UMass Amherst SRRI -- CLSG

Cognitive Learning in Science Group

The Conceptual Learning in Science Group has been engaged in science education research activities within SRRI for the past 18 years, with the help of Professors Melvin Steinberg and Neil Stillings, and many doctoral students and postdocs. Our work has focused on analogies, misconceptions, useful intuitions, creativity and imagery use in experts, model based learning, co-construction strategies, computer simulations, gesture analysis, and other topics. The group has been funded virtually continuously during this period by the US National Science Foundation.

Latest CLSG News

Clement authors two new books
01/17/2008 - 8:07pm
Clement receives national award for research in science teaching
11/27/2007 - 3:50pm

Current CLSG members:


Clement, John J.	Professor of Education
Leibovitch, Abigail	Ph.D. Student, School Psychology
Stephens, A. Lynn	Ed.D. Student, Teacher Education & Curriculum Studies
Williams, E. Grant	Ed.D. Student, Teacher Education & Curriculum Studies
Young, Raymond	Ed.D. Student, Teacher Education & Curriculum Studies
Forrelli, Kristen	Undergraduate Assistant (Journalism Major)
Rawlings, Jennifer	Undergraduate Assistant (Legal Studies & Journalism Major)

CLSG publicatons (reprints, preprints, technical reports, etc.):

See the SRRI publications list.

Current CLSG projects:

Visual Modeling Strategies in Science Teaching

Finding principles of instruction for developing students' visualizable models in science

This 3-year NSF-funded project seeks principles of instruction for developing students’ visualizable models in science, including design principles for curriculum development, technological tools, and new pedagogical principles.

Deepening Conceptual Understanding in Middle School Life Science

This NSF project is completing a model-based curriculum on Energy and the Human Body at the middle school level and investigating ways of teaching complex visual models in science.

Model Construction Processes in Experts

This project complements and provides input to our visual modeling strategies in science teaching project by attempting to understand model construction and learning processes in expert scientists, with an emphasis on the roles of analogy, imagery, and thought experiments.

Past CLSG projects:

→ There don’t seem to be any projects to list here!

Published CLSG “products”:

Preconceptions in Mechanics

Lessons dealing with conceptual difficulties

by Charles Camp and John Clement. Contributing authors: David Brown, Kimberly Gonzalez, John Kudukey, James Minstrell, Klaus Schultz, Melvin Steinberg, Valerie Veneman, and Aletta Zietsman. ©1994. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt.

The nine units in this high school physics curriculum focus on areas where students have exhibited qualitative preconceptions — ideas that they bring to class with them prior to instruction in physics. Research has shown that certain preconceptions conflict with the physicist’s point of view. It has also shown that some of these conflicting preconceptions are quite persistent and seem to resist change in the face of normal instructional techniques. The motivating idea for this book is to provide a set of lessons that are aimed specifically at these particularly troublesome areas and that use special techniques for dealing with them. Ideas in the lessons can be used to supplement any course that includes mechanics.

Scientific Reasoning Research Institute

CLSG