This paper describes the outcomes of a two-day Higher Education focus group meeting at Blencathra Field Centre, Cumbria, in November 2003. A review of the current status of fieldwork in undergraduate courses was undertaken. The data available indicates that although the number of students enrolling in Biological Science courses has increased, in…

Since 2002, Project WHIRL (Wireless Handhelds In Reflection on Learning) has investigated potential uses of handheld computers in K-12 science classrooms using a teacher-involved process of software development and field trials. Te project is a three-year research and development grant from the National Science Foundation, and it is a partnership…

Decades of research have provided evidence that food irradiation is a safe technology that can decrease the incidence of foodborne diseases; however, adoption of this technology has been slow. The purpose of our study was to qualitatively explore the effectiveness of various components of a professional development training on family and consumer…

Just-in-Time Teaching (ITT) is a teaching and learning approach that combines the best features of traditional in-class instruction with the communication and resource potential available via the Web. We describe here how ITT can be used to teach biology to undergraduate and graduate level students, both science majors as well as non science…

The article is a report on a development project arising from collaboration between the Department of Education in the University of Oulu, the university training school in Oulu, and some secondary schools in Northern Finland. The key aims of the project have been to promote the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teacher…

The "Science: It's Elementary" (SIE) program is overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and managed by ASSET Inc. SIE is an initiative aimed at improving elementary science instruction across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The program is focused on helping schools and districts implement an inquiry-based, hands-on…

The study sought to find out the views of pupils, teachers and parents on the usefulness of the educational curriculum (i.e. organization, content and methodology) and co-curricular activities in the preparation of pupils for future employment. Questionnaires and focus group discussions were used in collecting data for the study across the length…

"Critical Issues and Practices in Gifted Education: What the Research Says" is the definitive reference book for those searching for a summary and evaluation of the literature on giftedness and gifted education. The book presents almost 50 summaries of important topics in the field, providing relevant research and a guide to how the research…

Inverness Research studied the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Seminars on Science program for eight years, from its inception in 1998 to 2006. This paper presents teacher survey ratings for "Genetics, Genomics, Genethics", along with profiles of three teachers who took the course. Course takers report on the annual follow-up…

We describe a case study of an in-service professional development project with four experienced biology teachers in two upper secondary schools. The objective was to better understand the role of laboratory work (labwork) in science education with a special emphasis on assessment. Research questions include the following: 1. What does the teacher…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 590 Culminating…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

This paper explores the significance of experiential learning in promoting scholarship from a constructivist point of view. Chapter 1 examines the historical perspectives and educational theories that form the basis to experiential education. Chapter 2 explores the work of Jean Piaget, giving a description and explanation of his theories and how…

Teachers and researchers alike have advocated over the last decade writing across the curriculum, which has tremendous potential both for improving the writing process and as a tool for helping students develop subject matter understandings. In particular, evidence shows that writing-to-learn has promise as a powerful tool for supporting students…

Efforts to address the problems of access and achievement for minorities and women in mathematics and science have been focused primarily at the secondary level. However, it has become increasingly apparent that intervention needs to begin earlier. This directory identifies and briefly characterizes intervention programs serving young minority…