Relative to their middle and high school teacher counterparts, elementary science teachers are both uniquely situated and uniquely challenged for excellent science instruction. More than 90 percent of elementary teachers work in self-contained classrooms, meaning they have opportunities to connect their science instruction with English language…

The California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS)--adopted in 2013--have the potential to improve scientific literacy and strengthen the global competitiveness of California's workforce. However, longstanding underinvestment in science education and the unprecedented disruptions caused by COVID-19 have heightened challenges faced by…

This technical report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and resultant data for the American Instructional Resources Surveys (AIRS) that were administered to principals and teachers in Spring 2021 via RAND's American Educator Panels. The AIRS focused on instructional resources used and supported in English language arts,…

This report highlights some of the major findings from the 2018 NSSME+. Six major topical areas are addressed: (1) Teacher Background and Beliefs; (2) Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Professional Development; (3) Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Courses; (4) Instructional Decision Making, Objectives, and Activities; (5)…

A models and modelling approach was adopted to investigate the educational potential of a science museum exhibition. It focused on patterns of relationship between the teaching models proposed by designers and students models in regard to four exhibits concerning astronomical cycles. Student's models were elicited by interviewing 21 pupils…

This report highlights the findings from research conducted to uncover what the nation's students think of the science education they are receiving, how they would improve it if they could, how they think they best learn science, and how they rate their parents and teachers when it comes to science. Data collection included an in-depth telephone…

Learning processes have been investigated for regularities of the changes in the strength of a reflex that result from manipulations of several parameters of a stimulus. Most of this work has been carried out in the tradition of associative theory. One consequence of this emphasis was that for a long time several phenomena that can be…

This research study investigated the attitudes toward science of 8th-grade students in Australia, Canada, Cyprus, and Korea, based on recent TIMSS data, and suggests a model of family and school influences on their attitudes. The structural equation model contained 3 exogenous constructs--familys educational background, aspiration, school…

This report is an evaluation of the Integrated Science Program for undergraduate students at Northwestern University. Four aspects of the program were investigated: (1) history and development, (2) curriculum, (3) effect on students' attitudes and behaviors, and (4) the impact of the program on students' careers. Recommendations for future action…

This report on science and mathematics indicators is intended to assist state, national, and local policymakers and educators in making informed decisions. This report focuses on science and mathematics indicators at state and national levels. The indicators are intended for use by policymakers and educators to assess progress in improving…

This technical report describes a study that was undertaken to compare the content of two recent fourth-and eighth-grade assessments in science: the NAEP 2000 assessment and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 assessment. Its aim is to provide information that will be useful for interpreting and comparing the…

Reported is an approach to teaching the use of Macintosh computers to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students within the context of a simplified model of scientific research including proposal, data collection and analyses, and presentation of findings. Word processing, graphing, statistical, painting, and poster software were sequentially…

In 1996, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessed the knowledge and skills of students in the areas of earth science, life science, and physical science. It also collected information related to the background of students (grades 4, 8, and 12), their teachers (grades 4 and 8), and the schools they attended (grades 4, 8, and…

This report presents a formative evaluation of the Van Horn Engineering and Technology Magnet High School in the Kansas City School District, Missouri. It presents data collected throughout the program's first year, including student demographics, program implementation information, achievement data, and perceptions of the program held by staff…