In a traditional science classroom, only a portion of students walk away with a genuine understanding of the material, and even fewer are able to apply the concepts they have learned to events in their own lives. Foundations of Science (FOS) was developed in a cooperative effort between the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor public schools…

"How Students Learn: Science in the Classroom" builds on the discoveries detailed in the best-selling "How People Learn." Now these findings are presented in a way that teachers can use immediately, to revitalize their work in the classroom for even greater effectiveness. Organized for utility, the book explores how the principles of learning can…

Science materials reviewed include "TOPS" (an inquiry-based physical science program for grades five-eight consisting of 22 modules and three books, each covering a single topic) and "Come With Me Science Series" (interdisciplinary science units for grades K-three). Describes and assesses student/teacher materials, typical activities, and overall…

Presents accounts from primary teachers as they worked toward fostering questioning. Techniques included providing good stimuli for questions, having students share thoughts in groups of increasing size, and modeling good questions and question-asking. (PVD)

Argues that data analysis problems can be used successfully in large introductory microbiology courses, even when exams consist entirely of multiple-choice questions and out-of-class contact with the instructor is limited. Discusses course organization, problem structure, student performance and response, advantages of using data analysis…

Explores the relationship between ambiguity and uncertainty on one hand, and learning and school culture on the other, suggesting that schools must become places where uncertainty, ambiguity, and inquiry are cherished parts of the culture of learning. The paper includes high school faculty and students' reflections on such experiences. (SM)

Describes the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program which helps school library media specialists and science and math teachers bring earth science, math, information literacy, information technology, and student inquiry into the classroom. Discusses use of the Internet to create a global network to study the…

Fifty-three adolescents with learning disabilities or mild mental retardation were taught reasons for dinosaur extinction. Those taught in a mnemonic elaborative interrogation condition recalled more reasons than did students who received direct teaching. Students in elaborative interrogation and mnemonic elaborative interrogation groups recalled…

Action research, in which classroom teachers engage in systematic inquiry to develop new alternatives for approaching problematic classroom situations, is presented as a dimension of collaboration that has the potential to reduce teachers' resistance to changes in teaching practice as they work to accommodate diverse classroom populations.…

Argues urgently of need for more rigorous type of academic, scientific inquiry that gives intellectual priority to the cooperative tasks of articulating environmental, societal, and global problems, rather than the pursuit of technological progress. Proposes that this new form of inquiry should have as its basic aim to improve not just knowledge…

Discusses the relationship between educational theory and teacher professional knowledge. The paper presents eight criteria specifying types of educational inquiry processes which teacher educators and educational researchers must foster as a context for their activities. (SM)

Collaborative biography was used to examine the effects of a school-university partnership on two elementary teachers. The partnership made teachers fully responsible for supervising and evaluating student teachers. The article discusses common and differential effects emerging from apparent interactions with teachers' personalities and career…

Outlines the advantages to students of participation in a student-scientist partnership. Focuses on a collaborative forest watch project which enables students to meet state and national standards throughout the curriculum and provides teachers with the academic and material support to accomplish this. (DDR)

Provides general information on the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. Discusses the program design and development, science and education, the GLOBE computer and communications systems, student-scientist partnerships, and explains how to join the GLOBE program. (DDR)

Reports findings from the evaluation of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. Examines issues concerning student-scientist partnerships such as benefits of the program to students and scientists, enhancement of authentic science in schools through technology, and the relationship between this program and…