There is increasing interest in collaborative arrangements between schools and community scientists to enhance student engagement with learning. We describe research in which we identify a wide range of such collaborations in Australia, and investigate through interviews with community participants their perspectives on the purposes of…

The past several decades have been times of widespread change in world economies. The 21st century has witnessed scientific technological innovations that have had an impact on almost every sector of our social institutions and the way we do things. To succeed in these changing economies and secure meaningful employment, STEM literacy and…

The results of using laboratory instruction as part of the total biology program in the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study are reported. (Author/SA)

At the beginning of each year, teachers have the daunting task of deciding which concepts and skills to teach their students. Many teachers feel the pressure to teach "the whole book". This pressure comes in multiple forms. There is ever-increasing pressure to perform well on state, national, and international exams. An added pressure is the…

Describes a study which evaluates the effectiveness of the Thai biology curriculum developed by the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST). Investigates were classroom activities, student affective behavior, and teachers' attitudes toward the curriculum involving 40 teachers and 1,400 students. (Author/DS)

Described is the Center for Educational Research and Evaluation, established to provide focus for new initiatives in science education research and to strengthen the commitment of the Biological Science Curriculum Study to curriculum development, evaluation, and research. Research efforts include problem solving and status of middle school science…

Describes the background and 38 steps of the development of the Australian Science Education Project (ASEP) Curriculum. Discusses some implications and eight points using formative evaluation to improve science curriculum materials. (YP)

Outlines an approach for interpreting the influence of social factors on the directions in which secondary school science curricula have developed and explores the influence of the institutional context of comprehensivization on emerging science curriculum in Great Britain in the 1960s. (Author/DS)

Reviews the tradition of teaching and learning of organic chemistry in high school courses. Includes an analysis of present student performance and possible directions of future chemistry programs. Report is based on research of instruction and learning of organic chemistry in 90 high schools. (Author/JN)

After using the "Physics: A Human Endeavor" curriculum for a period of time students and teachers in the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, in general, suggested that there was a need for a curriculum change. This paper reports on ways to effectively change the curriculum. Topics included are: (1) need for change in the…

This article presents a brief history of the events leading up to the current US biology education standards, a brief examination of the National Science Education Standards for biology, and a description of the three recently developed biology curricula that were designed to address the new standards. Several evaluative studies of these curricula…

This report describes development of the "Prepare Them for the Future" project, a K-3 activity-oriented science curriculum. The program, funded through two grants, was driven by the need to boost the distressed labor-based economy in rural western Pennsylvania. Data showed a drop of 1,100 coal-mining jobs between 1980 and 1986 in Indiana…

Described are the organization, development, and piloting of this K-6 science curriculum program. Results of the pilot study are presented including the improvement in student and teacher attitudes. (CW)

Twenty-five years of research comparing student performance in NSF-funded science curricula to student performance in traditional courses was examined as part of a comprehensive synthesis of science education research. These curricula were found to be consistently more effective, suggesting that their philosophies/strategies/materials be…

Reviews the development and implementation of science education curriculum projects in Great Britain. Suggests that, among others, relevance of project materials and ideas to problems teachers face in schools and a positive attitude toward curriculum development are necessary to ensure uptake. (Author/SK)