Various collaborative efforts involved in implementing a district-developed science curriculum are described in four papers. "The Design and Utilization of a Concerns-Based Staff Development Program for Implementing a Revised Science Curriculum in Eighty Elementary Schools" (Harold Pratt, Marge Melle, Jim Metzdorf, Susan Loucks) reports…

Summarizes impressions of primary science activities in the United Kingdom, including student assessment, curriculum materials development, teacher development and support, and school implementation of science at the primary level. (DS)

The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) has been designed to describe change as it affects individuals and to prompt more successful change efforts. CBAM views the teacher as the focal point in school improvement efforts, yet also acknowledges social and organizational influences. This paper describes the application of the model to a curriculum…

One of a series of papers describing a collaborative educational change effort involving the Jefferson County, Colorado Public Schools, and the Texas Research and Development Center, this paper describes the design and implementation of a concerns-based staff development plan for the purpose of supporting the implementation of a revised science…

A longitudinal study was conducted which focused on the concerns of elementary school teachers who were involved in implementing the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) curriculum. Two major questions were addressed: (1) Do stages of concern exist? (2) If so, are they developmental? The sample consisted of teachers attending summer…

Year one of a three-year curriculum implementation effort focused on facilitating curriculum implementation through diagnostic-prescriptive staff development guided by the concepts and tenets of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model. This curriculum implementation effort involved 12 kindergarten through sixth grade generalist teachers in an isolated…

Presented in nine separate chapters are nine studies involving the direct observation of science classrooms. Eight of the nine chapters are based on qualitative data collection techniques which typically aim for depth of insight and understanding. Studies included are: "Critical Barriers to the Understanding of Elementary Science: Learning…

This paper reports on two comprehensive multi-institutional collaborative efforts for school improvement. The two studies demonstrate that collaborative efforts involving multiple agencies and multiple agendas can be successful even when separated by considerable geographical distance. The school systems were concerned with implementing a locally…