What Research Says to the Science Teacher: Problem Solving
National Science Teachers
Association
1989
ISBN 0-87355-084-6
Grade focus: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
What Research Says to the Science Teacher: Problem Solving synthesizes research on problem solving in science. It is part of an ongoing series published by the National Science Teachers Association for elementary and secondary school teachers.
Four chapters include summaries of research on students' ideas about
topics addressed in Science For All Americans (SFAA). Chapter 2:
Problem Solving in Earth Science Education gives comprehensive overviews
of research findings on students' ideas about the water cycle, the shape
of the earth, gravity, and processes that shape the earth. Chapter 3: Using
Problem Solving in Physics Classes to Help Overcome Naive Misconceptions
includes an informative overview of research findings on students' ideas
about forces and motion. Chapter 4: Problem Solving in Biology - Focus
On Genetics includes brief summaries of findings related to students' ideas
about heredity. Chapter 5: Problem Solving in Chemistry includes brief
summaries of findings related to students' understanding of mass and volume,
states of matter, and the particulate nature of matter. Chapters 3, 4,
and 5 focus more on quantitative problem solving, and often address students'
learning of concepts at a higher level of sophistication than SFAA
requires for all students.