In 2005 India introduced a new National Curriculum Framework aimed at providing a more constructivist approach to learning for all subjects. Previous research on the impact of curriculum reform in other countries (e.g., United States) concluded that for reform to be successful teachers' orientations toward teaching and learning must be considered…

Uses a Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) as an indicator of field-independency in an investigation with college graduate students. Results reveal that GEFT scores were not affected by the treatment of 18 hours of instruction in Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) materials or by pretesting effects. (CP)

Concept-map construction was tested as a means of increasing the conceptual learning of first-year, non-major college chemistry students (n=32). No significant differences between the control (essay-writing) and treatment (concept-map-constructing) groups were found on post-lab multiple-choice achievement tests. Interviews with students indicated…

Describes how student responses to 26 bipolar adjectives describing laboratory studies are used at a New Zealand university to modify the content of laboratory experiments in physics. (MLH)

Examines the thinking processes of 16 eighth grade science writers during laboratory report writing and explores the possibility that writing can contribute directly to science learning. Five students exhibited no mental reflection during writing whereas nine students demonstrated scientific problem solving including hypothesis and evidence…

An interactive computer/videodisc learning approach to the conventional laboratory approach for learning biology concepts and science process skills were compared. The two approaches appear equivalent when evaluated by traditional learning outcomes, but the interactive videodisc strategy was significantly more time efficient than a traditional…

Studies the effects of computer-managed self-paced (CMSP) and teacher-managed group-paced (TMGP) laboratory instruction on the attitudes toward science of ninth-grade students. All students were enrolled in an introduction to chemistry and physics course. Posttests revealed that groups did not differ significantly on achievement measures but the…

Investigated the problems chemistry majors have with learning distillation concepts in traditional chemistry laboratory courses. Reports that students take the generalized concepts at face value, construct decontextualized concepts for distillation, and cannot interpret their observations or make reasoned decisions based on the theoretical…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the beliefs of six experienced high school science teachers about (1) what is successful science learning; (2) what are the purposes of laboratory in science teaching; and (3) how inquiry is implemented in the classroom. An interpretive multiple case study with an ethnographic orientation was used. The…

Describes school science as a rite of passage, and exposes problems in school science that are made visible through the use of this metaphor. (PR)