The United States lags behind other countries in science literacy at the 4th, 8th, and 12th grade levels. Subsequently, this is seen at the higher education level, especially with gateway science courses. BIO 103-General Biology I is a gateway course at Lion University. Passing this course is crucial for students to progress in several science…

Describes efforts aimed at reforming physics courses for first-year engineering and science students at Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey. Discusses the establishment and working of the Physics Learning Center (PLC) and its impact on the retention and performance of students. (JRH)

Chemistry in the Community ("ChemCom") is a high-school level chemistry text developed by the American Chemical Society (ACS) designed for the college-bound student. The purpose of this study was to identify students enrolled in a university-level chemistry course designed for the nonscience major who had experienced the ChemCom…

This paper describes the simultaneous effects, including interactions, of two controlled instructional management variables and two student aptitudes on student achievement using a class-means model. Management variables were time allocated for learning with two levels of 45 and 50 class periods, and source of direction with three levels of…

Highlights a quantitative synthesis of research studies on Elementary Science Study, Science Curriculum Improvement Study, and Science A Process Approach, focusing on student performance/achievement, attitudes, process skills, and basic skills. Suggests that activities and instructional strategies from the programs be incorporated into existing…

Examined interactive effects of direction source (teacher, student, or group direction), allocated time, reading ability, and study orientation on student achievement (N=1108) on three Individualized Science Instructional System (ISIS) minicourses. Results (among others) indicate superiority of student-directed approach over teacher/group-directed…

This digest provides information about "Research Within Reach: Science Education. A Research-Guided Response to the Concerns of Educators," part of a series produced by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory, Inc., Charleston, West Virginia. (Previous volumes in the series focused on reading, elementary mathematics, oral and written…

This document consists of four sections. The first section includes two chapters which discuss the curriculum development projects of the 1960s and the goals of science education. The second section includes chapters which provide information about instructional strategies and systems, evaluation, the integration of science and other school…

A quantitative synthesis of research findings on the effects of three major activity-based elementary science programs developed with National Science Foundation support was conducted. Controlled evaluation studies of the Elementary Science Study (ESS), Science-A Process Approach (SAPA), or The Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) were used…

Describes the development of a series of audio-tutorial units for biological education at the junior high school level. Reports results of a comparative study between students using these units with students using a "normal" approach, based on the BSCS Yellow Version. (CS)

Measured the effects of three variations in the use of diagnostic-prescriptive (DP) teaching on the cognitive and affective biology achievement of high school students (N=93). Variations included: (1) no DP assistance; (2) teacher-managed DP; and (3) student-managed DP. Results favor DP approaches. (Author/JN)

Summarizes findings of seven studies dealing with how teacher behavior affects student performance in activity-centered science classrooms at the elementary and junior high school levels. Concludes that activity-centered classrooms encourage student creativity in problem solving, student independence, and help low ability students overcome initial…

During 1974, materials developed by the Australian Science Education Projects (ASEP) became available in final published form. The publication of these materials was an especially important undertaking since ASEP was the first national curriculum project, in any subject area, to be developed in Australia. This report presents research into four…

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).…

Examined effects of teaching method (self-directed, group-directed, teacher-directed), academic ability, student assessment of treatment, and allowed time on achievement in three Individualized Science Instructional System (ISIS) biology minicourses. Results, among others, indicated that individualized instruction favored high-ability students and…