Examines college (introductory level) biology textbooks commonly used since 1950. Reports trends in new textbooks including length, graphics and content. Makes projections of future trends. Identifies major issues facing colleges related to biology textbook users. (CW)

Presents information about mammals that have hooves, including definitions and descriptions of their characteristics. Contains teaching activities such as "Build a Paper Pachyderm,""Do the Funky Trunk Dance,""A Horse of a Different Color," and "Horns and Antlers." A reproducible quiz is also provided. (TW)

Presents information about rodents and lagomorphs, including definitions and the characteristics of these animals. Contains teaching activities such as "Habitats for Hoppers,""Cartoon Gnawers," and "The Great Rodent Expedition." Reproducible handouts for two of the activities are provided. (TW)

Presents information about insectivores, including definitions and characteristics of shrews, moles, hedgehogs, and tenrecs. Contains descriptions of the teaching activities "Little Starnose" and "You and a Shrew." A reproducible worksheet is provided for use in "You and a Shrew." (TW)

Presents information on sea mammals, including definitions and characteristics of cetaceans, pinnipeds, and sirenians. Contains descriptions of the teaching activities "Whale Music,""Draw A Whale to Scale,""Adopt a Sea Mammal," and "Sea Mammal Sleuths." (TW)

Discusses the need for quality computer software for science instruction. Argues that very little software is currently available that uses the computer's capabilities to provide quality science instruction. Describes microcomputer tutoring systems under development at the University of Pittsburgh that are intended to significantly add to the…

Describes a chemistry lab experiment in which a microcomputer is used to graph data. In the experiment a catalyst is used to decompose a commercial bleach. The computer's game port is used with a potentiometer to plot the volume of oxygen gas produced versus elapsed time. Courseware information is included. (TW)

Presents seven library media activities to be used with specific curriculum areas: "Into the Past with Historical Fiction" and "Critical Reading to Figure It Out" (Reading and Language Arts); "Electricity Experiments,""Classifying Insects," and "Fish" (Science); and "Citizenship and the…

Explains how a Forensic Science and Criminology unit can help in the development of science process skills, mastery of laboratory techniques, and assist in value clarification. Examples of investigations and activities that have been successful with fifth- and sixth-grade students are included. (ML)

Presents criteria for having students make their own games which are used by the class to review material covered in life science. Students are required to use recycled materials in producing the game and its accessories. Samples of some of the games produced are included. (TW)

Describes a study in Nigeria comparing achievement in biology with a student's preference for cooperative or competitive learning situations. Proposes that rural children prefer cooperative learning strategies while urban children prefer competitive ones. Presents data proposing that learning preference (cooperative vs competitive) directly…

Describes a computer program written in Microsoft BASIC for use on personal computers to calculate travel times of refracted waves in layered structures with arbitrary dipping interfaces. Exercises for student use are given to illustrate some of the basic properties of reversed refraction travel time graphs. (TW)

Describes how the graphics capabilities of the Apple Macintosh computer can be used in geological teaching by customizing fill patterns with lithologic symbols. Presents two methods for doing this: creating a dummy document, or by changing the pattern resource resident in the operating system. Special symbols can also replace fonts. (TW)

Reviews findings from a survey which focused on the teaching of global problems related to science and technology. Includes a ranking of 12 global problems and a listing of the survey's results. Presents six specific policy recommendations for programs and practices which support a Science-Technology-Society theme. (ML)

Provides descriptions about freshwater wetlands, such as marshes, swamps, and bogs. Contains three learning activities which deal with unusual wetland plants, the animals and plants in a typical marsh, and the effects of a draught on a swamp. Included are reproducible handouts and worksheets for two of the activities. (TW)