This chapter will (1) briefly review selected studies examining the nature of thought experiments in science; (2) review previous studies on the role that thought experiments can play in science instruction; (3) give case study examples of thought experiments (TEs) proposed by both teachers and students and the ensuing classroom discussions. We discuss several definitions for the term thought e...

Science experiments are inseparable and indispensable parts of learning experiences. The experiments provide both acquiring science concepts and learning scientific method for learning experiences. Thus, various studies have been carried out to specify the science teachers’ professional knowledge, attitudes towards aims of science experiments (West, 1972; Lynch & Ndyetabura, 1983; Gayford, 1988...

Research on expertise in visual-spatial tasks such as chess has ignored the introspective reports of top-level practitioners, overemphasized pattern recognition as the sole mechanism underlying skilled performance, and neglected the role of mental imagery in the thinking process. In addressing these limitations I propose a new theory of expertise, the “mental cartoons hypothesis,” and illustrat...