Conceptual change views of teaching and learning processes in science, and also in various other content domains, have played a significant role in research on teaching and learning as well as in instructional design since the late 1970s. An important issue is whether conceptual change can provide a powerful framework for improving instructional…

Prize-winning scientist and bestselling author James Trefil explains why every U.S. citizen needs to be "scientifically literate" and, therefore, why schools must teach the fundamental principles of scientific literacy to every student. He lays out those principles straightforwardly, so that educators--and everyone who is interested in…

This document is the companion publication to "Excellence in Environmental Education: Guidelines for Learning (K-12)", published by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) as part of the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education. The Guidelines are organized into four strands, each of which represents a…

Presents hands-on spring science activities to help elementary students think and act like scientists. Students use the scientific process to make connections between life, physical, and earth science. Activities look at insects, flowers, trees, the sun, and the earth's rotation around the sun. (SM)

This article suggests the use of the circuit box to illustrate the processes involved in the scientific method. Construction and wiring diagrams and a materials list are presented. (BB)

Argues that, to make nonscientist students scientifically literate, they need to know the process by which science works, the so-called scientific method. (PR)

Asserts that the scientific literacy of the average person can be evaluated adequately only with a definition that involves thinking processes and ignores test-taking skills. (PR)

Describes the following examples of natural selection for use in science instruction: sickle-cell anemia and human beings, clogged crabs, the rounding of the human head, shell color in land snails, pollinator behavior and flower color, copper tolerance in a grass, lizards and quick change, and Darwin's finches. (PR)

Argues that an approach based on a primary emphasis on any aspect of scientific methodology is problematic since there may be no satisfactory way to teach explicitly scientific literacy. Discusses methodological limitations and historical perspectives. (JRH)

The current status of science education for scientific literacy in the United States is reviewed. Textbooks and teaching methods are the main focus of criticism. (CW)

Gives practical notes and suggestions aimed at helping teachers to use newsclippings and other printed materials in science lessons. (PR)

This document presents a collection of strand maps that show how students' understanding of the ideas and skills that lead to literacy in science, mathematics, and technology might grow over time. The guide discusses strand maps in general and prose directly related to each individual map. The maps are built from benchmarks that were derived from…

Offers three reasons to teach science to nonscientists--curiosity, technological bewilderment, and technological necessity, and offers some ideas on how courses addressed to these ideas ought to be taught. (PR)

Discusses important features of the National Science Education Standards. Argues that the burden of implementing the standards must not be placed solely on teachers' shoulders. (10 references) (JRH)

Proposes the use of a series of 11 casts of fossil skulls as a method of teaching about the theory of human evolution. Students explore the questions of which skulls are "human" and which came first in Homo Sapien development, large brain or upright stance. (MDH)