Analyzed and classified were Individualized Science Instruction System (ISIS) minicourse performance objectives and criterion-referenced test items according to Bloom's cognitive "Taxonomy" to determine levels of cognition emphasized. The findings indicate that ISIS minicourse test objectives are written primarily at the knowledge and…

Reports on 18 months of action research that examined the effectiveness of using the history of science to promote British students' understanding of the nature of science. Both quantitative and interview data offer substantial evidence of a strategic movement away from serendipitous empiricism and toward an appreciation of the interactive nature…

Reports on the results of a conference of leaders in science education research held at the University of California, Berkeley, January 16-20, 1986. Describes the themes that emerged from the disucssions and makes four recommendations intended to encourage the development of an integrated research base in science education. (TW)

Discussed is the issue of the appropriateness of applied science approaches to evaluation in environmental education. The relationships between characteristics of applied science approaches to evaluation and the special characteristics of environmental education are explored. (Author/YP)

Examines science textbook language and determines some characteristics of them: distant authorial voice, concern for precision, limited context, limited syntax, and rhetorical model. Suggests three further researcher needs. (YP)

Reported is a study which investigated reasons responsible for the lack of enthusiasm among junior high teachers in implementing a new biology curriculum in Israel. Identified variables related to high expectations set at the ideal level, the greater role given to verbalization, and mechanical or routine implementation approaches. (ML)

This study examined the impact of a biology course emphasizing computer simulation on student achievement and student attitudes toward science. The students in the experimental group were placed in a class limited to 16 students to have 2 students to each computer. (YP)

This study was undertaken to determine whether a biology preparatory course given at an urban community college was helping students to develop the proper skills and background necessary to successfully complete follow-up courses in biology. Data indicated a mathematics score was the main discriminator between pass/fail groups of the preparatory…

Investigates whether enriching text with analogies, similes, and metaphors has an impact on student cognitive learning and attitudes. Reports no gain on achievement, negative gain on attitude, no gain on proposition recall test, and negative gain on student attention to the text. (YP)

Reports on a study designed to focus on staff development delivery variables in the context of science teacher workshops. Data suggest that 8 to 16 hours is a minimum amount of time for staff development if teachers are to implement new strategies into their science classrooms. (TW)

Describes and examines the effects of the eight-week Summer Science Training Program at the University of Iowa. There was no significant differences between students who had completed high school physics and those who had not on the final course examination, course grade, and attitudes toward physics. (Author/YP)

Explains science teachers' perceptions and decisions about the development and implementation of a science/technology/society curriculum. Discusses the teacher interviews based on teachers' decisions. Summarizes five themes: concerns over content, discomfort with grouping, uncertainties about evaluation, frustrations about student population, and…

Identifies two stages in research on scientific literacy; a composite saturation stage in which definitions covered all objects of science education, and a stage when researchers focused on small manageable portions of scientific literacy. Describes formal, nonformal, and informal science teaching. (TW)

Examined is the influence and developmental nature of science processes. Results indicated that a one-semester process skills course was effective in developing a basis for science content acquisition. Additional gains can be obtained in an extended curricular sequence. (Author/CW)

The relationships between mathematical competencies possessed by students and selected student characteristics at the beginning of a semester were examined. The relationship between test scores and the type of mathematics courses taken during the semester students were enrolled in an introductory biology course were also investigated. (Author/CW)