When state leaders and national partners in the development of the Next Generation Science Standards met to consider implementation strategies, states and school districts wanted to know which materials were aligned to the new standards. The answer from the developers was short but not sweet: You won't find much now, and it's going to…

In recent years, a number of National Research Council reports have emphasized the need to improve science education and enhance science literacy for all students. In addition, the newly released "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" advocates engaging students in scientific practices and disciplinary core ideas. Children are not learning…

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is a buzzword in America (Ames, 2013; Woodruff, 2013). With recent pushes from the federal government (Obama, 2013) the educational landscape is changing, with an increased emphasis on STEM (Noddings, 2013; Obama, 2013). However, a clear definition of who teaches each aspect of STEM does not exist…

The revised National Curriculum for Science for key stages 3 and 4 (ages 11-16) in England provides the opportunity to develop a new coherent approach to teaching about the carbon cycle, the use of carbon as a fuel and the resulting issues. The Earth Science Education Unit (ESEU) intends to develop a new workshop to support the teaching of this…

Today, science teachers continue to seek ways to improve their instruction and become credentialed as "highly qualified" in their field. This paper describes how science and science education faculty at the University of Massachusetts and veteran K-12 science teachers, with funding from the National Science Foundation, designed Science…

There is increasing interest in collaborative arrangements between schools and community scientists to enhance student engagement with learning. We describe research in which we identify a wide range of such collaborations in Australia, and investigate through interviews with community participants their perspectives on the purposes of…

Biology in Context ("bik") is a project that aims to improve biology teaching in lower secondary schools in Germany. Based on a theoretical framework derived from the National Educational Standards, four competence areas should be fostered in biology education: subject knowledge; inquiry acquisition; subject-related communication; and…

In the natural world, learning emerges from the joy of play, experimentation, and inquiry as part of everyday life. However, this kind of informal learning is often difficult to integrate within structured educational curricula. This report describes an educational program that embeds naturalistic learning into formal high school, college, and…

Worldwide, science education reform movements are stressing the need to promote "scientific literacy" among young people. Increasingly, this is taken to include empowering students to engage critically with science-related news reporting. Despite this requirement now featuring in statutory curricula throughout the UK, there has, to date,…

Describes the background and 38 steps of the development of the Australian Science Education Project (ASEP) Curriculum. Discusses some implications and eight points using formative evaluation to improve science curriculum materials. (YP)

The many activities contained in this teaching guide emphasize hands-on involvement, prediction, data collection and interpretation, teamwork, and problem solving. The guide also contains background information about aeronautical research that can help students learn how airplanes fly. Following the background sections are a series of activities…

Attempts to assess the impact of the NSF science curriculum projects have been generally unsatisfactory. Much of the NSF impact on science education will probably continue to defy quantification. Whether or not the new curricula achieve their goal of increasing scientific literacy among the public can only be evaluated over the lifetimes of the…

California's public schools have struggled since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, and today face enormous challenges to try to regain lost quality and standing as a national education leader. In light of the current economic crisis, competition for limited resources is fierce and the pressure is on to eliminate all but the basic "Three…

Presented is a detailed study of National Science Foundation programs in pre-college science education. The development of policies and operational procedures were traced over the past quarter of a century and their impact on management practice was analyzed. The report is presented in two parts: Volume 1, the findings and recommendations, and…