While women's representation in math and the physical sciences has improved over the past decade, it will be 20 years before women achieve equal representation at the bachelor's level in these fields. In a series of interviews conducted with students in college-level science programs in Montreal (Canada) community colleges, the majority of female…

This booklet contains summaries of more than 200 classroom projects developed by Idaho elementary school teachers and submitted by the teachers in response to a request by the governor. Of the submissions, 15 were specially selected for excellence. These are profiled first. The remaining projects are summarized under topic headings of: (1)…

As the nation pursues the goal of becoming first in the world in science achievement among students, many are advocating an instructional approach that emphasizes activities and learning by doing. Instructional approaches in science education that involve activity and direct experience have become collectively known as hands-on science. This…

Presenting syntheses of research on effective instruction in 30 program areas, this paper is designed as a resource to assist teachers in expanding and refining their repertoire of teaching strategies and to guide instructional planning and decision making. For each program area, the paper presents a "finding" (a one-sentence statement…

Indicators of current issues and concerns in the assessment of science teaching and learning outcomes are discussed. The greatest public attention to science test scores is devoted to scores from assessments that are external to schools, including national assessments such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), international…

In an era when the U.S. educational enterprise, particularly in mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering, has been found to be seriously flawed and has come under criticism from many different sectors, it is essential for science and mathematics educators from the nation's predominantly undergraduate institutions to take the lead in…

This guide presents lesson plans, with handouts, biographical sketches, and teaching guides, which show ways of integrating African American role models into mathematics and science lessons in kindergarten through grade 6. The guide is divided into mathematics and science sections, which each are subdivided into groupings: kindergarten through…

A project was undertaken to test feminist teaching strategies designed to improve women students' confidence and engagement in the physical sciences classroom. The strategies under study included peer-support partnerships, writing in the learning process, and systematic self-disclosure by the teacher. In each of four semesters from 1991 to 1992,…

Examining the question, "Why are children not mastering what they ought to be learning in school?," this book merges cognitive science with educational agenda to show how incompatible children's minds and natural patterns of learning are to current educational materials, practices, and institutions, making a case for restructuring the…

Many are aware that factors other than academic talent help to determine a student's success or failure in school A 4-year longitudinal study including 87 men and 34 women at North Carolina State University examines gender differences in students' academic performance, persistence in chemical engineering, and attitudes toward their education and…

Connecticut is developing a new grade 10 statewide testing program known as the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT). The CAPT reflects the changing nature of standardized assessment by using a variety of assessment formats including performance tasks, open-ended questions, and multiple-choice tests. This paper describes the research that…

This practicum was designed to increase elementary education interns' use of video technology within the science curriculum. Interns from previous semesters were not using technology within their final semester projects, and most were not comfortable using technology. The purpose of this practicum was to increase the scientific and technological…

It has been reported that very little time is spent in the classroom on environmental education subjects unless the teacher has a special interest in the specific topic of study. This lack of time for environmental education coupled with the lack of adequate time allotted for mathematics and science instruction suggests that integrating the…

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Program for Mathematics and Science Education of the U.S. Department of Education provided a forum in which state and federal representatives could develop strategies to support the implementation of recently developed mathematics and science education standards. This conference report describes the presentations and…

Reflecting a collaboration in terms of content areas, levels, and audience, this volume represents the efforts of science teachers and reading teachers to understand and help one another fine tune their craft. Chapters in the volume include: (1) "Metacognition, Reading and Science Education" (Linda Baker); (2) "Science and Reading:…