The recent release of the National Science Education Standards and the previous release of Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy have initiated science education reform at the state, district, and local school levels. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which a group of science teachers, administrators, and a curriculum…

This paper is the written account of a panel presentation about inquiry-oriented teaching practices. The purpose of this group of papers is to provide an opportunity to explore the state of knowledge of inquiry-oriented teaching based on direct observation of teachers, and analysis of those observations from an inquiry perspective. The paper…

This paper investigates middle school students' particular beliefs about the process of scientific inquiry as well as their beliefs about learning science, specifically the level of autonomy appropriate and their preference for memorization or understanding. Data collection instruments included a beliefs assessment, measures of student…

This study is part of a larger study on the problems that high school students' have in the interpretation and production of drawings and graphic representations in practical work in the biology laboratory, specifically with the use of the microscope. This part of the study focuses on classroom discourse among students and teacher as they use the…

This report documents the efforts of 15 Michigan school districts to bring about long term changes and improvement in the way science is taught to elementary school students. Over a three year period encouraging results on several fronts were noted, among which were improvements in student learning; an increase in teachers' abilities, confidence,…

This preliminary case study examined the philosophical perspectives of mathematics teachers at a high school situated near the Texas/Mexico border along the lower Rio Grande river valley. Ninety-eight percent of the students and 69% of the teachers are Hispanic. The mathematics teachers were administered a questionnaire that gauged their…

This is the fourth book in a sequence of four volumes written and designed for parents of students of science, particularly for those at the lower and upper elementary and junior high or intermediate level, senior high students, college students preparing to teach science, and all those individuals who are interested in science and the application…

This book was written to make it easier for classroom teachers to teach students the skills they need to successfully conduct, analyze, and report an experiment and to carry out independent research; it also presents strategies for holding successful science competitions. Part 1 contains field-tested teaching strategies for developing student…

This monograph describes the Curriculum Inquiry Cycle (CIC), focusing on the first phase. The CIC is a professional development process that supports educators in making curriculum and instruction decisions responsive to state standards, local needs, and student characteristics. The process is designed to improve learning and teaching, with the…

This manual is intended to give novice and veteran teachers a basis for inquiry within their classrooms. The following sections are intended to guide the reader through an introduction to practicing inquiry within the classroom: Philosophical Overview, Historical Overview, Use in the Classroom, How to Establish Inquiry in Your Classroom, and…

The document claims that American Indians are the least represented culturally different population in science-related fields of study. In American Indian community schools, science is still taught using outdated conformity-and-assimilation strategies, which neglect consideration of Native American cultural views. The report describes a study…

Students must have uninterrupted periods of time to process information, to reflect on what has been said, observed, or done, and to consider what their personal responses will be. After at least three seconds of uninterrupted silence, a significant number of positive outcomes occur for students and teachers. Students are more effective in…

This paper explored how art history is taught in secondary schools. The author maintained that identifying the origins and evolution of ideas ensures that proposed models of teaching art history adhere to the philosophical base from which they derive. The paper is divided into five sections. In the first part, the author described four categories…

This collection of essays describes practices in environmental education and points to possibilities in the field. The intention is to appraise selected practices in order to prepare the ground for a consideration of alternative images of environmental education that may shape future action. The following articles are included: (1) "A…

This collection of lectures includes the following contributions from faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder: (1) "Aloof Professors and Shy Students" (Patricia Nelson Limerick); (2) "Teaching the Thundering Herd: Surviving in a Large Classroom" (Charles R. Middleton); (3) "The Scientist as a Story Teller" (R. Igor Gamow); (4) "Active…