Gender Difference,Misconceptions and Instruction in Science

The study examined into the relationship between gender and students' misconceptions in science. Two different groups were treated with two different teaching strategies, namely, teaching strategy 1, which is basically didactic in nature, and teaching strategy 11, which incorporates students' misconceptions and applies the Generative Learning Model. Two groups of secondary three students (N=26,27; randomly sampled), underwent 6 weeks of instruction, with the respective strategies mentioned above. Each group consisted of male and female students, the numbers of which resulted from the grouping based on their academic achievements. A constructed and validated diagnostic instrument was used as a means to measure the effectiveness of these two teaching strategies. The findings showed that gender differences did not relate well to students' misconceptions in science. The implications of this finding are discussed.     

A Hierarchical Biology Concept Framework: A Tool for Course Design

A typical undergraduate biology curriculum covers a very large number of concepts and details. We describe the development of a Biology Concept Framework (BCF) as a possible way to organize this material to enhance teaching and learning. Our BCF is hierarchical, places details in context, nests related concepts, and articulates concepts that are inherently obvious to experts but often difficult for novices to grasp. Our BCF is also cross-referenced, highlighting interconnections between concepts. We have found our BCF to be a versatile tool for design, evaluation, and revision of course goals and materials. There has been a call for creating Biology Concept Inventories, multiple-choice exams that test important biology concepts, analogous to those in physics, astronomy, and chemistry. We argue that the community of researchers and educators must first reach consensus about not only what concepts are important to test, but also how the concepts should be organized and how that organization might influence teaching and learning. We think that our BCF can serve as a catalyst for community-wide discussion on organizing the vast number of concepts in biology, as a model for others to formulate their own BCFs and as a contribution toward the creation of a comprehensive BCF.     

中国政府机构改革存在的误区和对策

中国政府机构改革已进行了多次，但由于在理论上，认识上，实践上存在着误区，致使机构改革始终没有跳出“三个怪圈”对此必须脂取相应对策，走出以往改革的误区，深化行政改革，把政府机构改革引向成功。     

数学建模教学误区分析

就数学建模教学过程中经常遇到的几种误区——进行剖析，并给出科学的、合理的解决方案．     

Instructional Misconceptions in Acid-Base Equilibria: An Analysis from a History and Philosophy of Science Perspective

The implications of history and philosophy of chemistry are explored in the context of chemical models. Models and modeling provide the context through which epistemological aspects of chemistry can be promoted. In this work, the development of ideas and models about acids and bases (with emphasis on the Arrhenius, the Brønsted–Lowry, and the Lewis models) are presented. In addition, misconceptions (alternative and instructional ones) on acid-base (ionic) equilibria are examined from the history and philosophy of science perspective. The relation between the development of the models and students misconceptions are investigated. Finally, the hypothesis that history and philosophy could help educators anticipate students misconceptions is examined.     

The Effect of Cooperative Learning Approach Based on Conceptual Change Condition on Students' Understanding of Chemical Equilibrium Concepts

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the cooperative learning approach based on conceptual change conditions over traditional instruction on 10th grade students' conceptual understanding and achievement of computational problems related to chemical equilibrium concepts. The subjects of this study consisted of 87 tenth grade students from two intact classes of a Chemistry Course instructed by the same teacher. One of the classes was randomly assigned as the experimental group, which was instructed with cooperative learning approach based on conceptual change conditions and the other class was assigned as the control group, which was instructed with traditional instruction. Chemical Equilibrium Concept Test (CECT) was administered to the experimental and the control groups as pre- and post-tests to measure the students' conceptual understanding, and Chemical Equilibrium Achievement Test (CEAT) was administered to the experimental and the control groups as a post-test to measure the students' achievements related to computational problems. Science Process Skills Test was used at the beginning of the study to determine the students' science process skills. Multivariate Analysis of Covariate (MANCOVA) was used to analyze the data. The results showed that students in the experimental group had better conceptual understanding, and achievement of computational problems related to the chemical equilibrium concepts. Furthermore, students' science process skills were accounted for a significant portion of variations in conceptual understanding and achievements related to the computational problems.     

The Rationality Debate: Application of Cognitive Psychology to Mathematics Education

Research in mathematics education usually attempts to look into students’ learning and other mental processes. It could therefore be expected to build on knowledge acquired within the academic discipline of cognitive psychology. Our aim in this paper is to show how some recent developments in cognitive psychology can help interpret empirical results from mathematics education. In particular, we will be looking into the heuristics-and-biases research by Kahneman and Tversky, the alternative views by Gigerenzer et al., and the more recent dual-process theory that has come to play a central role in interpreting this research. We first introduce the relevant background from cognitive psychology and survey its connections to previous work in mathematics education; then we apply this theoretical framework for re-interpreting previously-published empirical data from mathematics education research. We conclude with a discussion of potential theoretical and practical benefits of such synthesis.     

Formative Assessment Pre-Test to Identify College Students’ Prior Knowledge, Misconceptions and Learning Difficulties in Biology

A formative assessment pretest was administered to undergraduate students at the beginning of a science course in order to find out their prior knowledge, misconceptions and learning difficulties on the topic of the human respiratory system and energy issues. Those findings could provide their instructors with the valuable information required in order to adapt their teaching methods to the students’ needs. The test included open-ended questions and was administered on the first day of the course. The data obtained were analysed in relation to the students’ gender, age and having attended or not attended advanced courses in biology at the high-school level. Students could have prior knowledge on a topic to be learned, which, if identified and accounted for in the teaching, could serve as a receptor for a constructivist mode of study. The results indicated that undergraduate students hold misconceptions which could obstruct the acquisition of new knowledge. They encounter learning difficulties, which, if are known to the instructors and addressed in their teaching, could facilitate students’ learning. The possible use of a formative pre-assessment procedure, which could guide the instruction and learning process from the beginning of a course, is discussed.     

Science education II: Scientific literacy and the Karplus taxonomy

In this essay we explore the role played by the conceptual structure of science in scientific literacy. It is shown that the taxonomy of scientific concepts elucidated by Karplus is a basic structural characteristic of science, and provides a natural means forengaging, as distinct from merely learning, scientific content. Special attention is given to the idea scientific model as being fundamental to the discipline and therefore essential to scientific literacy. The relationship between scientific models and common misconceptions is developed.Based on the second of two talks given at the Paedagogische Hochschule, Ludwigsburg, Germany, in November 1988.