In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, nature-study was the most widespread orientation to science instruction in the nation's schools. During the four or so decades of its existence, nature-study evolved to become both a common body of knowledge and a philosophical orientation to instruction. To some here at the dawn of the 21st century, the…

Life as people know it here on Earth exchanges energy and materials with the environment. Life forms grow, develop, produce waste products, and reproduce, storing genetic information in DNA and RNA and passing it from one generation to the next. Life evolves, adapting to changes in the environment and changing the environment in return. The basic…

Discusses the nature of science and addresses the question of why scientific knowledge cannot be absolute. (SL)

Lists and describes science museums in Europe. Countries include France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Holland, England. (CS)

Guidelines for introducing death education into elementary and secondary school subjects are presented. Included are teacher criteria to be met prior to starting a unit on death, a list of interdisciplinary topics relating to death, possible guest speakers, learning activities, and a resource list. (SL)

Described is the integration of individual student inquiry investigations into a seventh grade life-science course. Student projects and problems encountered are discussed. (SL)

In this article, the author presents a two-week evolution unit for his biology class. He uses Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717) as an example of an Enlightenment mind at work--in this case a woman recognized as one of the great artists and natural scientists of her time. Her representations of butterflies, caterpillars and their pupae, and the…

A consensus of key nature of science ideas appropriate for inclusion in the K-12 science curriculum has begun to emerge from a review by science educators of the extensive literature in the history and philosophy of science. The authors in this issue of "The Science Teacher" suggest surprisingly parallel sets of NOS content goals for K-12 science…

As the common thread in biology, the topic of evolution and its related historical development can help students make sense of diverse biological concepts. The discussion of evolution provides educators with something else--a significant opportunity to teach important lessons involving the nature of science (NOS). This article addresses strategies…

Explains how a computer uses its vision to determine the area, edge length, width, height, and center of mass in two dimensions from photos of backlit sea shells. Includes HyperCard codes used to instruct the computer to make the calculations. (MDH)