•  1884
    I subordinated the discussion of historical and philosophical issues of science to learning scientific concepts, superimposing them so as to make them inseparable. The topics of units are the same as in regular science courses, such as "electrical conductors and nonconductors," and the goal is the same: to formulate the laws of phenomena. The difference is in the ways the unit is taught. I have found that understanding of a concept improves if it is "rediscovered" with active participation on …Read more
  •  1369
    A Law of Physics in the Classroom: The Case of Ohm’s Law
    Science & Education 18 (3-4): 349-382. 2009.
    Difficulties in learning Ohm’s Law suggest a need to refocus it from the law for a part of the circuit to the law for the whole circuit. Such a revision may improve understanding of Ohm’s Law and its practical applications. This suggestion comes from analysis of the history of the law’s discovery and its teaching. The historical materials this paper provides can also help teacher to improve students’ insights into the nature of science.
  •  1012
    Thermodynamics and Mechanical Equivalent of Heat
    Science & Education 23 (10): 2007-2044. 2014.
    This paper is the first part of a three-part project ‘How the principle of energy conservation evolved between 1842 and 1870: the view of a participant’. This paper aims at showing how the new ideas of Mayer and Joule were received, what constituted the new theory in the period under study, and how it was supported experimentally. A connection was found between the new theory and thermodynamics which benefited both of them. Some considerations are offered about the desirability of taking a his…Read more
  •  478
    The 'historical-investigative' approach to teaching science
    Science & Education 5 (3): 277-292. 1996.
    The paper describes the author's experience in using the history of science in teaching physics to science teachers. lt was found that history becomes more useful to teachers when explicitly combined with 'investigative' experimentation, which, in turn. can benefit from various uses of the history of science.
  •  188
    The author argues for a greater involvement of professional historians of science into teaching science to improve the historical component of science. Yet, however much some teachers like history they find no room in the curriculum for a history of science course. The solution is in make the history of science a useful tool for teaching physics. The author shares his experience of using historical experiments carried out by students in a lab setting. Playing scientists not only improved underst…Read more
  •  87
    Theories as models in teaching physics
    Science & Education 7 (3): 245-260. 1998.
    Discussing theories at length, including their origin, development, and replacement by other theories, can help students in understanding of both objective and subjective aspects of the scientific process. Presenting theories in the form of- models helps in this undertaking, and the history of science provides a number of suitable models. The paper describes specific examples that have been used in in-service courses for science teachers.
  •  16
    Scientific controversies in teaching science: the case of Volta
    Science & Education 10 (1-2): 33-49. 2001.
    This paper discusses a way of introducing a scientific controversy, which emphasizes objective aspects of such issues as multiple theoretical interpretation of phenomena, choosing a theory, insistence on the chosen theory, and others. The goal is to give students a better insight into the workings of science and provide guidelines for building theories in their own research.
  •  13
    Errors in Science and their Treatment in Teaching Science
    Science & Education 20 (7-8): 655-685. 2011.
    This paper analyses the real origin and nature of scientific errors against claims of science critics, by examining a number of examples from the history of electricity and optics. This analysis leads to a conclusion that errors are a natural and unavoidable part of scientific process. If made available to students, through their science teachers, such a knowledge, would give students a deeper insight into the scientific process and remove their fear of making errors in their own laboratory work…Read more