Twelve articles present excerpts from several national reports of countries participating on the Second International Science Study (SISS) of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. The SISS examined science achievement and its correlates in participating countries and studied trends from 1970 through the…

This document describes the research project Modeling for Understanding in Science Education (MUSE) which focuses on the improvement of high school students' learning. MUSE research investigated how lower and high achieving students learned to reason, inquire, present, and critique scientific arguments in a genetics course taught during the spring…

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation has commissioned studies of state academic standards in five core subjects. This is the fifth of these studies, focusing on state standards for science. Thirty-six states presented standards for evaluation. Some states were in the process of revising standards, while others simply had no standards to present.…

This theme issue of the NCREL's (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory's) "Learning Point" focuses on how reading engages children. The cover story article is an interview (Marianne Kroeger and Stephanie Blaser) with Mary Foertsch, from NCREL, on what types of innovative strategies teachers employ to help students become engaged readers. A…

This publication contains 24 studies which focus on: the fostering of inquiry in secondary school science laboratories; realistic expectations for traditional laboratory work; a content-based, college-level science course for all students; understanding learning at the classroom level; transitions and student task involvement; a project to…

This brief addresses the status of science and mathematics teaching in the United States. The standards of both the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Research Council (NRC) for science and mathematics education are cited as well as a summary of the findings of the 1993 National Survey of Science and Mathematics…

The Fordham Foundation commissioned experts in each of the five core academic subjects (English, history, geography, mathematics, and science) to develop criteria for excellence and apply them to as many state standards as could be obtained. This summary report compiles the numerical scores and letter grades that each state earned in every…

Presented are abstracts and abstractors' analyses of 10 studies related, in some manner, to learning. These studies focus on: (1) problem-solving processes used by experts and novices as they worked five mechanics problems (J. H. Larkin and F. Reif); (2) formal reasoning patterns of Italian high school students (M. L. Aiello-Nicosia, et al.); (3)…

Seven articles report on the effectiveness of suggestive instructional methods in improving learning in various academic subjects. The following reports are included: (1) "Americanizing Suggestopaedia: A Preliminary Trial in a U.S. Classroom," by Charles E. Gritton and Ray Benitez-Bordon (deals with science instruction at the eighth…

Abstracts and abstractors' critiques are presented for 11 articles related to instruction, attitudes, and teacher education. The research studies examined: (1) an instructional strategy incorporating process and conceptual knowledge to promote transfer of learning; (2) effects of instruction using a Visual Response System on achievement of male…

Abstracts and abstractors' critiques of 10 science education research studies are presented. The first section contains four studies related to science teacher education. These studies focus on: preservice elementary science teachers' science content backgrounds, perceptions of purposes for teaching science in elementary schools, and their…

Presented are abstracts and abstractors' analyses of nine studies related to curriculum and instruction. These studies focused on: (1) the status of environmental education in Kansas; (2) attitudes of Israeli students toward two versions of a curriculum titled Agriculture as Environmental Science; (3) interrelationships among teacher intentions,…

This annual publication contains 43 research papers on a variety of issues related to science education. Topics include the following: mature-age students; teacher professional development; spreadsheets and science instruction; the Learning in Science Project and putting it into practice; science discipline knowledge in primary teacher education;…

Abstractor's analyses of science education research studies are presented in this issue of Investigations in Science Education. The first group of studies relates to research on teacher education (priority of perceived needs common to science teachers and how these might be used to develop inservice programs, determining the level of awareness and…

Presented are abstracts and abstractors' analyses of seven studies related to science instruction and mathematics and three studies related to achievement. Analyses in the area of instruction are on studies of: teacher interventions in elementary science laboratory groups; variables accounting for success in an undergraduate science education…