Science reforms in national K-12 science education standards position engineering as a discipline that can be productively integrated into science curricula. This integrated approach presents science as foundational to engineering and engineering as a tool to contextualize and reinforce science ideas such that students come to develop…

The Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards propose that students learn core ideas and practices related to engineering as well as science. To do so, students will need high-quality curricular materials designed to meet these goals. We report an efficacy study of an elementary engineering curriculum,…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) strives to shift science learning from the teacher as a single cognitive agent, to a classroom community in which participants are working together in directing the classroom's communal knowledge to figure out questions about how phenomena occur, and building, testing, and refining their ideas to…

Developing scientific literacy about water systems is critical for K-12 students. However, even with opportunities to build knowledge about the hydrosphere in elementary classrooms, early learners may struggle to understand the water cycle (Forbes et al., [Forbes, C. T., 2015]; Gunckel et al., [Gunckel, K. L., 2012]; Zangori et al., [Forbes, C.…

While research has shown that elementary (K-5) students are capable of engaging in the scientific practice of explanation construction, commonly-used elementary science curriculum materials may not always afford them opportunities to do so. As a result, elementary teachers must often adapt their science curriculum materials to better support…

The museum visit is an important part of elementary school science teaching. However, a divide exists between teachers, who require curricular accountability, and museums, who emphasize free-choice exploration. Can a carefully constructed worksheet bridge this divide by providing free-choice exploration of curricular topics during the museum…

Evaluates the use of mass media to create awareness of the concept, action science, and of a facility, resource services. Results indicate that this project was not superior in creating awareness of the designated curricula during its period of activity, although it did effect an increased awareness overall. (MA)

This study focuses on the transmission stage of curriculum implementation, specifically at the interaction level of curriculum developer and teacher. Level of agreement regarding objectives and priorities between evaluators, teachers, and developers was determined for a unit on "colors" developed for primary school children and partially…

Questions Whether first-grade student participation in selected experimental activities from the BSCS-ESSP enhances skills in listening as measured by the Cooperative Primary Series Listening Test (CPSLT). (CS)

Investigated relationship between lesson content and participation of pupils in rural India primary schools. Spontaneous participation in teacher-directed classrooms (N=136) was shown to be correlated with time spent by teachers in relating textbook content to pupils' natural experience. Experiments and teaching aids were also useful in drawing…

Analysis of an open-ended survey of 144 university and school science educators resulted in identification of six major problem areas: conceptual, organizational, teacher-related, student-related, university-centered, and societal. (Author)

This investigation examines the difficulties encountered by one graduate teaching assistant as she taught "Physics for Elementary Education," a large-enrollment, inquiry-based science course taught at a public Midwestern university. The methodological approach of hermeneutic phenomenology served as the lens to investigate the research question,…

Studies elementary school childrens' abilities in (1) measuring and constructing angles, and (2) interpreting and constructing linear graphs as a result of instructional formats. Partitioned into instructional treatments of (1) science, (2) science-mathematics, (3) mathematics, and (4) control were 161 fourth- and fifth-grade children. Mathematics…

In this project, a resynthesis of the research dealing with student performance in new science curricula was conducted using refined statistical procedures. Results generally supported earlier meta-analysis studies. (CW)

Data from 30 studies involving gender differences related to science achievement were synthesized using analyses of effect sizes and vote-counting estimation procedures. Reports that males showed advantages in biology, general science, and physics. (Author/YP)