Data gathered from large-scale assessments in the Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool (OAIP) are examined. Implications for science instruction are to be found at the item level; the items should not involve more than two or three steps if the responses are to be informative. Items are collected and linked to provincial curriculum guidelines. These…

Current interest in the content and methodology of college physical science instruction stems from a recently adopted general education program for Montgomery College, a two-year comprehensive community college. It is contended that physical science should play a major and vital role within the science component requirements of a student's program…

A study of the use of four tutorials written in Cicero authoring language for a second level Open University course, "Biological Bases of Behaviour," focuses on why students do or do not use computer assisted learning (CAL) tutorials and students' and tutors' beliefs about the educational utility and practicality of CAL tutorials. Data…

This study investigated the contributions of the professional qualification of biology teachers, laboratory facilities, and biology textbooks to the teaching of biology in 10 government and 10 harambee schools in Kenya. Biology is currently a compulsory subject in all secondary schools in this country. Data were obtained from questionnaires…

Student variables which influence attainment of ecological concepts and conceptual systems were investigated. Researcher-designed paper/pencil and free-sort categorization tests were administered to 256 Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) students in grades 4-6. Findings are: (1) grade and ability, not sex, influenced concept attainment…

Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) students in grades 4-6 were used to investigate ecological concept formation. Researcher-designed, multiple-choice and free-sort tasks were administered. Statistics utilized included analysis of variance, Spearman correlation, multiple regression, frequency distributions, and latent partition analysis.…

Resources that will help secondary students become more effective problem solvers are provided. The book describes techniques or tools and an overall strategy for solving problems. Throughout the book there are exercises that enable the student to practice the techniques. The first chapter provides an overview of the problem solving process.…

A desire to foster enduring, positive attitudes toward science teaching among elementary school teachers led to a study of self-perceptions. On the basis of evidence for strong links between locus of control orientation and attitudes, an attempt was made to enhance internality through instruction. A quasi-experimental research strategy was…

To provide information to support school district considerations of changes in mathematics and science instruction, three issues were considered: (1) the adequacy of the California Basic Education Data System (CBEDS) for supporting an analysis of subject matter instruction; (2) the distribution of teaching effort and student enrollments among…

This teaching guide contains materials corresponding to those found in the nine sections of the grade 3 elementary science textbook. It also contains lesson objectives, instructional strategies, classroom activities, and evaluation methods. Among the topic areas found in the nine sections are: (1) solar energy, electricity, and light; (2) solar…

Twenty-three activities dealing with various aspects of groundwater are provided in this manual. The activities are arranged under four headings: (1) the water cycle; (2) water distribution in soils (considering such topics as calculating water table depth and purifying water by filtering); (3) water quality (considering such topics as acid rain,…

This unit is one of a group of units written to fit the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS) chemistry course, but it could be used in most Sixth Form courses. The format for this unit is a decision-making or role playing situation. It includes: (1) background information for the teacher, with descriptions of the three roles for individuals or…

This paper reports on the evaluation of six pilot programs conducted in four Texas school districts to provide summer and after-school instruction for 2,084 students. The programs are described in terms of commonalities--cost, morale, transportation; and differences or contrasts--scheduling, cost, student identification, program philosophy,…

Four classes of high school chemistry students (N=108) were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups to investigate the effectiveness of a computer assisted instruction (CAI) package during a unit on writing/naming of chemical formulas and balancing equations. Students in the experimental group received drill, review, and reinforcement…

With the increase in prominence of the investigative approach in Hong Kong science curricula from the primary to the senior secondary level, there is urgency for local science educators including primary school teachers to gain a better understanding of pupils' existing cognitive understanding and reasoning ability for performing science…