This document is the final report to develop a new elementary science curriculum. It contains information related only to the development phase of the Conceptually Oriented Program in Elementary Science (COPES) and was written for an audience that includes all who are interested in curriculum development as it was experienced in this project. The…

The purpose of this study was to compare the level of concept attainment achieved by students enrolled in a Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) physics course with that achieved by students enrolled in a traditional high school physics course. A sample of 265 PSSC students and 219 enrolled in the traditional course participated. The instrument…

Critical examination of the Teachers' Guide and Guide to Experiments and Questions Book in O-level Nuffield physics course reveals there may be disadvantages to the current organization when analyzed with psychological considerations. (PS)

The author attempts to show the development of logical-empirical knowledge structures from the raw elements in nature to the structures of knowledge as perceived by the mature student. Eighteen hypotheses are identified which focus on the expected relative natures of perceived knowledge structures of the various agental groups and their…

Issue four of the fifth volume of "Investigations in Science Education" contains six reports of research articles related to instruction and four individual studies. The individual studies concern correlates of choice for educational opportunities for high school students, the use of a structured interview technique to assess children's concepts,…

A Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) inquiry approach for university general biology laboratory was tested against a well-established commercial program judged to be highly directive. The BSCS was found to be more effective in learning biology laboratory concepts than the commercial program as measured by a laboratory concepts test.…

This study examined the effectiveness of the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) materials for visually handicapped children. Fourteen students, ranging in age from 9 to 19 and working in small groups with student teachers, received science instruction using the adapted version of the SCIS program. Control subjects were matched closely on…

Investigates the effects upon concept acquisition of giving second-grade children the verbal labels of science concepts with which they have had concrete experience in a classroom setting using the interaction and evidence of interaction concepts from the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS). (HM)

Control group students (receiving descriptive, non-inquiry science) and experimental group students (using Science Curriculum Improvement Study-SCIS "Interaction and Systems" materials) were later combined in grade 4 for instruction with SCIS "Subsystems and Variables" materials. Results show similar difficulties in learning…

Student variables which influence attainment of ecological concepts and conceptual systems were investigated. Researcher-designed paper/pencil and free-sort categorization tests were administered to 256 Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) students in grades 4-6. Findings are: (1) grade and ability, not sex, influenced concept attainment…

Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) students in grades 4-6 were used to investigate ecological concept formation. Researcher-designed, multiple-choice and free-sort tasks were administered. Statistics utilized included analysis of variance, Spearman correlation, multiple regression, frequency distributions, and latent partition analysis.…

This study is part of a larger study of teachers' use of curriculum materials in planning and teaching fifth-grade science. The study focused on one of nine teachers observed teaching "Communities," an activity-based unit from the SCIIS science program (a revision of the original Science Curriculum Improvement Study).…

Presented are abstracts and abstractors' analyses of 10 studies related to science instruction and 3 studies related to science curriculum. Analyses in the first section (instruction) are on studies of: the influence of instructional structure and focus of control on achievement; effects of individualized audio-tutorial and frontal…

Presented are analytical abstracts, prepared by science educators, of four research studies classified as relating to science curricula, four studies about learning, and one study on the evaluation of an instrument designed to measure students' orientation toward science. Three of the curriculum studies each relate to a specific curriculum project…

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE RESEARCH STUDIES ARE CATEGORIZED AND DESCRIBED IN THIS BOOKLET DESIGNED FOR CLASSROOM TEACHERS AND CURRICULUM WORKERS. ALTHOUGH MAJOR EMPHASIS OF THE REVIEW IS ON STUDIES PUBLISHED DURING THE 1960'S, OLDER STUDIES OF MAJOR SIGNIFICANCE ARE INCLUDED. A MAJORITY OF THE REVIEWS IS BASED ON REPORTS THAT APPEARED AS JOURNAL…