The Coalition for Science After School highlights the dual nature of outcomes for science learning during out-of- school time (OST): Learning experiences should not only be positive in the moment, but also position youth for future success. Several frameworks speak to the first set of immediate outcomes--what youth learn, think, and feel as the…

What does it mean for ethnic minority girls, who have historically been marginalized by schools, to "see themselves" in science? Schools fail to create spaces for students to engage their identity resources in the learning of science or to negotiate and enact new science-related identities. This study investigates relationships among…

California's public schools have struggled since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, and today face enormous challenges to try to regain lost quality and standing as a national education leader. In light of the current economic crisis, competition for limited resources is fierce and the pressure is on to eliminate all but the basic "Three…

This book is intended as a final report on those activities and institutions supported through the National Science Foundation's College Science Improvement Programs (COSIP A & B), and as a reference to current developments in undergraduate science education. In the first major subdividion of this work are included project abstracts for the…

Discusses some of the problems faced by technical advisors implementing projects for the improvement of science education in Africa and reasons for these problems. Problem areas considered include underdevelopment, underestimating the process, finances, personality conflict and motivation, and opposition from key groups. (A list of major UNESCO…

In 1981 a meta-analysis of research in science education was completed by a team of researchers under the direction of Ronald Anderson at the University of Colorado. Individual teams synthesized the extant research using meta-analysis procedures. One of the syntheses showed that the post-Sputnik or "new" science programs on the whole…

This monograph presents an updating of a report made in 1969 which led to the development of the Del Mod System. It is an assessment of science education in Delaware. Data presented were collected on site in the schools. Assessment of the science facilities, curriculum, and attitudes was made. Science programs in use in 1974 in the elementary,…

This paper incorporates the work of several authors and presents a project focused on the competency training of teachers in environmental education. Draft competency lists included: (1) scientific knowledge for elementary school teachers; (2) processes in science for the elementary school teacher; and (3) teaching science to elementary school age…

Student outcomes were assessed by quantitatively combining results of 57 reported evaluations of three major curriculum programs in elementary school science. Thirty-two percent of the comparisons were statistically significant, favoring activity-based programs; six percent favored control groups. (DH)

Evaluated the effectiveness of an in-service science program, designed to introduce the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) to 35 elementary schools, by measuring teachers' (N=168) use of living materials available from the school district's resource supply center. Findings include no significant increase in material usage by workshop…

This paper reviews the efforts to put science education into contexts that are considered more meaningful and useful than the classical approach. It focuses on S/T/S (science/technology/society) projects funded by the National Science Foundation, and especially on a project at the University of Iowa. Some of the features of S/T/S programs are…

The purposes of this study were to investigate: (1) effectiveness of three small group teaching methods on the acquisition and retention of seriation abilities; (2) transfer of seriation abilities using the three treatments; and (3) relationship between visual and nonvisual seriation abilities. One hundred twenty first grade Canadian students were…

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…

In 1987, the Cheshire Public Schools initiated a science curriculum review. Teachers, parents, and students recognized that the existing textbook-based elementary science program was a dismal portrayal of such a dynamic discipline. There was community consensus that reading about science and acquiring scientific vocabulary words were not the same…

A quantitative synthesis of research findings on the effects of three major activity-based elementary science programs developed with National Science Foundation support was conducted. Controlled evaluation studies of the Elementary Science Study (ESS), Science-A Process Approach (SAPA), or The Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) were used…