Physics First--a movement to invert the traditional science course sequence to teach physics at the ninth-grade level--is gaining interest. However, there is limited literature exploring how to support teachers in successfully implementing Physics First. To address this, a professional development (PD) program supporting a cadre of teacher-leaders…

Robertson discusses the "perceived dichotomy" that permeates science teaching: teachers can either stress inquiry learning with lots of hands-on experiences or stress content knowledge and swap hands-on inquiry for direct instruction. Although a curriculum of unstructured hands-on science activities leads to shallow content knowledge, it is…

This report on teachers' academic preparation and professional development, the amount of emphasis science instruction receives in schools, student course taking, and the availability of school resources that support science learning is intended primarily for policy makers, school administrators, and educators concerned with state- or school-level…

This evaluation of mini-conferences conducted for Alabama teachers who completed training in the 1996 Summer Space Orientation for Professional Educators (SOPE) examines the effectiveness of follow-up sessions for teachers (N=69) and provides baseline data on teachers' knowledge of and attitudes toward teaching science. Conclusions about the 1996…

Close collaboration between professional educators in the interests of students must be supported and maintained if an equitable environment is to be created in schools. This paper describes a novel approach to the preparation of science and special education teachers in constructing curricula for science classrooms that include students with…

In order for standards to become the cornerstone of teachers' professional lives, they must first develop a keen understanding of the history and philosophy underlying standards, gain a working familiarity with standards documents, and engage in sense-making experiences that lead to personal meaning or internalization of the standards. This paper…

Outlines the developments and outcomes of the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN). Highlights the collaborative relationship with the Association for Science Education (ASE) and developments in networking and communicating. (DDR)

Outlines a strategy for the teaching of science in developing countries that breaks investigations down into individual processes, some of which do not require an apparatus. Outlines some difficulties that science teachers in developing countries face. Contains 22 references. (DDR)

This digest provides an overview of the Head Start on Science (HSS) program which is designed to encourage the science literacy of preschool children in Head Start programs and to improve the capacity of Head Start teachers, assistants, and parents. The overall goal of the HSS program is threefold: (1) to broaden HSS participants' science…

The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS), University of California at Berkeley has completed a 3-year project to develop a science and mathematics education course and science curriculum for early childhood educators. This project was in response to the need for improving the science and mathematics knowledge and teaching skills of adults who work with…

This summary outlines the National Science Education Standards, the guidelines which define the science content that all students should know and be able to do and which also provide guidelines for assessment of student understanding of the content. This document contains a definition of the National Science Education Standards, a rationale for…