selection. Prior to instruction, students were pretested to determine their (a) reflective reasoning skill, (b) strength of religious commitment, (c) prior declarative knowledge of evolution and natural selection, and (d) beliefs in evolution or special creation and related religiously oriented beliefs. Following instruction the measures of declarative knowledge and beliefs were readministered. The study was designed to test (a) the hypothesis that the acquisition of domain‐specific concepts and the modification of nonscientific beliefs largely depends upon reflective reasoning skill, not prior declarative knowledge; and (b) the hypothesis that strength of religious commitment and a belief in special creation hinder the acquisition of scientific beliefs. Although instruction produced no overall shift toward a belief in evolution, as predicted, reflective reasoning skill was significantly related to initial scientific beliefs, and reflective reasoning skill, but not prior declarative knowledge, was significantly related to gains in declarative knowledge. Reflective reasoning skill, however, was not significantly related to changes in beliefs. Also as predicted, strength of religious commitment was negatively correlated with initial belief in evolution and with a change in belief toward evolution. Interrelationships among the study's major variables, as well as educational implications, are discussed.
Interest enhancements to science experiments: Interactions with student gender
Authors: Martinez Michael E.
Published: October 2006

Males are more likely than females to aspire to and enter scientific careers, a pattern that might be attributed to gender differences in the appeal of school science. Differences might arise, in part, from gender‐related interactions with the interest value of school science experiments. If modifiable, the interest value of experiments could influence attitudes toward science and subsequent choices concerning science involvement. In this study, middle school students carried out versions of science experiments designed to vary in their interest value. Experiment modifications, guided by a three‐component model of interest, ranged from introduction of fantasy scenarios to manipulation of the difficulty and social context of the experiments. Subjects were 101 middle school students, 46 males and 55 females. Of primary interest were MANOVA comparisons of self‐reported interest in the experiments, by gender and experimental condition. In general, interest enhancements were more effective for girls than boys. Boys were more attentive to aspects of the experiments that elicit perceptions of control, whereas girls were more attentive to social aspects.
Gender and practical skill performance in science
Authors: Lock Roger
Published: October 2006

The performance of 18 boys and 18 girls on four problem‐solving tasks set in science contexts was compared. The tasks were administered in a one‐to‐one testing situation and assessments were made by direct observation, questioning, and by using written records. The tasks were valid and reliable, and the samples of boys and girls were matched for ability and curriculum background. Past studies have identified gender differences in performance on science tasks; however, this study found little evidence to support these findings. Few significant differences in performance were found. No gender differences were detected in observation, reporting, or planning skills, and there was no differential performance on the use of scientific language. Girls performed less well in relation to self‐reliance, and performance differences on the interpretation skill approached significance with boys' performance superior.
Variable uses of alternative conceptions: A case study in current electricity
Authors: Heller Patricia M. , Finley Fred N.
Published: October 2006

Recent research related to the design of science instruction is often based on conceptual change theory and requires assessments of what knowledge students bring to instruction. The premise of this study was that it is also important to understand when and how students apply their knowledge. Fourteen elementary and middle school teachers in an in‐service physics course were asked to solve qualitatively a variety of series and parallel circuit problems and explicate their reasoning. These teachers were found to share a common core of strongly held propositions that formed a coherent, but incorrect and contradictory model of sequential current flow. Yet their predictions about the circuits were highly variable. The variability in predictions resulted from differences and contradictions in additional “protective belts” of propositions, and differences in the ways in which the teachers changed and selectively applied those propositions to different problems. Understanding the variations in not only what teachers knew, but also the differences in when and how they applied their knowledge complicated the task of designing instruction. However, it also made possible the design of more precise instruction in which the teachers were required to recognize, confront, and reconcile specific inconsistencies in their beliefs.
Children's conceptions of color
Authors: Feher Elsa , Meyer Karen Rice
Published: October 2006

An examination of children's notions about light and visual phenomena shows the existence of mental models, that is to say, ways of thinking that are consistent and pervasive. These naive conceptual schemes, used by different children to explain similar phenomena, determine the kinds of responses given by the children in problem‐solving situations. In this article we study children's ideas about colored objects and colored shadows, with special attention to the ways in which these ideas are organized into mental models. The elucidation of these models provides valuable instructional tools that serve to assess and to confront students' naive conceptions. This work was carried out in a science museum at the site of interactive exhibits that show unexpected effects. Children who visited the museum were engaged in problem‐solving situations that involved predictions, explanations, and manipulations of the exhibit.
A curriculum strategy that expands time for in‐depth elementary science instruction by using science‐based reading strategies: Effects of a year‐long study in grade four
Authors: Romance Nancy R. , Vitale Michael R.
Published: October 2006

An integrative curriculum strategy emphasizing science process skills and hands‐on activities expanded the time allocated for in‐depth science instruction by replacing a district‐adopted basal reading program with science‐content reading designed to facilitate applied comprehension skills. This study investigated the combined effect of these curricular components (i.e., in‐depth science, science‐content‐based reading) upon student achievement, attitudes, and self‐confidence in both science and reading over the school year. In doing so, teachers in three fourth‐grade classrooms each incorporated applied reading (and language arts) objectives into science reading activities as part of a daily, expanded, in‐depth science teaching block that encompassed the total instructional time originally allocated to reading and science. Using multivariate covariance analysis, results showed that the students in the experimental group, compared to demographically similar controls, not only displayed significantly greater standardized test achievement as measured by the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills reading subtest and the Metropolitan Achievement Test science subtest, but also displayed a more positive attitude toward science and reading and greater self‐confidence in learning science. Implications of the strategy for future curriculum research in science education are discussed.
Science instruction for the mildly handicapped: Direct instruction versus discovery teaching
Authors: Bay Mary , Staver John R. , Bryan Tanis , Hale James B.
Published: October 2006

The authors' purpose in this study was to compare the effectiveness of two instructional approaches on mildly handicapped and nonhandicapped students' science achievement. Students were assigned at random to one of two conditions: (a) direct instruction, and (b) discovery teaching. The content of the lessons remained constant across conditions and focused on such concepts as displacement, flotation, variable, controlled experimentation, and scientific prediction. The results show that students in both groups learned equally well as measured by an immediate posttest. However, students in the discovery teaching condition outperformed their direct instruction counterparts on a retention test administered two weeks after the posttest. Finally, learning‐disabled students in the discovery condition performed better than their direct‐instruction counterparts on a performance‐based measure designed to assess generalization. Implications for research and for practice are discussed.
Differences in sociocultural environment perceptions associated with gender in science classrooms
Authors: Jegede Olugbemiro J. , Okebukola Peter Akinsola
Published: October 2006

An amount‐of‐learning outcome variable has been attributed to the environment in which teaching and learning are conducted. Studies carried out so far have, however, not focused on the sociocultural aspect of the classroom environment, which has been theorized to have potential influence on students' learning. The intent of this study was to examine the influence of five aspects of the sociocultural environment in science classes with particular reference to how these are perceived by boys and girls. The 30‐item Socio‐Cultural Environment Scale (SCES) developed by Jegede and Okebukola (1988) was used to collect data from 707 Nigerian secondary school students in Classes Four and Five (Grades 10 and 11, respectively). Authoritarianism, goal structure, African worldview, societal expectation, and sacredness of science were the five subscales studied. Sex differences were recorded in the societal expectation subscale. Most of the female subjects are of the opinion that society has a negative or low regard for their ability to do science and this has an effect on their motivation to undertake science‐based careers. The reverse is true for boys. This perception is in agreement with the literature on sex differences in science education and highlights the social pressure that brings about subject preferences. The implications of these findings for science teaching and further research are highlighted.
The effect of a problem solving in‐service program on the classroom behaviors and attitudes of middle school science teachers
Authors: Abell Sandra K. , Pizzini Edward L.
Published: October 2006

This study examines the effect of an in‐service education program emphasizing problem solving on teacher attitudes toward teaching science and on teaching behaviors. Twenty‐two middle school science teachers participated in the program and another 22 served as the control group. The two groups were similar in terms of gender, teaching status, educational background, and professional activity during the treatment period. Before and after the eight‐month project, subjects completed attitude surveys and recorded videotapes of themselves teaching science lessons. No difference was noted between the groups on the attitude measure. The videotapes were analyzed using a coding scheme developed for use in this study. A multivariate analysis of variance performed on the observational data showed a significant difference between the groups on the postworkshop measure. The experimental‐group teachers shifted to more student‐centered classrooms, with less lecture and procedural talk. This study provides evidence that an extended in‐service education program can affect the teaching behaviors of science teachers in the middle grades.
The relationship between students' learning strategies and the change in their misunderstandings during a high school chemistry course
Authors: Boujaoude Saouma B.
Published: October 2006

The purposes of this study are as follows: (a) to investigate the relationship between high school students' learning approaches, prior knowledge and attitudes toward chemistry, and their performance on a misunderstandings test; and (b) to describe and analyze the differences between the responses of students with different learning approaches on the same test. Forty‐nine suburban high school students enrolled in two sections of New York State Regents Chemistry classes participated in the study. The students' performance on a misunderstandings pretest and the students' learning approach both accounted for a statistically significant proportion of the variance on their performance on the misunderstandings posttest. Additionally, the results showed that the relatively meaningful learners performed significantly better than the relatively rote learners on the misunderstandings posttest.
Using reasoning ability as the basis for assigning laboratory partners in nonmajors biology
Authors: Lawson Anton E.
Published: October 2006

Students in a large one‐semester nonmajors college biology course were classified into one of three groups (intuitive—I, transitional—T, reflective—R) based upon a pretest of scientific reasoning ability. Laboratory teams of two students each then were formed, such that all possible combinations of reasoning abilities were represented (i.e., I‐I, I‐T, I‐R, T‐T, T‐R, R‐R). Students worked with their assigned partners during each of the course's 14 laboratory sessions. Gains in reasoning ability, laboratory achievement, and course achievement, as well as changes in students' opinions of their motivation, enjoyment of the laboratory, and their own and their partner's reasoning abilities were assessed at the end of the semester. Significant pre‐ to posttest gains in reasoning ability by the intuitive and transitional students were found, but these gains were not significantly related to the laboratory partner's reasoning ability. Also, course achievement was not significantly related to the laboratory partner's reasoning ability. Students were perceptive of others' reasoning ability; the more able reasoners were generally viewed as being more motivated, having better ideas, and being better at doing science. Additional results also indicated that course enjoyment and motivation was significantly decreased for the transitional students when they were paired with intuitive students. Apparently, for students in transition (i.e., not at an equilibrium state with regard to reasoning level), it is frustrating to work with a less able reasoner. However, some evidence was found to suggest that reflective students may benefit from working with a less able partner.
Conceptual difficulties with isomerism
Authors: Schmidt Hans‐Jürgen
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate whether students regard isomers as only such compounds as:

(1) belong to the same class of compounds, or (2) have the same shape (cross or bar) in graphical representations of their formulas.

A sample of 7, 441 senior high school students of Grades 11‐13 completed paper‐and‐pencil tests. Individual classes were interviewed on video while solving the tests. The results of the study support the hypothesis that students are inclined to restrict their concept of isomerism to compounds belonging to the same class. The study focused on ethers and alcohols. In the study the students' restricted concepts were remarkably stable, even if they were made to check in their chemistry books. There was no evidence that students expected the molecular formulas of isomers to be of the same shape. In their view the isomeric molecules should have branched‐chain carbon skeletons. The following hypotheses were used to explain the results: (a) Students' limited concepts are due to a discrepancy between the definition of isomerism and its application in teaching and research; (b) the iso‐nomenclature leads students to identify isomers by branched carbon chains. The results of this study apply directly to practice in the classroom. There is a need for continued research in the sciences to trace similar sources of conceptual difficulties.
A comparison of preservice and in‐service earth and space science teachers' general mental abilities, content knowledge, and problem‐solving skills
Authors: Barba Robertta H. , Rubba Peter A.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this study was to compare in‐service and preservice earth and space science teachers on their general mental abilities, their content knowledge or declarative knowledge of earth and space sciences, the Gagnean levels of their content knowledge or declarative knowledge, and the procedural knowledge used in solving earth and space science problems. This study used a contrast‐group design to compare in‐service (n = 30) and preservice (n = 30) earth and space science teachers. The in‐service earth science teachers (a) bring more declarative knowledge to the problem‐solving situation, (b) use fewer steps while problem solving, (c) generate more subroutines and alternate hypotheses, and (d) possess different structural knowledge than do preservice earth science teachers. Findings from this study support Norman's theory of learning that experts (in‐service teachers) function at the tuning mode of learning, whereas novices (preservice teachers) function in an accreting or structuring mode. In‐service earth science teachers exhibited smoothness, automaticity, and decreased mental effort not exhibited by preservice earth and space science teachers.
Factors influencing environmental attitude: The relationship between environmental attitude defensibility and cognitive reasoning level
Authors: Yount James R. , Horton Phillip B.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between factors believed to contribute to the formation of environmental attitudes by college nonscience majors. Key relationships addressed were the effects of a university environmental studies course on (a) environmental attitudes, (b) the amount of factual information that is brought to bear on an environmental attitude decision (defensibility), and (c) the linkages between the affective and the cognitive domains of freshman and sophomore students. When compared to the control group, the students who attended an environmental studies class did not significantly change their attitudes, but they did exhibit increases in their total [F(3, 132) = 5.91, p < 0.01] and count [F(3, 132) = 4.86, p < 0.01] levels of defensibility. These findings corroborate work performed by Kinsey (1978) and Kinsey and Wheatley (1980, 1984). In addition, students in the environmental studies course who had higher cognitive reasoning scores were more prone to increase defensibility [F(6, 129) = 3.78, p < 0.01]. These data imply a linkage between cognitive and affective domains in the environmental attitude decision‐making process.
Stage theory of the development of alternative conceptions
Authors: Eckstein Shulamith G. , Shemesh Michal
Published: October 2006

A systematic study of children's ideas on motion of macroscopic objects was carried out with the participation of 631 subjects in Grades 2–12 (ages 7–8 through 17–18). An open‐ended, four‐part questionnaire was administered to the subjects. The responses were categorized according to the level of sophistication of the answer. The results were analyzed using a mathematical model that was first applied to the development of Piagetian stages (Eckstein & Shemesh, 1992, in press). For three of the questions, the responses change as the children mature, and it appears that the children pass through distinct, successive stages with respect to their conceptual understanding of these questions. The mathematical model predicts that the proportion of subjects at each stage is a linear combination of decreasing exponentials. The model fits the experimental data well. Characteristic times for transition between stages were calculated. If teaching strategies to overcome misconceptions are to be effective, then they must be appropriate to the particular misconception prevalent at each stage.
The development of science process skills in authentic contexts
Authors: Roth Wolff‐Michael , Roychoudhury Anita
Published: October 2006

Instructional strategies and curriculum sequences aimed at teaching process skills have received considerable attention in science education. On the other hand, the teaching of domain‐independent, context‐free skills has been subject to criticism on the ground that important aspects of cognitive activities are functions of meaningful contexts. The intent of this study was to examine the development of integrated process skills in the context of open‐inquiry laboratory sessions. The data‐collection approach was qualitative and included videotapes of laboratory sessions, laboratory reports of students, and the reflective journals kept by the two teachers involved in the study. Forty‐eight students from the Grade 11 introductory physics course, 29 students from the Grade 12 physics course, and 60 students from the Grade 8 general science course from an all‐boys private school participated in the study. An interpretive research methodology was adopted for construction of meaning from the data. Students worked in collaborative groups during all of the open‐inquiry laboratory sessions. Findings from the study indicate that students develop higher‐order process skills through nontraditional laboratory experiences that provided the students with freedom to perform experiments of personal relevance in authentic contexts. Students learned to (a) identify and define pertinent variables, (b) interpret, transform, and analyze data, (c) plan and design an experiment, and (d) formulate hypotheses. Findings of this study suggest that process skills need not be taught separately. Integrated process skills develop gradually and reach a high level of sophistication when experiments are performed in meaningful context.
Grade 10 Students' perceptions of and attitudes toward science teaching and school science
Authors: Ebenezer Jazlin V. , Zoller Uri
Published: October 2006

Grade 10 students' perceptions of classroom practices and activities, as well as their attitudes toward science teaching and school science, were assessed in the Westend School District (pseudonym) in British Columbia, using both quantitative (statistics of Likert‐type scales) and qualitative (critical interpretive analysis of interview data) methods. The major findings of the study were that students do not appreciate the most prevailing contemporary practices in science classes, perceived by them as mainly the copying of the teacher's notes, and that they prefer science teaching and learning in which they take an active and responsible part. Additionally, teaching style appears to be the major determinant of high school students' attitudes toward science and science teaching. No change in students' perceptions of and attitudes toward science teaching and school science (in 1989 compared with 1986) could be detected in spite of the impact made by the recently advocated constructivist and science‐technology‐society (STS) approaches on science curriculum and science education. It is argued, therefore, that more emphasis must be placed on the science teachers' role and their teaching style if an educational change in the constructivist/STS direction is to be achieved.
Changing middle school students' conceptions of matter and molecules
Authors: Lee Okhee , Eichinger David C. , Anderson Charles W. , Berkheimer Glenn D. , Blakeslee Theron D.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this study was two‐fold: (1) to understand the conceptual frameworks that sixth‐grade students use to explain the nature of matter and molecules, and (2) to assess the effectiveness of two alternative curriculum units in promoting students' scientific understanding. The study involved 15 sixth‐grade science classes taught by 12 teachers in each of two successive years. Data were collected through paper‐and‐pencil tests and clinical interviews. The results revealed that students' entering conceptions differed from scientific conceptions in various ways. These differences included molecular conceptions concerning the nature, arrangement, and motion of molecules as well as macroscopic conceptions concerning the nature of matter and its physical changes. The results also showed that the students taught by the revised unit in Year 2 performed significantly better than the students taught by the original commercial curriculum unit in Year 1 for 9 of the 10 conceptual categories. Implications for science teaching and curriculum development are discussed.
Textbook treatments and students' understanding of acceleration
Authors: Dall'Alba Gloria , Walsh Eleanor , Bowden John , Martin Elaine , Masters Geofferey , Ramsden Paul , Stephanou Andrew
Published: October 2006

A single science textbook often provides the syllabus for courses at upper secondary and tertiary levels, and may be used as a principal source of information or explanation. The research reported in this article challenges such practices. The ways in which the concept, acceleration, is treated in physics textbooks is compared with understandings of the concept demonstrated by final‐year secondary (Year 12) and first‐year university students. Some students' understandings are shown to be incomplete in ways that parallel misleading or inaccurate textbook treatments of the concept. In addition to misleading or inaccurate statements, the limitations of some textbook treatments of acceleration were found to include: lack of attempts to make explicit relationships with other concepts, failure to point out when it is appropriate to use particular definitions or that an alternative definition might be more appropriate in specific situations, inclusion of operational definitions without conceptual explanations, and a focus on quantitative treatments while overlooking the development of qualitative understanding. Two principal aspects that distinguished the ways in which the students understood acceleration were identified: (a) the relation between acceleration and velocity; and (b) the relation between acceleration and force(s). The results of the study have implications for teaching and, in particular, for the use of textbooks in teaching. These implications are discussed in the article.
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and interpretive research in science education
Authors: Roth Wolff‐Michael
Published: October 2006

Within the current methodological debate, notions successful in the natural sciences are rallied by social sciences researchers to support their own methodological approaches. However, problems of understanding the physical principles have often clouded the issue. One such notion under discussion is Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and the derivative notions of indeterminacy, uncertainty, precision, and observer–observed interaction. This article discusses these notions and their applications to social science research. Implications are drawn for research in science education.
Portuguese science teachers' education, attitudes, and practice relative to the issue of alternative conceptions
Authors: Sequeira Manuel , Leite Laurinda , Duarte Maria da Conceição
Published: October 2006

Many studies have shown that students of all school levels hold alternative conceptions that differ from the scientific conceptions transmitted by the school. These results raise some questions about the efficacy of traditional teaching and stress the need for using teaching strategies that explicitly take into account the alternative conceptions that students bring to the science classes.

This issue has recently been raised and widely discussed throughout Portugal and the proposals for the new science syllabuses advise teachers to take it into account. However, the number of studies investigating both the teachers' attitudes towards this issue and the use of teaching strategies based on students' alternative conceptions is very limited.

This article aims to present the results obtained from science teachers about their attitudes towards students' alternative conceptions and the use of teaching strategies based on these conceptions.

The results may contribute to the planning of in‐service courses.
A content analysis of research published in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching from 1985 through 1989
Authors: Horton Phillip B. , McConney Andrew A. , Woods Amanda L. , Barry Kevin , Krout Homer L. , Doyle Barbara K.
Published: October 2006

To determine if actual practice was consistent with commonly recommended research methods and procedures, this study examined 130 studies reported over a 5‐year period in three volumes of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST). The results were consistent with similar previous analyses (Shaver & Norton, 1980a, 1980b; Wallen & Fraenkel, 1988a) and indicate that appropriate generalizations beyond the confines of the reported studies may be impossible for most (64%) of the JRST studies surveyed. The findings also show that replication studies, which could be employed to offset deficiencies in generalizability, were not commonly encountered (3%) in these 130 reports. In addition, the study results indicate that many researchers (48%) do not properly restrict their conclusions based on the limits imposed by the accessible populations and samples used; nor do they typically provide possible alternative explanations for the outcomes obtained (76%). These findings prompt the following recommendations:

1. A greater awareness and use of replication as a check on generalizability should be encouraged by the science education community.

2. Clearly defined populations (target and accessible) and fully described samples warrant increased attention as report components from authors, reviewers, and editorial board members of JRST.

3. In light of the difficulties inherent in effecting random selection in educational settings, a greater emphasis should be placed on recognizing the limits that the underlying assumptions of inferential statistics place on research conclusions.

The results of this study indicate that the methodological quality of published science education research should remain a concern for both practitioners and readers.
Erroneous ideas about respiration: The teacher factor
Authors: Sanders Martie
Published: October 2006

Recent research suggests that many South African pupils in their final year of schooling have erroneous ideas about various aspects of respiration (Sanders and Cramer, 1992). This study investigates teachers as a possible source of pupils' errors. The views of 136 biology teachers about respiration and related concepts were elicited by means of an analysis of how teachers marked an essay containing errors commonly found among year‐12 pupils. The teachers' responses suggest that many of them might well have erroneous ideas. These are reviewed in terms of four conceptual areas related to respiration. Finally the implications for teachers are discussed, and suggestions are made about possible ways to address the problem of erroneous ideas among teachers and pupils.
Curriculum reform and choice of science: Consequences for balanced and equitable participation and achievement
Authors: Rennie Léonie J. , Parker Lesley H.
Published: October 2006

In 1988, most schools in Western Australia adopted a Unit Curriculum structure in the first three years of high school, following piloting of the scheme in seven schools in 1987. The goais of the Unit Curriculum are stated to be excellence, equity, and relevance, and one of its key features is the increased flexibility students have in making their subject selection. This article reviews the science enrollment and achievement patterns of males and females studying in the pilot schools in 1987, and for the first three years of the operation of the Unit Curriculum in 1988, 1989, and 1990. The data indicate that lowering the age for subject choice is associated with a reduction in the amount of science studies, especially by females, and with the early manifestation of sex‐stereotyped subject selection. It appears that if early sex stereotyping is to be avoided, then students need to be provided with more structure in their selection of units. This article emphasizes the need for all involved in system‐wide curriculum change to be fully informed of the potential benefits and dangers of curriculum models which allow wide flexibility, especially where curriculum change affects students' “choice point”.
Deductive reasoning, brain maturation, and science concept acquisition: Are they linked?
Authors: Lawson Anton E.
Published: October 2006

The present study tested the alternative hypotheses that the poor performance of the intuitive and transitional students on the concept acquisition tasks employed in the Lawson et al. (1991) study was due either to their failure (a) to use deductive reasoning to test potentially relevant task features, as suggested by Lawson et al. (1991); (b) to identify potentially relevant features; or (c) to derive and test a successful problem‐solving strategy. To test these hypotheses a training session, which consisted of a series of seven concept acquisition tasks, was designed to reveal to students key task features and the deductive reasoning pattern necessary to solve the tasks. The training was individually administered to students (ages 5–14 years). Results revealed that none of the five‐ and six‐year‐olds, approximately half of the seven‐year‐olds, and virtually all of the students eight years and older responded successfully to the training. These results are viewed as contradictory to the hypothesis that the intuitive and transitional students in the Lawson et al. (1991) study lacked the reasoning skills necessary to identify and test potentially relevant task features. Instead, the results support the hypothesis that their poor performance was due to their failure to use hypothetico‐deductive reasoning to derive an effective strategy. Previous research is cited that indicates that the brain's frontal lobes undergo a pronounced growth spurt from about four years of age to about seven years of age. In fact, the performance of normal six‐year‐olds and adults with frontal lobe damage on tasks such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST), a task similar in many ways to the present concept acquisition tasks, has been found to be identical. Consequently, the hypothesis is advanced that maturation of the frontal lobes can explain the striking improvement in performance at age seven. A neural network of the role of the frontal lobes in task performance based upon the work of Levine and Prueitt (1989) is presented. The advance in reasoning that presumably results from effective operation of the frontal lobes is seen as a fundamental advance in intellectual development because it enables children to employ an inductive‐deductive reasoning pattern to change their minds when confronted with contradictory evidence regarding features of perceptible objects, a skill necessary for descriptive concept acquisition. It is suggested that a further qualitative advance in intellectual development occurs when an analogous pattern of abductive‐deductive reasoning is applied to hypothetical objects and/or processes to allow for alternative hypothesis testing and theoretical concept acquisition. Apparently this is the reasoning pattern needed to derive an effective problem‐solving strategy to solve the concept acquisition tasks of Lawson et al. (1991) when direct instruction is not provided. Implications for the science classroom are suggested.
Prospective elementary teachers' prior knowledge about light
Authors: Bendall Sharon , Goldberg Fred , Galili Igal
Published: October 2006

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 (light bulb, objects, screen, and plane mirror). Included are some inferences about how students' ideas may have emerged from their interpretations of everyday experiences. The article concludes with a section that provides an example of a conceptual change instructional strategy that was based on the research results reported here.