This article describes key facets of the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE), a curriculum that emerged in the United Kingdom, enabling teachers to accelerate the process of cognitive development so that more students could attain the higher-order thinking skills (formal operational thinking) required (Lecky, 2012). CASE, also…

To address the need to better prepare teachers to enact science education reforms, the National Science Foundation has supported a Research Experience for Teachers (RET's) format for teacher professional development. In these experiences, teachers work closely with practicing scientists to engage in authentic scientific inquiry. Although…

In a longitudinal study, third grade children using Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) materials were compared with comparable non-SCIS children. Data analysis showed SCIS children superior to non-SCIS children. (PS)

Introduces biology teachers to the central ideas of Piaget's theory of intellectual development. Also presents a scheme of biology instruction and classroom procedures based on a Piaget-related theory of learning. (PEB)

A number of the working papers produced for the guidance of the staff of the Australian Science Education Project during the development of instructional units for secondary school science are included in this package. Topics covered range from a discussion of the implications, for curriculum writers, of the research on cognitive development to…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether success in the Science - A Process Approach (SAPA) process of classification designed for primary grade children is contingent upon the children's developmental level as defined by Piaget's theory. The investigators sought to determine whether children who had reached the concrete operational…

This study attempted to determine at what grade levels children develop the ability to combine and control variables, the effect of the elementary science program on this development, and the relationship between a child's ability to control variables and his ability to form combinations of variables. (GS)

This document describes an empirical study on the patterns of teacher behavior and a comparison of student outcomes from two settings where different programs (types of curricula) were used. The two psychological positions identified within the curricula were stated to have been operationalized in the two programs developed for the elementary…

Assesses the physics, chemistry and biology content of the Nuffield Combined Science Course used in British schools by experimental testing to children's understanding of the course. A model by which the pupils' achievement is mapped to an estimate of their maximum Piagetian level of thinking is presented. (HM)

Presents a classroom activity which can be used both to assess student's modes of thought and to clarify the logic of hypothesis testing. The task is based on Piaget's theories of cognitive development. (HM)

Compares teacher predictions with student-use data for nine teacher-selected activities during field testing of the Human Sciences Program (HSP). The comparison reveals that in six of the nine activities, a large discrepancy exists between teacher predictions and actual student-use data. (HM)

Examines the relationship between Piagetian stage of development and achievement on the Australian Science Education Project (ASEP) unit "The Human Machine." Fifty-seven secondary school age boys took the Tisher-Dale "Understanding in Science Test" as a measure of cognitive development as well as the ASEP unit exam. The…

Reports results supporting the theoretical rationale that there are certain cognitive skills, including data interpretation, identification of assumptions and hypotheses, and controlling of variables, that appear to be necessary for successful understanding of the heterotroph hypothesis, as presented in the BSCS Blue Version. Implications for…

Describes the factors which led to the development of the three year Human Sciences Program designed by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) staff for the middle grades. Also presents the major learning and instructional characteristics of the Human Sciences modules. (HM)

Cites 124 references to science education research literature and summarizes research on instruction, curriculum, teacher education, developmental studies, teacher characteristics, and instrument development. (AL)