A Structural Model of Prospective Science Teachers' Nature of Science Views

This study aims to establish a viable structural model of prospective science teachers' nature of science (NOS) views, which could be used as an analytical tool for understanding the complex relationships between prospective teachers' conceptions of NOS and factors possibly affecting their conceptions. In order to construct such a model, likely factors that might influence prospective teachers' NOS views were hypothesized. These included science process skills; attitudes toward science teaching; academic achievement in pedagogical and science courses; and social, religious, economic, political, aesthetic, and theoretical values. The hypothetical model was then developed and modified using structural equation modeling methodology. The final viable model indicates that attitudes toward science teaching, science process skills, academic achievement in pedagogical courses, religious values, and economic values explain NOS views with low predictive power.     

Possible Pythagorean Influences on Plato's Views of Physical Education in the Republic

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between the Pythagoreans and Plato in order to further illuminate the derivations of Plato's views of physical education. Concepts from Pythagorean and Platonic writings were examined. A search for historical connections between Plato and the Pythagoreans was made. Possible Pythagorean influences on specific Platonic concepts of physical education were suggested. General concepts in The Republic which appear to be influenced by Pythagoreanism were the theories of soul, forms, harmony, justice, and simplicity. Related to these concepts, but more inherent to physical education specifically, the following concepts were thought to be of Pythagorean origin: that the pre-eminent objective of physical education was character training, that the body was inferior to the soul and needed physical education primarily to prepare it for service to the soul, that simplicity of diet and regimen was to be maintained for an adequate physical education program, and that participation in physical education was not reserved for men but also included women.     

Science instruction for the mildly handicapped: Direct instruction versus discovery teaching

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.