Inquiry is seen as an integral part of science education in the USA; however, few American science programs explicitly focus on the higher order thinking skills that are the precursors to inquiry. In this paper, Australian researchers report the result of using a version of the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) program in a…

This article describes a summer program for high school graduates planning to enter college and major in mathematics, or natural or health sciences. The program is Piagetian-based and designed to assist the students in preparing for problem solving in college by providing multidisciplinary concrete experiences in science and mathematics. (SA)

Describes a study of the influence of the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) program on the scientific creativity of secondary school students. Scientific creativity is measured by the Scientific Creativity Test for Secondary School Students. Results indicate that the program did promote the overall development of scientific…

Observes the progressive change in the cognitive development of students (n=141) over the course of their secondary education in an Australian private school. Analyzes data to investigate children's cognitive development across years 8, 10, and 12. Examines the influence of the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) Thinking…

Students using the Science Curriculum Improvement Study curriculum were informally observed to be incapable of defining a system although they could perform related tasks. A study was performed to determine students' understanding of various aspects of systems. (SD)

Describes OIC philosophy and development of SCIS, the Science Curriculum Improvement Study, materials and program. (CP)

Investigated were operative comprehension differences between 239 sixth and eighth grade pupils in activity oriented science programs and 249 students in a textbook oriented science program. Results indicated no differences among sixth graders, but activity oriented eighth graders scored higher than textbook oriented students. (SL)

Classificatory behavior of 41 fourth graders enrolled in a science program at the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. was assessed on an instrument adapted from Piaget's interviews with children on class inclusion. Developmental levels were related to student performance in the program. Data analysis shows that students with a high…

Discusses the possibilities of accelerating the rate of cognitive development and describes the design and trial of intervention lessons. Gives preliminary results from one laboratory school indicating that the possibility of accelerating general cognitive development is worth pursuing. (YP)

Discusses some endeavors to alleviate the problems associated with the high school-college interface in Australia. Describes three sources of remedies: high school teachers, high school students, and college students. (YP)

Examines whether participation in physical experiments together with social interaction with adults and school-mates favor the development of causal knowledge and the understanding of a complex physical subject. Concludes that the treatments can lead students to give up pre-causal explanations and to resort to physical ones. (Author/YP)

The United States-Japan Cooperative Science Program was initiated for the purpose of conducting research related to logical thinking and reasoning skills of science students. The findings of these research efforts were reported and discussed at a seminar for science educators from the United States and Japan. This report provides the review of the…

The Rutgers Astrophysics Institute is a program in which gifted high school students learn about contemporary science and its methods, and conduct independent authentic research using real-time data. The students use the processes of science to acquire knowledge, and serve as cognitive apprentices to an expert astrophysicist. A variety of…

The review of science education research for 1982 includes analyses of 455 studies reported in dissertation abstracts, journal articles, research papers, and papers presented at conferences. The organization of the review is topical. Topic areas include: (1) student characteristics and behavior (cognitive development, conceptual understanding,…

The purposes of this study were to investigate: (1) effectiveness of three small group teaching methods on the acquisition and retention of seriation abilities; (2) transfer of seriation abilities using the three treatments; and (3) relationship between visual and nonvisual seriation abilities. One hundred twenty first grade Canadian students were…