This report describes how effective environmental literacy can be for catalyzing Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) teaching, and how the California K-8 NGSS Early Implementers Initiative has provided professional learning about environmental literacy to prompt and support this synergy. The report also outlines how the California Science…

The aim of this report is to encourage enhanced richness and relevance of the undergraduate engineering education experience, and thus produce better-prepared and more globally competitive graduates, by providing practical guidance for incorporating real world experience in US engineering programs. The report, a collaborative effort of the…

Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S.…

This document describes science benchmarks for grades K-8 in Earth and Space Science, Life Science, and Physical Science. Each subject area is divided into topics followed by a short content description and grade level information. Source documents for this paper included science content guides from California, Ohio, South Carolina, and South…

Scientific terms and names included in "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" are analyzed and geology related terms are listed. Some items not listed are considered. (RH)

Described is an acid-leaching facility at Macquarie University in Australia for teaching paleontology. The facility is used for teaching both undergraduate and graduate students and for research by staff and graduate students. Drawings of the facility are included and courses are described. (Author/RH)

Described is the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) project in Great Britain. The project is investigating the possiblilty of accelerating the rate at which secondary pupils' logical thinking develops by using the science curriculum. A pilot project and parts of the curriculum are discussed. (RH)

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), led by a panel of K-12 science teachers, has developed a new position statement, "Responsible Use of Live Animals and Dissection in the Science Classroom." This statement examines the issues surrounding the integration of animals into the K-12 science curriculum and highlights key…

Described is a science program being developed at a high school in Great Britain to cater to the particular needs of females. Curriculum was modified in third, fourth, and fifth examination years to emphasize social nature of science and relevance of science to pupils' lives. Some of the problems encountered with program and selected parts of…

What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, "Taking Science to School" provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of…

Examines various issues related to the establishment of a core of physics studies at 16+ and 18+. Indicates that a core physics syllabus should be concerned with phenomena, theory, models, and applications and not with such topics as the use of a U tube manometer. (JN)

Argues that advances in Earth science call for their inclusion in Earth history. States that the focus should be on the planet and the process by which it reached its present state. Explains pre-solar and pre-lithospheric history, interacting spheres of influence, characteristics of eons and eras, and their transitions. (RT)

Examines the extent to which technology and applied physics should be included in introductory physics courses. Areas explored include the meaning of applied physics, the nature of pure and applied physics, and applied physics as viewed by a scientist, an educator, and society. Implications for the physics curriculum are addressed. (JN)

Argues the pros, cons, and alternatives to animal dissection. Discusses several cases involving student objections and the enactment of a California state law which upholds the right of a student to conscientious objection to dissection involving the harmful or destructive use of animals. (RT)

Described are the course, teaching/study, entry qualifications, and destination of graduates of four courses in medical physics from Exeter University, King's College London, University College London, and University College of Swansea. (YP)