The standard two-semester organic chemistry course at Texas Christian University was reorganized as a two-cycle course. In addition, lectures and laboratories were made into separate courses with the laboratory consisting of a formal lecture session and experimental work. The structure, advantages, and disadvantages of the course are discussed.…

A 2-month program for third-year students at Yeshiva's Albert Einstein College of Medicine that provides a model for integrating basic sciences and clinical training is described. It demonstrates the importance of lifelong learning in a field that constantly changes. (Author/MLW)

Offers perspectives on approaching and teaching a biology course for nonmajors. Proposes that teaching less may better prepare students to become more scientifically literate. Identifies areas and priorities that may effectively contribute to students' understanding of science. (JM)

Explains how public awareness of environmental issues in the Federal Republic of Germany has developed in recent years and provides examples of how this awareness has been manifested in environmental action and education groups. (JDH)

Examines the extent to which technology and applied physics should be included in introductory physics courses. Areas explored include the meaning of applied physics, the nature of pure and applied physics, and applied physics as viewed by a scientist, an educator, and society. Implications for the physics curriculum are addressed. (JN)

Discusses two factors to consider when initiating advanced placement (AP) chemistry, namely, the quality of those teaching the program and the time necessary to teach the relevant concepts. Suggests offering laboratory sessions during evening hours as an alternative to traditional daytime arrangements for laboratory blocks. (JN)

A longitudinal research study in Israel was designed to investigate effects of mutual interrelations between courses in sequential teaching on long-term retention of learning in a science curriculum. The results implied that a program composed of a hierarchical sequence of learning units is superior to a discontinuous array of discrete courses.…

Outlines goals and topics for a course on technology and literature. Subjects, authors, and readings are listed under: impact of nature, technology, and society on the self-concept; language as a technology; new perspectives; and imaginative literature. Student projects (with summaries of selected ones) are described. (DH)

Chemistry students selected a main group of the periodic table, researched the group, and then presented a 70-minute lecture on the group; conducted two lecture demonstrations; and performed two laboratory experiments. This was done to determine what descriptive chemistry should be included in a new sophomore-level inorganic chemistry course. (JN)

Describes an advanced high school chemistry course that exposes students to a wide variety of modern, realistic instrumental techniques. The laboratory syllabus for the course (which uses the textbook "Organic Chemistry" by Morrison and Boyd) is included. (JN)

Discusses factors leading to the development of a four-year industrial chemistry program at Michigan Technological University and provides details of its structure. Includes brief descriptions of courses required in industrial chemistry but not in the traditional chemistry program and list of optional courses. (JN)

Compared 2,500 13- and 17-year-old students in the United States with 350 13-year-old and 340 17-year-old students in Israel using test items from the 1976 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) efforts. The study was designed to examine the results of school science upon affective outcomes of instruction. (JN)

Discusses: (1) the place of physics in the 11-16 curriculum; (2) the content of physics courses; (3) physics examinations; (4) Manpower Services Commission (MSC) involvement; and (5) resources and staffing concerns. Indicates that there are difficulties in recruiting/retaining adequate physics teachers and that there are inadequate physics…

During the past fifty years movements to reform science education have used the same ideas for changing the context of science teaching. Policies need to be established for identifying the knowledge and skills necessary for reformulating the science curriculum. (MD)

Explains why the United States's academic achievement and interest in science declined in the 1970s. Explains four important aspects of science that prove it is appropriate for all students. Explains the need to promote science literacy for all to maintain the United States position as a major world power. (SB)