The impulse to investigate the natural world is deeply rooted in our earliest childhood experiences. This notion has long guided researchers to uncover the cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of scientific reasoning in children. Until recently, however, research in cognitive development and education followed largely independent…

The purpose of this article is to outline some of the characteristics of children's notions of physical causality and to relate this to how one might expect the typical five-year-old, eight-year-old, and twelve-year-old to approach a problem in science. (Author)

Reviews Piaget's stages of development and describes types of educational activities which are appropriate for specific levels of cognitive development. (CP)

Describes an activity center where students work independently on problem-solving tasks. Participants keep records of their work and share ideas of activities with the class. Includes a list of tasks for the activity center. (MA)

Reports findings of a study on children's perceptions and alternate conceptions about the human circulatory system. Summarizes the responses of fifth and eighth grade students on questions dealing with the heart and blood. Offers examples of hands-on activities and confrontation strategies that address common misconceptions on circulation. (ML)

Presented are the instructions and suggested variations on a card game designed to help children learn to match shapes. A set of cards which may be photocopied for use are included. (CW)

Presents criteria that science teachers can use to decide where a given classroom activity falls in a continuum from concrete to abstract. The system is intended as a way of selecting appropriate tasks for children based on their previous experiences and their level of development. (JM)

The fields of science education and science studies and their respective academic communities, while appearing to have many potential points of contact, remain surprisingly separate, with little apparent recognition of the relevance to the interests of each to work done within the other traditions. As a field of study science education deals with…

Reported is a study to investigate the effects of a free-choice program on children's ability to interpret experiments, design simple investigations, and recognize variables that could affect the outcome of observed events. (Author/SA)

Describes classroom activities to help children determine cause and relate the changes to the substances being changed. Advocates the use of "change jars" and making daily observations to teach the concepts that certain conditions promote change. Includes ideas using temperature, moisture, rotting, and sprouting to teach the concept of change. (CW)

Presented is an experiment investigating children's awareness of regularities in physical phenomena and their capacity for expressing these regularities. Hypothesized and confirmed is that children can use statements with the form and purpose of a physical law. Cartoons related to Archimedes' principle (and connected gravitation and fluid…

Described are five halloween season activities. Included are investigations which focus on observing, measuring, creating, and cooking. A recipe for pumpkin bread is given. Ideas for infusing science into a halloween party are provided. (CW)

Discussed is the teaching method called the learning cycle and how it can be incorporated into science activities. Included are examples of how teachers and students can use the learning cycle to produce instructional materials. (KR)

Described is Creative Problem Solving (CPS), a model which may be employed to help integrate higher-order thinking skills into elementary science instruction. An example of the use of this model is presented. (CW)

This paper is based on a portion of the curriculum analysis of elementary science textbooks that was conducted as part of a larger Elementary Subjects Center study of curriculum materials used in literature, mathematics, science, social studies, and the arts. A commonly used elementary science curriculum series, Silver Burdett and Ginn's…