Decreasing interest in Science among students, confirmed by several investigations, calls for the need to revise the contents of the curricula for Science subjects, including Biology. Modern Biology curricula should not only contain key biological concepts but also provide a teacher with sufficient space to develop students' competencies of…

Recently, there have been many calls for an increase in instruction on the nature of science (NOS) in schools (i.e. NRC, 1996; NGSS Lead States, 2013). These calls recognize the importance of this topic at all levels of science education, but there is little guidance in terms of how to address it effectively in curricula. Similarly, there have…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Curriculum Development: Theory into Design.] This paper discusses the theoretical framework and curriculum materials that form the basis of the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) approach to learning and teaching physics. ISLE, as a philosophical approach to learning, has two core…

The development of scientifically literate citizens begins in the elementary school. Yet elementary school teachers are ill prepared to teach science (Trygstad, Smith, Banilower, Nelson, & Horizon Research, Inc., 2013). The research base on teacher preparation finds that programs designed to prepare elementary teachers are inadequate in…

In delivering chemistry courses by distance, a key challenge is to offer the learner an authentic and meaningful laboratory experience that still provides the rigour required to continue on in science. To satisfy this need, two distance general chemistry laboratory courses appropriate for Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) students, including chemistry…

The apartheid policies in South Africa had a marked influence on the accessibility and quality of school science experienced by the different race groups. African learners in particular were seriously disadvantaged in this regard. The issues of equity and redress were foremost in transformation of the education system, and the accompanying…

A brief overview of the 2007 National Federation of the Blind-Jernigan Institute Youth Slam Chemistry Track, a course of study within a science camp that provided firsthand experimental experience to 200 students who are blind and low-vision, is given. For many of these students, this was their first hands-on experience with laboratory chemistry.…

For various reasons, students do not have access to laboratory facilities and yet need courses in the laboratory sciences such as chemistry. This paper describes "Outreach Chemistry," a course developed to provide a chemistry laboratory experience for students attending schools that lack science laboratories. Designed for off-campus students whose…

Uses a university campus as the focus for a study of the entire watershed. Presents a context for incorporating pedagogical elements, interdisciplinary teaching, research experience, and active, collaborative strategies into a useful framework for undergraduate science education. (Author/KHR)

Explains the "Overview-Case Study Method" for teaching high school physics which has evolved from the author's experience/success with a program in which 90 percent of the high school's students take physics as an elective. Areas considered include methods, case studies, textbooks, multilevel physics, qualitative physics, and real-life…

Illustrates how teachers designed new science learning environments based on research readings from science and technology studies and studied teaching and learning within these environments. Examples of students' science-related activities include videotaped laboratory activities, taped interviews, and student-produced artifacts collected over…

Discovery teaching advocates minimal teacher guidance. Materials from two curriculum development projects were evaluated with respect to this guidance. Results indicate a considerable discrepancy between curriculum intention and reality, as measured by the degree of teacher guidance afforded in the projects' instructional materials. (CP)

Discusses how "live" experiments were combined with media packages and recorded lectures to allow coverage of more material and foster greater student/teacher interactions. Notes were distributed at the beginning of the semester which allow students to record experimental data from class demonstrations. Problems and suggestions for course…

The quest for the inclusion of science inquiry in the curriculum now spans three centuries. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Armstrong, Dewey, and others espoused the teaching of science inquiry. The launch of Sputnik in 1957 began the strong emphasis on inquiry. Renewed interest in inquiry occurred in the late 1980s and 1990s with science…

Provides a point of view that the organic lab is a good place for the student to use and learn problem solving skills while performing the cookbook experiments. Notes that an equilibrium between the theoretical and practical aspects of organic chemistry should be established. (MVL)