This article introduces and contextualizes the content of this theme issue of "The American Biology Teacher" (ABT), which focuses on integrating elements of the history of science (HOS) in biology instruction. Such orientations can enhance students' understanding of core biological concepts and the process of scientific discovery by…

This paper scrutinizes the contribution of Romulo de Carvalho to the development of the Portuguese science curriculum, arguing that it was critically informed by his lifetime inclination to the humanities. It focuses on a particular historical event: the 1948 chemistry programme for the secondary school "Liceus". The paper briefly…

A main reason for using the history of science in classroom instruction is its utility in promoting students' understanding of the nature of science (NOS). As indicated in such documents as the "National Science Education Standards," it is important to help students develop their understanding of NOS so that they will become more critical…

Appeals to reform science education by policy makers are not new phenomena. To be sure, while science reform efforts have been ongoing occurrences for nearly six decades, perpetual educational reform efforts as a whole have been evolving and gaining momentum in number for more than a century. The general motivation for continual reform appears to…

Current high school Earth Science curricula and textbooks organize scientific content into isolated "units" of knowledge. Within this structure, content is taught, but in the absence of the context of fundamental understandings or the process of how the science was actually done to reach the conclusions. These are two key facets of scientific…

Successful implementation of historical approach to teach nature of science (NOS) requires suitable curriculum material. Several research and development projects have produced lesson plans for science teachers. 25 lesson plans from four different projects involved in creating curriculum material utilizing historical approach in chemistry…

Traces the inception of laboratory activities in the instruction of physics in American secondary and higher education institutions. In particular, the impact of Edwin Hall on secondary school physics instruction is described. (CP)

Discusses experience of teaching a "Search in Science" course to college nonscience majors entitled "From Myth to Mechanism: A Study of Man's Changing Concepts of the Universe from Early Mythological Beliefs to the Development of Modern Scientific Laws." Historical explanation of the development of physical concepts is stressed. (CC)

Educational programs for young children emerged reasonably early in the history of the United States of America. The movements of Child-Centered Education, the Nursery School, the Project Method, Curriculum Reform, and contemporary research have all influenced mathematics in early childhood education. The Froebelian kindergarten and the Montessori…

Argues for the inclusion of a history of science component into the secondary school science curriculum. Provides examples of instances in which a historical perspective would be a suitable means to study a topic. (CP)

This module is designed to aid K-12 teachers to begin developing an awareness of the technological contributions of Black Americans to the United States' social and economic development during the 19th and 20th centuries. The module also demonstrates the ways in which selected teaching strategies may be developed to supplement regular classroom…

This book provides a guide to college faculty with limited Internet experience on how to incorporate the World Wide Web (WWW) into college curriculum and instruction. The book begins with an informal history of computing and a guide to the geography of the Internet, and goes on to provide an analytical framework for thinking about networks,…

This paper proposes a teaching model for the implementation of a Science-Technology-Society (STS) curriculum. The topics of technologic literacy, STS goals, and STS instruction are included. The historical and contemporary perspective of technology is addressed. The Graham model of STS instruction is compared with the Oregon instructional model.…

Three changes in elementary science teaching have exhibited the pendulum effect: teaching the process skills of science, teaching science by inquiry, and teaching science by individualized instruction. (BB)

This document contains the full texts of plenary lectures presented at a conference which focused on developments in integrated science education (ISE), between 1968 and 1978, and on issues and new trends in science education in the 1980s and 1990s. These lectures include: (1) "Interaction of Science and Society" (J. C. Terlouw); (2) "A Review of…