Science teachers' knowledge about and attitudes towards the use of models and modelling in learning science

A semi-structured interview was used to enquire into the knowledge of models and modelling held by a total sample of 39 Brazilian science teachers working in 'fundamental' (ages 6-14 years) and 'medium' (ages 15-17 years) schools, student teachers, and university teachers. This paper focuses on their perceptions of the role of models in science teaching. The teachers' ideas are organized in three groups: the status and value of models; the influences that inform the translation of these general ideas into classroom practice; and how they respond to the outcomes of students' modelling activities. The teachers interviewed generally showed an awareness of the value of models in the learning of science but not of their value in learning about science. They were also uncertain of the relationship that could exist in the classroom between various types of models. Modelling, as an activity by students, whilst praised in theory, would not seem to be widely practised. Where practised, the outcomes are by no means always treated with that integrity that learning about science would call for.     

THE GENETIC ASPECTS OF HIGH INTELLIGENCE

A cohort of 71 pairs of twins was studied in a project which started within the decade 1965 to 1975. The total level of intelligence (global IQ) and the level of particular intellectual components have been examined annually since the twins were two years of age. The data were analysed by comparing monozygotic and dizygotic twins. The results revealed that high intelligence is influenced much more by hereditary than exogenous factors. Furthermore, there is an irregularity in the development of intellectual level from childhood to adulthood. Consequently, decision making about children cannot be carried out on the basis of a single IQ evaluation. A cluster analysis demonstrated the importance of hereditary factors not only on intellectual level, but also on the pattern of intellectual development.     

Impact of question-answering tasks on search processes and reading comprehension

This study examined the effect of (a) high- and low-level questions and (b) reading the text before the questions asked on performance, delayed text recall, and deep text comprehension, as well as on specific text-inspection patterns. Participants were 37 undergraduate students who answered either high- or low-level questions using the software Read&Answer to read and answer questions on the computer screen. Additionally, half of the sample read first a text and then answered the questions (reading-first condition), whereas the other half answered the questions without having read the text in advance (no-reading-first condition). All participants had the text available to search for the answer. Results indicated that high-level questions facilitated deep comprehension but not immediate performance or delayed recall of text, independently of the reading condition, and that high- and low-level questions differentially affected text-inspection patterns.