The Use of Tape as a ‘Lead-Medium’

Mathematical circles in the schools of the Federal Republic of Germany are engaged in the examination and discussion of two proposed teaching reforms, the first concerned with the content of teaching and the second with its methods. The proposals stem from the 1968 Conference of Cultural Ministers, a subject of which was the establishment of ‘A Framework of Guiding Principles of Reform’. These principles provide for reforms in mathematics teaching in schools, to start in the school year 1972/73, and preparatory work has been going on in a number of places. The research includes a mathematical project on the theme: ‘Value of Digit Systems’, work on which has been carried out by the Institut für Film und Bild in association with the publishing firm of Ernest Klett.     

“How do I remember when I got my dog?” The structure and development of children’s metamemory

Kreutzer et al.’s (Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 40(1):1–60, 1975) metamemory interview has been widely used in children’s metamemory literature, yet the psychometric properties of the measure have yet to be reported, and the format and language of some subtests may pose problems for young children. Researchers often combine subtests with other tests purported to measure metamemory, yet there is little empirical data regarding how these subtests relate. It has been proposed that metamemory is comprised of distinct procedural and declarative components, but this has not been empirically tested in young children. Therefore, the two studies reported here aimed to adapt Kreutzer et al.’s interview to increase its developmental appropriateness, to examine the relationship between the interview subtests, to add subtests that purport to test procedural metamemory, and then to examine the factor structure of the resulting scores and investigate how metamemory changes with age across the elementary school years. The results suggest that the adapted versions of the subtests are generally less contaminated by language ability, especially for the younger children. Factor analysis indicated the presence of two declarative metamemory factors and one procedural metamemory factor. Both declarative factors followed a similar developmental trajectory, increasing steadily from early to late elementary school age, whereas procedural metamemory increased significantly between Grades 1 and 3 only.     

Do We Need a Philosophy of Science Education?

Reflection on several decades of science teaching at the secondary-school level leads to the strong suggestion that a theory of science education should be based on arguments emanating from insights into the process of meaningful communication in the light of modern epistemology. These arguments show that the teacher’s personality and engagement with the subject is a major source of interest and devotion of students who try to understand the presented ideas. An analysis of the conditions of this engagement leads to a vision for a future understanding of the teaching process, especially in science teaching.     

Historical Aspects in Physics Teaching: Using Galileo's Work in a New Swiss Project

This paper details the result of an empirical study on the reception and effectiveness of historical material being included in the physics programme of a Swiss high school.     

Can the Theory of Narratives Help Teachers to Become Better Storytellers?

The narration of historical details is an art. It can be learned by studying narrative theories which lead to a better understanding of the narrative process. Not every physics teacher is born an expert in storytelling. The analysis of the whole process of story production and its reception by an audience is a precious tool, even in the hand of an inexperienced storyteller. Science teachers can profit from an education in this direction.     

„Das Spiel“, KongreΒ für Leibeserziehung,Osnabrück,Oktober 1958

Ohne Zusammenfassung