The changeover of the Kenyan system of education from the 7-4-2-3 to the current 8-4-4 in 1984 made science subjects (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) compulsory to all students up to form two at the secondary school level. This meant increased numbers of students in one class at a time attending the science subjects, which may compromise quality.…

Computer-generated simulations and visualizations in digital planetariums have the potential to bridge the comprehension gap in astronomy education. Concepts involving three-dimensional spatial relationships can be difficult for the layperson to understand, since much of the traditional teaching materials used in astronomy education remain…

An in-class activity is described that can be used not only to motivate hypothesis testing, but also to understand and compute the p-value and power in a statistical test. (Contains 3 figures.)

In this paper, the authors describe how two institutions are helping their undergraduate biology students build quantitative competencies. Incorporation of quantitative skills and reasoning in biology are framed through a discussion of two cases that both concern introductory biology courses, but differ in the complexity of the mathematics and the…

As secondary students' interest in science is decreasing, schools are faced with the challenging task of providing adequate instruction to engage students--and more particularly the disadvantaged students--to learn science and improve their science inquiry skills. In this respect, the integration of Web-based collaborative inquiry can be seen as a…

TIMSS measures trends in mathematics and science achievement at the fourth and eighth grades in participating countries around the world, while also monitoring curricular implementation and identifying promising instructional practices. Conducted on a regular 4-year cycle, TIMSS has assessed mathematics and science in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, and…

"Going Further" presents a roadmap to the works of the ACCLAIM (Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment, and Instruction in Mathematics) Research Initiative, the research effort of one the Centers for Learning and Teaching (CLTs) created with a grant (2001-2005) from the National Science Foundation. The Center began…

On September 22, 2012, NSF announced its decision to fund a three-year project, "Models for Information Assurance Education and Outreach" (MIAEO). In the first year of grant operation, MIAEO has invited 18 high school students, two K-12 teachers, and two CSUB student assistants to conduct research explorations in the fields of…

In response to concerns over the need for a scientifically literate workforce, increasing the STEM pipeline, and aging science standards documents, the scientific and science education communities are embarking on the development of a new conceptual framework for science, led by the National Research Council (NRC), and aligned next generation…

This study investigated whether the interaction of teacher, student, and classroom characteristics has a significant effect on classroom climate. Linear regression techniques were used to predict selected scales of "Anderson's Learning Environment Inventory" (LEI) from sets of orthogonal variables which are representative characteristics…

This codebook for a machine-readable data file contains the frequencies for the values of variables for cases that are the individual activities in the Surroundings module of the BSCS Human Sciences Program. Students rated each activity on a six-item, Likert-type scale and responded to open-ended questions about the activity. Surroundings was one…

This codebook for a machine-readable data file contains frequencies for the values of 310 variables for 446 student cases that comprised the field test data from the testing of Knowing, a Level III module of the BSCS Human Sciences Program. This module was developed and field tested with eighth-grade students in middle schools and junior high…

This codebook for a machine-readable data file contains the frequencies for the value of 23 variables for each of the 3,173 student-activity evaluation interactions (cases) for the 44 activities in the Human Sciences Knowing Module. Students rated each activity on an eight-item, Likert-type scale and responded to open-ended questions about the…

This codebook for a machine-readable data file contains frequencies for the values of 1,275 variables for 734 student cases that comprise the field-test data from the BSCS Human Sciences curriculum project. This three-year interdisciplinary science curriculum, designed for 11- to 14-year-olds, was field-tested in seven middle and junior high…

This codebook for a machine-readable data file contains eight variables that describe the characteristics of 623 activities or activity parts that comprise the activities used in the field test of the BSCS Human Sciences Program, 1973 to 1976, and 1977, in middle and junior high schools in the United States. The file also includes 52 variables…