The "Technology Outlook Australian Tertiary Education 2013-2018: An NMC Horizon Project Regional Analysis" reflects a collaborative research effort between the New Media Consortium (NMC) and Open Universities Australia to help inform Australian educational leaders about significant developments in technologies supporting teaching,…

Lists 46 household chemicals readily available at local stores by common name, chemical name, chemical formula, and typical commercial source. Suggests that school budgetary constraints can be eased by this practice and that students can become more chemically literate as consumers. (JJK)

Described is an acid-leaching facility at Macquarie University in Australia for teaching paleontology. The facility is used for teaching both undergraduate and graduate students and for research by staff and graduate students. Drawings of the facility are included and courses are described. (Author/RH)

Describes various hazards associated with electricity and electrical usage that can result in fire, explosion, burn, and shock. Presents diverse techniques and methods that one can utilize to protect laboratory personnel from common, yet dangerous, electrical hazards. (Author/JJK)

Smaller amounts of materials are used in organic chemistry experiments as a means of improving air quality in the laboratory. Presents a preliminary study of the emissions from selected processes and the mixing of these emissions within the laboratory atmosphere. (JN)

Guidelines are offered to research administrators for reducing the volume of hazardous laboratory waste. Suggestions include a chemical location inventory, a chemical reuse facility, progressive contracts with chemical suppliers, internal or external chemical recycling mechanisms, a "chemical conservation" campaign, and laboratory fees for…

The Model Science Lab, a constructivist approach to teaching, strengthens urban science teachers' teaching practice. The retention rate of Houston science teachers who took part in the program was found to be very high and the cost of the Model Science Lab has proven less expensive per student than most other professional development options.

Discussed are causes of fires that occur in school science laboratories and ways of preventing them. (RH)

Smaller amounts of materials are used in organic chemistry experiments as a means of improving air quality in the laboratory. Outlines benefits from this approach and describes two representative experiments in detail. These experiments are the Cannizzaro reaction and preparation of an aromatic nitrile. (JN)

The goal of many colleges is to make the organic chemistry laboratory completely flameless by using electric heating equipment. Benefits of eliminating the Bunsen burner, electrical heating equipment and accessories, hazards remaining in flameless laboratories, and design standards related to laboratory liability are the major topic areas…

Designed as a "Participant's Manual" to be used as part of a "Chemical and Mercury Management in Schools Training," this document focuses on the policies and programs needed at the school and district level for safe and sustainable chemical and mercury management practices. This document is designed primarily for school…

Described are the Howard Hughes Medical Institute programs for providing funds to assist science education. One program is designed to assist private liberal arts colleges that are not affiliated with a graduate school. Other programs have been established to provide support for postdoctoral research and laboratories. (RH)

Reassess the influence of the Commission on Undergraduate Education in the Biological Sciences (CUEBS) upon current undergraduate biology instruction, 20 years after making its findings public. Emphasizes the importance for the new generation of biology educators to reattempt the achievement of CUEBS goals despite past failures. (24 references)…

The heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in older buildings often do not adequately handle air-borne contaminants. Outlines a three-stage Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) assessment and describes a case in point at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, school. (MLF)

This study reports on the courses in biological sciences offered in public high schools, enrollments in the course in general biology, number of teachers of general biology, organization of the course, nature of the laboratory work, laboratory and supplementary facilities, the equipment used in teaching the course, appropriations for equipment and…