The purpose of this pragmatic action research study was to explore our re-conceptualization efforts in preparing pre-service teachers to guide the inquiry process with formative assessment and subsequently use the understandings to improve our teacher preparation program. The process was guided by two questions: to what extent did course…

Science curriculum evaluation studies (1963-1978) were examined to assess impact of innovative curricula compared with traditional curricula on student learning outcomes. Results suggest students in secondary school science courses scored moderately better than students in traditional courses on innovative and neutral tests and negligibly lower on…

Discusses formative evaluation (those evaluation activities carried out while a curriculum is still being developed) and relates this to the development of the Individualized Science (IS) program at the University of Pittsburgh. (PEB)

Investigates whether information about new National Science Foundation sponsored elementary science curricula was not being effectively communicated to the appropriate persons, thus hindering the selection and adoption of those curricula. (GA)

A conceptual model, which provides insight into the individual concerns that teachers adopting a new program may express, was employed in a study of science teachers (N=139) adopting the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS). Results from a 35-item instrument (Stages of Concern Questionnaire), demographic data, and recommendations are…

Compares the effectiveness of an Extended Discretion (ED) laboratory approach (exercising independent judgment) to a BSCS Green Version laboratory program. Results from 10 classes taught by five teachers, each teaching one experimental and one control group, favor the ED approach on a number of measures. (Author/JN)

Reports a study undertaken to determine the effect of the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) on logical thinking. Evidence of logical thinking was measured as the ability to explain compensating variables that occurred in a cart experiment presented on silent 16 mm film. (GS)

A battery of tests was administered to three groups of high school students who studied the Israel Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Adaptation Program for several years. Compared with non-BSCS students, the progress of the BSCS students in biological knowledge, inquiry skills, and understanding of science demonstrates the feasibility of…

Studied the intellectual differences between third and fourth grade Filipino children who had studied Science--A Process Approach (SAPA) and others who had studied a traditional curriculum. The SAPA children performed significantly better than the control group on a test of observing, comparing, and classifying simple geometric objects. (MLH)

The study investigates the usefulness of teaching science courses that have a commonality of subject matter and a sequential patterning of operations. Introductory Physical Science (IPS) and CHEM Study courses were compared. The results indicated IPS is a useful background for CHEM Study. (BR)

Grade 8 students using the Introductory Physical Science course improved their scores on a test of science processes (observing, comparing, classifying, quantifying, etc.) after studying the first five chapters of the materials. Some evidence supporting a hierarchy of process skills is reported. (AL)

There were no significant differences in achievement between students using an earth science laboratory block with or without teacher direction. (AL)

Questions Whether first-grade student participation in selected experimental activities from the BSCS-ESSP enhances skills in listening as measured by the Cooperative Primary Series Listening Test (CPSLT). (CS)

Reports that teachers exhibit a stable degree of persistence in utilizing selected elementary and secondary NSF science curricula in the western United States. Differences between teachers trained in the NSF curricula and a control sample indicate that elementary workshop participants tended to utilize NSF-sponsored curricula longer than did…

Achievement scores of Israeli high school students using Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) materials were shown to be significantly higher than those for students using another curriculum. (MLH)