Reviews Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) materials. The program, consisting of 97 nonsequential biology/ecology activities (games, simulations, crafts, experiments, data analyses), teach environmental concepts and an understanding/appreciation of the environment. Indicates effectiveness of the materials in motivating students,…

Discusses how the science faculty at one rural Massachusetts school responded to the state mandate requiring basic competency testing for all students. The approach taken (includes unit on Connecticut River) does not call for major changes in science course format, only in broadening definition of the responsibilities of science teaching.…

Highlights several basic ecological principles and suggests corresponding classroom activities for grades five to eight that revolve around a freshwater aquarium. Basic ecological concepts, adaptations, characteristics of aquatic habitats, and pollution problems are outlined in separate tables. A short list of resource materials is included.…

Evaluative research generally supports claims that outdoor education experiences facilitate positive affective growth. The body of literature is sparse, however, and many research proejcts are of inferior quality. (WB)

Provided are two informational sheets, one on puffers and one on carrageen (Irish Moss) and two classroom activities, one on buoyancy in fresh and salt water and one on water surface tension. (DC)

Provides lists of instructional strategies for elementary school science focusing on: (1) the biological sciences; (2) forces, movement, and energy, and (3) the physical sciences. (JN)

Describes the development of a systematic instrument for assessing the impact of an environmental science course on students' behavior outside school. Students in an inquiry-oriented experimental curriculum significantly increased their leisure time activities in environmental science over students in traditional classrooms. (DS)

Inservice mini-courses using a learning cycle instructional strategy (exploration, invention, discovery) have been developed. A description of the mini-course format (compatible with inservice programs sponsored by school systems), sample outline, and list of courses developed (with themes of environmental science and/or energy) are included.…

Water pollution curriculum units of four environmental secondary science programs in Britain, Germany, Israel, and the United States are examined. Comparisons reveal the use of quite different approaches in central topic selection, use of the laboratory and other media, controversial issues, and teacher-student roles. (CS)

Only if preservice teachers have the opportunity to learn to teach beyond the schoolroom will they attempt to do it when they assume full-time teaching positions. To venture beyond the status quo will require at least an experiential background with the methods, techniques, and values of environmental education. (Author)

Compares and discusses implications of future scenarios proposed by Herman Kahn and the Hudson River Institute and by the Club of Rome. Includes a decision-tree exercise appropriate for the classroom which involves five different future scenarios. (DC)

Describes a self-paced undergraduate environmental science course focusing on a theme that earth is similar to a spaceship inasmuch as: (1) both possess finite room and resources, and (2) living things are dependent upon life-support systems for continued survival. Includes a list of laboratory and learning activities. (DS)

Summarizes the need for and history of the World Conservation Strategy and itemizes the main objectives, criteria for deciding priorities, and intended audiences. Focuses on the educational relationships between the strategy and the Tbilisi Report on Environmental Education and their joint application to environmental issues. (DC)

Surveys social, economic and environmental characteristics of Japan in the 1960s and 1970s and describes their influence on curriculum changes in secondary science education. Discusses Japanese attitudes towards nature as a foundation for environmental education, the impact of western culture on this attitude, and the future of environmental…

Discusses the role of scientific information in four areas: research management, distinctions between science issues and policy issues, criteria development and standard setting, and risk analysis. Recommends ways to improve the process by which scientific data are evaluated and incorporated into standard-setting actions by EPA decision makers.…