Elementary schools face pressures to substantially increase student achievement in all subjects with limited time in the school day. In particular, science struggles to gain instructional momentum due to many internal and external factors. The school district of Wynne (pseudonym), located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has generational…

These proven, practical early childhood teaching strategies help teachers identify young gifted children, differentiate curriculum, assess and document students' development, and build partnerships with parents. Chapters focus on early identification, curriculum compacting, social studies, language arts, math and science, cluster grouping,…

Researchers have noticed a shift in education, with science and social studies taking a backseat to mathematics and literacy (Marx & Harris, 2006; Rodriguez, 2006). Some school districts are operating on a rotating basis with science instruction--one month on and one month off (Marx & Harris, 2006). A better approach would be to encourage students…

The nature of science aspects (NOS) are the most emphasized theme in many curriculum and reform attempts. Teachers as a curriculum implementer in the classroom play important role for policy, arrangements and classroom experiences on NOS understandings of students. Researchers generally assessed the teachers' NOS conceptions using open-ended…

In an effort to improve science and social studies instruction, preservice teachers developed original science, technology, and society units to teach in elementary and middle school classrooms during their clinical field experience. Data revealed that the preservice teachers fell into categories of being skeptics, open-minded instructors, or…

This paper reports on the results of a survey of primary teachers who attended a series of three 1/2 day workshops that focused on primary science activities concerned with two key outcome areas from the Tasmanian Essential Learnings curriculum: "Investigating the Natural and Constructed World" and "Inquiry." The workshops…

This workbook introduces curriculum mapping, a process used by schools and districts to reform and improve curricula. The school's or district's elementary and middle level science curriculum can be mapped out by indicating what topics are taught at what grade levels. This workbook is part of the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory's…

A description of The Unit Box, an innovative development in elementary school teacher preparation. (Author)

Discusses the problems facing writers of curriculum documents. Concentrating on the implementation problems in elementary science education, the author attempts to clarify how a careful design of curriculum materials can improve the implementation process and outcomes. States that, for initial implementation efforts, a structured approach is more…

Comments on three articles in this issue on universalists versus multiculturalists. Supports teaching culturally relevant science. The three papers share the goal of improving the teaching of science to minority and non-minority children and increasing the participation of children of color in science. (SAH)

Provides an international perspective for elementary science education and discusses the structure of science instruction and curriculum in countries like England, Kenya, Malaysia, and Nigeria. Evaluates England's and Wales's current status in science education. (YDS)

Investigates how much time primary schools spend on science, what should count as science, and what the different ways are that science appears in the curriculum. Uses findings from a survey conducted with schools in the Victorian Science in Schools (SIS) research project as well as case studies. (KHR)

Examines some key characteristics of science under the headings of elimination of the personal, demarcation from ethics, and denial of reflexivity. Relates these characteristics to an instrumental criterion of knowing which is pervasive in science. Suggests that there are severe limits to the introduction of a more personal, interpretative, and…

This book demonstrates how to specifically pair a fiction and nonfiction book of the same theme and package them with copies of question and activity sheets to provide students with take-home learning packets for independent learning and family use. For each grade level in K-3, 15 topic areas are explored through two books with a common theme.…

This design study tracks the development of student thinking about natural variation as late elementary grade students learned about distribution in the context of modeling plant growth at the population level. The data-modeling approach assisted children in coordinating their understanding of particular cases with an evolving notion of data as an…