Suggests using general system theory as a unifying theoretical framework for science and technology education for all. Five reasons are articulated: the multidisciplinary nature of systems theory, the ability to engage complexity, the capacity to describe system dynamics, the ability to represent the relationship between microlevel and…

Defines inquiry and inquiry-based instruction. Indicates the importance of inquiry in science education. (YDS)

Argues that physics education reform has been focused on classroom-based innovation rather than on the more political and institutional conditions required for long-lasting change. Stresses that reformers should pay attention to exogenous variables that get in the way of real reform. (Author/CCM)

The realization that teaching demands more than a sharing of information and testing for recall springs from an ever-increasing understanding of intelligence as modifiable, multiple, and multifaceted. Basic assumptions are that traditional methods are inadequate for some students; teaching is a strategic act of engagement; and changing one's…

Discusses how evolution and natural selection should be taught in the classroom. Presents a study investigating the effects of a nontraditional curriculum including creation stories on student attitudes toward evolution. Reports that a curriculum with creation stories is more effective in fostering scientific views about evolution. (Contains 22…

Explores the nature and type of evidence employed by participants in an issue of public concern. Examines how the different types of evidence were brought to bear on a socio-scientific issue involving environmental regulatory policy and the implications of this for school science curricula. (Contains 33 references.) (Author/YDS)

Defines the changes in the nature of biology during the past 50 years and relates biology to science education. Argues that biology curriculum should focus on human beings and the realities of life and living. (YDS)

Investigates pupils' perceptions of their experience with school science. Documents a range of views that pupils held about the science curriculum, aspects they found either interesting and/or valuable, and their views about its future content. Conducts 20 focus groups with 144 16-year-old students. Pupils' perspectives of school science reveal…

Describes a successful pilot program to develop and test a program that facilitates the linking of undergraduate research and education through radio astronomy. Based on the pilot experiences, students everywhere should be able to exploit the opportunity to strengthen their education through practical research using radio astronomy. (Author/SAH)

Describes a method of instructing students with a range of abilities that involves dividing the curriculum into layers. Provides a discussion of four steps for differentiating a science curriculum. Features of this approach include student choice of assignments based on their ability and motivation; oral evaluation of student assignments; and the…

Responses from 213 of 259 Arkansas agriculture teachers demonstrate strong support for granting science credit for agriculture. The most powerful predictors of support were perception of student benefits, enhancement of agriculture's status, and no adverse impact on existing agriculture programs. (SK)

Provides a description of a project used in the Cool Science and Technology Camps in which campers are presented with the challenge of developing and marketing their own brand of window cleaner. Topics such as chemistry, marketing, and cost analysis are intertwined as students prepare and plan their approach to product development. (DDR)

Provides the results of a study designed to inventory and collect descriptive information about ecotourism and those institutions that offer such courses in the United States. Twenty-one programs that currently offer at least one ecotourism or nature-based tourism course are identified. (DDR)

Describes four projects: (1) using diagnostic assessment to improve science learning; (2) issues in the implementation of evidence-based approaches in science education; (3) teaching pupils 'ideas-about-science'; and (4) understanding the researcher-user interface. Describes projects that are focused on curriculum development and explores how…

Identifies Leader Master Teachers' (LMTs) perceptions of restraining and driving forces in the implementation of an elementary-level science systemic reform initiative. A group process technique utilizing Lewin's force-field analysis concept provided the framework for professional development activities for 124 LMTs. Categories of supporting and…