The role of competencies is discussed with respect to science teaching. In particular, competence models from Germany, Switzerland and Austria are presented and compared. A special topical program, "Competencies in Mathematics and Science Teaching", was started in Austria three years ago. Initial experiences with this program are…

Evaluation of large-scale professional development programmes in a cost-effective but detailed manner presents challenges. Much of the research evidence on the effectiveness of professional development in science education has been the result of small-scale studies that use clustered or stratified sampling methods. Using the evidence collected…

The progress of the study of the National Science Foundation to analyze their peer review procedures is discussed. The results of the first part of the study, published in 1978, are given and questions are posed that are the focus of the second phase of the study. (SA)

Recently an elementary school teacher asked, "Is the 'new' elementary school science really dead?" This writing examines the teacher's question in terms of the impact the "new" science appears to have had on elementary science education. (Author/RK)

Given limited funding for school-based science education, non-school-based programs have been developed at colleges and universities to increase the number of students entering science- and health-related careers and address critical workforce needs. However, few evaluations of such programs have been conducted. We report the design and methods of…

Students in science and engineering (S&E) are preparing for careers in fields where international partnerships are increasingly important to advancing knowledge and discoveries. It has been over a decade since the National Science Board (NSB) highlighted the importance of international collaboration and called for increased government…

Presented is the executive evaluation report of the Project City Science (PCS). The PCS, a program conducted by New York University and funded by NSF, sets as its major goal the improvement of junior high school science instruction in the inner-city environment. This report consists of five sections: (1) overview of the project; (2) operation of…

Presented is the final evaluation report of the Project City Science (PCS). The PCS, a program conducted by New York University and funded by NSF, sets as its major goal the improvement of junior high school science instruction in the inner-city environment. This report consists of eight sections. The first section, which presents an overview of…

Presented are appendices to the final evaluation report of the Project City Science (PCS). The PCS, a program conducted by New York University and funded by NSF, sets as its major goal the improvement of junior high school science instruction in the inner-city environment. The following are some of the 20 appendices presented: (1) first and second…

The Playful Invention and Exploration (PIE) Institute project was funded in 2005 by the National Science Foundation (NSF). For the past three years, Inverness Research has served as the external evaluator for the PIE project. The authors' evaluation efforts have included extensive observation and documentation of PIE project activities; ongoing…

Fifty-nine secondary school physics students were assigned to treatment groups: (1) Project Physics units, (2) Project Physics and verbal learning unit, and (3) a training program in scientific inquiry. Posttest results revealed that, on most aspects of a science inquiry test, treatments 2 and 3 had significantly greater effect on achievement than…

This report is the first of three volumes which summarize the results of a comprehensive evaluation of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Local Course Improvement (LOCI) program. Included are college teacher perceived needs of course improvement, profile of applicants for LOCI awards, appropriateness of program guidelines, and outcomes of LOCI…

This report is the second of three volumes describing the results of the evaluation of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Local Course Improvement (LOCI) program. This volume describes the quantitative results of the program. Evaluation of the LOCI program involved answering questions in the areas of the need for science course improvement as…

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)

Describes a study which evaluates the effectiveness of the Thai biology curriculum developed by the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST). Investigates were classroom activities, student affective behavior, and teachers' attitudes toward the curriculum involving 40 teachers and 1,400 students. (Author/DS)