Over the past 20 years research on reform efforts aimed at the chemistry laboratory has focused on different aspects of students' experiences including increasing content knowledge, improving student attitudes toward chemistry, incorporating inquiry activities, and providing students a hands-on experience related to the chemistry concepts learned…

After the collapse of the former Soviet Union, many Central and Eastern European countries underwent significant change in their political and educational systems, among them Georgia and Moldova. Reforms in education sought to overcome the highly centralized educational system of the former Soviet Union as well as to conquer the teacher-centred…

This study stemmed from concerns among researchers that reform efforts grounded in promoting inquiry as the basis for teaching science have not achieved the desired changes in American science classrooms. Many science teachers assume that they are employing inquiry-based strategies when they use cookbook investigations with highly structured…

The Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) Model is a systemic approach to science learning and teaching based on five infrastructure pillars: research-based curriculum, differentiated professional development, administrative and community support, materials support, and assessment. This model uses the Science and…

Of great importance for achieving science education reform may be teachers' interest in science and enjoyment of science. This study explores the motivational qualities (rated for "interest," "fun," and "learning" value) of different levels of inquiry of hands-on class activities. The participants, 53 preservice teachers in two sections of a…

This case study examined the impact of the application of an inquiry-based concept related physics curriculum on student attitudes and learning in a secondary physics classroom in southern New Jersey. Students who had previously used a traditional physics curriculum were presented with a 10 week inquiry-based concept related physics curriculum on…

The current trends in science education emphasize students' engagement in scientific inquiry and deemphasize memorization of factual knowledge. In response to these trends, reform-based curricula often characterize students engaging in science investigations by listing the detailed steps of scientific practices. Unfortunately, if curricula stress…

In most classrooms science has been presented as an inert body of knowledge to be assimilated rather than a process of inquiry and a way to make sense of our world. This traditional approach has allowed teachers to cover a great many topics but the quality of learning that it has yielded has proven disappointing. This article outlines some major…

For more than a decade, there has been a call for reform in science education. This effort stresses the creation of a scientifically literate population. Required in this effort to create a more scientifically literate populace is an understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS) on the part of the average citizen. This call for reform recognizes…

Questions the goals of high school to college science education and compares what is achieved with traditional teaching strategies. Describes how science majors and non-science majors alike are based on an authentic field-based research. Explains the principles of best practices in undergraduate science education. (YDS)

This document reports on a 6-year study of science education reform, the Scope, Sequence, and Coordination (SS&C) Project. The reform included teacher enhancement activities as well as curricular materials and was designed to help science students achieve the National Research Council's Science Standards (1995). The two components of the study…

Introduces a cytology laboratory course consisting of experimental design, laboratory preparation, laboratory implementation, and scientific write-up. (Contains 11 references.) (YDS)

Presents a mock interview with John Dewey in which the questions are from the present, and the answers are culled from Dewey's writings from 60-100 years ago. Questions relate primarily to the current state of education in science. (WRM)

This book is designed to assist teachers at the 9-12 grade levels in addressing the goals of the National Science Education Standards (NSES) in their own classrooms concerning the teaching and learning of chemistry. The Standards expect students to learn science in an active manner and emphasizes methods of inquiry and deductive reasoning based on…

Discusses the ninth-grade trial implementation of the Scope, Sequence, and Coordination (SS&C) project and compares this class with the non-SS&C class that preceded it. Reports that the project helped teachers create a more inquiry-oriented learning environment and helped students perform at least as well as non-SS&C students on…