This qualitative study examined the perspectives of African American parents as it pertained to informal science education. The following questions guided this study: (1) What are the desires of African American parents/guardians with respect to informal science programs and experiences for their children?; (2) What happens in Jordan Academy, an…

Outlines a sociocultural perspective on program evaluation consistent with sociocultural views of knowing and learning. Perspective is characterized by rigorous use of multiple-choice tests, performance assessments, and event-based analyses; a dialectical approach to conflicting conclusions from individual assessments and between individual and…

Investigates some of the evaluation methodologies presently being advocated in assessing the merits of education programs for training science teachers. Questionnaire data from ex-students were used to elicit raw data and an understanding of these data by a newer methodology involving ordering theory. (CS)

Investigated were operative comprehension differences between 239 sixth and eighth grade pupils in activity oriented science programs and 249 students in a textbook oriented science program. Results indicated no differences among sixth graders, but activity oriented eighth graders scored higher than textbook oriented students. (SL)

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)

Describes the development of the Science Outdoor Learning Environment Inventory which includes seven scales. The instrument was used by high school students (N=643) and the results indicate that the instrument is a sensitive measure that differentiates between different types of field trips. Contains 19 references. (DDR)

Investigated effects of an environmental science education program on inservice teachers (N=51) views of science and attitudes toward environmental science education. Results indicated that the year-long program had positive impact on attitudes of those in the control group. (SK)

Determined: (1) if teachers who participated in "Science Teaching and Development of Reasoning" workshops felt they utilized workshop ideas in changing teaching style/methods; (2) if nature and extent of changes made were consistent with workshop intent/philosophy; and (3) factors teachers perceived as facilitating or hindering their…