In this project, we suggest building a real model of solar village inside schools, which use only solar energy. Such projects emphasize the importance of energy for a technological society and the advantage of alternative energy sources. In this study, we report on pupils in the 6th grade in three elementary schools in Israel who were active…

Sefton School Advisory Service has been working with Crossens Nursery School in Southport on a project to develop science and technology. The overall project was inspired by the visit of the headteacher to the Reggio Emilia school in Italy. Central to the Reggio approach is a philosophy which values the children as researchers and as partners with…

Epistemological beliefs, or beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing, are currently a target of increased research interest. The present study examined two research questions: (1) how do epistemological beliefs change over time? and (2) what role do gender, ethnicity, SES, and achievement play in their development? The study was…

This study investigated the validation of Turkish version of the Teacher Communication Behavior Questionnaire (TCBQ) in a cross-study of elementary school science classrooms. The effects of gender and grade level on students' perceptions of their teachers' behaviors were also examined. Questionnaire includes five scales namely challenging,…

In this study, we hypothesize that cases demonstrating exemplary practice in the science classroom can be used as a source for learning content and pedagogical skills that will improve teachers' self-efficacy beliefs. Twelve preservice elementary science teachers are followed as they participate in a case and case method activity illustrating the…

With the advent of the standards movement, most states have produced statewide tests that evaluate children's understanding of expository science text. Expository texts are designed to explain, describe, or present a logical argument. Usually, the purpose of expository texts is to present new information. This article describes a research-based…

Research has revealed that students' alertness and attentiveness are affected by time of day preferences. A review of relevant literature indicated that preferences are significant in predicting performance levels for school children, and that matching students with peak times is not only beneficial for academic subjects, but also influences…

The research described in this paper investigates the use of portfolio assessment techniques in middle school science classrooms. It explores how alternative assessment frameworks, such as portfolios, can be used by the classroom teacher and the students as an indicator of students' conceptual understanding and to facilitate changes in science…

At the same time that educators and researchers are identifying ways in which major reform and restructuring is needed in schools, research on student learning in science (and other subjects) from constructivist and conceptual-change perspectives is suggesting the potential for significant improvements in students' understanding of science and…

This guide is one of a set of 10 science guides, each covering a separate grade in Manitoba, together covering kindergarten through grade 9. The guides have been designed to provide a framework for building scientific concepts and developing the learning of process skills. They replace an earlier set of guides dated 1979. Each guide is essentially…

A quantitative synthesis of multivariate studies in science education during the past ten years yields evidence to support a model of achievement in science very much like that currently proposed in the literature of expert problem-solving. Despite previous claims, spatial visualization and verbal ability predict additional variance in achievement…

The National Research Council is coordinating the development of national standards for science education in grades K through 12. By the fall of 1994, National Science Education Standards will be completed and published. The standards will contain narrative descriptions of what all students should be able to do to engage and understand the natural…

When teachers search the literature for activities they can do with their students, they are exposed to science process vocabulary that is improperly used and ambiguous in meaning. This is particularly so with the science process skills of observing, inferring, and hypothesizing. This study examines the process understanding of science teachers at…

The assertion that there is a social component to children's construction of knowledge about natural phenomena is supported by evidence from an examination of children's classification schemes for plants. An ethnographic study was conducted with nine sixth grade children in central Texas. The children classified plants in the outdoors, in a…

This report summarizes and compares the views of six experts-three university professors and three elementary teacher-concerning elementary-level science teaching. The experts were asked to treat the topic comprehensively by addressing the following: (1) issues of curriculum (goals and objectives, selection and organization of content); (2)…