This paper reports on an on-going action research study of the elementary school science education courses at the University of Victoria. The Department of Social and Natural Sciences requires that professors evaluate their teaching effectiveness annually using a variety of methods including student evaluations, peer observations, course outline…

This study reports the use of a valid and reliable instrument, "Attitudes and Beliefs About the Nature of and the Teaching of Mathematics and Science," to measure teacher candidates' attitudes and beliefs about the nature of mathematics and science teaching. This paper examines how teacher candidates felt over 3 years. Teacher candidates…

This teaching kit features six activities focused on helping students understand the significance of the world population reaching six billion for our society and our environment. Featured activities include: (1) History of the World: Part Six Billion; (2) A Woman's Place; (3) Baby-O-Matic; (4) Earth: The Apple of Our Eye; (5) Needs vs. Wants; and…

This guide is designed to provide ideas on how to integrate biodiversity into teaching at many levels in both formal and informal settings. These curriculum materials are part of the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) environmental education program called Windows on the Wild (WOW). WOW incorporates current data from projects around the world and draws…

This 23-minute videotape features information, for children in grades K-4, about stars including their composition, brightness, and location. How stars are formed, why they seem to move across our sky, and how humans have used their patterns to form the constellations are discussed. A hands-on activity related to the reflecting telescope is also…

This document presents a collection of articles selected from the Journal of College Science Teaching. The selected articles represent how college science teaching should be practiced and include modifications in classrooms and laboratories to allow for the development of inquiry skills. Articles include: (1) "What Should Students Learn about the…

Thinkback is a new instructional process that uses "thinking aloud" strategies developed by Arthur Whimbey and derives its name from the technology of instant video playback. Thinkback is a generalization of techniques described in the program "Problem Solving and Comprehension," which has been used for more than 20 years. The…

This study investigates the ideas and beliefs of a small group of high school science teachers about student observations in the science classroom. Student views on science classroom observations have been previously reported on, but teachers and their students' ideas about observation is a very little researched area in science education. There…

This teacher's guide and student text detail the causes and effects of earthquakes and tsunamis. In the teacher's guidebook, suggested activities for each section of the text book's chapters as well as answers to the chapter test problems are presented. Worksheet masters are also provided. Chapters in both books are: (1) "Outside and Inside…

This is intended to be a how-to-do guide for the elementary classroom teacher whose principal has recently said, "We usually teach more science. You know our children are living in a scientific age." It's for teachers who want to learn some down-to-earth things about how to begin to teach science if they don't know much subject matter,…

This report describes efforts to create and test variables measuring students' high-school coursetaking in mathematics, foreign language, and science, using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) NELS:88 transcript file (National Center for Education Statitstics (NCES) projects 1.2.4.13 and 1.2.4.39). The first project…

Describes a course offered to elementary education majors that attempts to combine chemistry theory with practice teaching and strives to instill positive attitudes toward the value of science in elementary schools. Course topics, student presentations, classroom teaching experience, discussion/observations about the experiences, and final paper…

Investigated effects of increasing middle school teachers' (N=40) wait time on general questioning skills in science teaching. Four groups (10 teachers each) were used: control; group receiving printed guides on discussion/techniques; group using an electronic feedback device; group using both guides and feedback device. Results, conclusions, and…

Evaluates influence of computer assisted instruction on engineering education, considering use of computers to remove burden of doing calculations and to provide interactive self-study programs of a tutorial/remedial nature. Cites universities requiring personal computer purchase, pointing out possibility for individualized design assignments.…

Meta-analytical procedures were used to review research studies dealing with Keller's Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), computer-based teaching, programed instruction, audio-tutorial instruction, and visual-based instruction. Results of most studies of student achievement and student ratings came out in favor of classes taught with these…