Information on the content of the intended science curriculum, what science was actually taught by the teachers, and how that science was taught is presented. Student achievement and attitudes were assessed using tests and questionnaires. Data were obtained from teachers regarding whether the content had been taught to the students (n=657) who…

Describes a first-year laboratory course designed to fulfill laboratory objectives of reinforcing lecture material, teaching experimental methodology, developing hands-on skills, and imparting a sense of error. The course's six segments examine: digital electronics with students building a photogate timer; error analysis; linear accelerated…

Asserts that scientific details presented informally in newspapers can be of educational value within school science instruction when used carefully and critically. Suggests that one of the aims of the science curriculum should be the development of students' willingness and ability to study newspaper science with understanding and healthy…

Proposes the following recommendations: (1) research should be a collaborative endeavor; (2) teachers should be action-researchers; (3) research must be close to the classroom; (4) an investigative society should be created; and (5) research should inform policy. (PR)

Science teachers and teacher educators need to reexamine the geoscience content in their courses. Public ignorance about science, in general, and about key concepts of the geological sciences, in particular, inhibits effective action on problems relating to environmental change, land utilization, hazard mitigation, construction safety, cost…

Describes the four major phases of a science project to create a school-site native plant habitat: (1) planning the habitat area; (2) constructing the habitat; (3) writing the related curriculum; and (4) providing inservice programs to other interested science teachers. (MDH)

A challenge for urban systemic reform initiatives in science education has been to achieve local, state, and national standards for teaching and learning. We have collaborated with teachers in the Detroit Public School System to design project-based curriculum materials that contextualize the learning of science in meaningful real-world problems,…

International comparisons of American education have become so popular and widespread in the reform debates of the last several decades that many of the current centerpieces of the American reform movement were shaped through evidence and speculation on what other more educationally successful nations were doing that the U.S. was not. The current…

Based on the exploratory study of a 3D multiuser virtual environment (3D MUVE), known as Quest Atlantis (QA), in a series of Primary Four (10- to 11-year-olds) Science lessons at Orchard Primary School in Singapore, this paper examines the issues of learning engagement and describes the socio-cultural context of QA's implementation. The students…

Extant literature on the underrepresentation of African Americans in science-related careers has identified numerous factors that correlate with students' career considerations. While these correlations provide substantial insight, the tendency to infer cause is problematic. This position paper draws on data from an exploratory study to illustrate…

"Elementary Science: Where are We Now?" is a review of Elementary Science Education from the 1960s to 1999. Curriculum moved from uniform programs in the 1960s based on two assumptions to a wide diversity of goals, philosophies, and types of materials in the 1970s. The two assumptions behind the elementary science curriculum programs of…

The Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform model (TCSR) recognizes teaching context, teacher characteristics, teacher thinking, and their interactions as influential factors in attempts to implement classroom reform. Using the TCSR model, teachers' personal practical theories, and conceptual change as a framework, the authors of this article studied…

This manual is an overview of the science curriculum intervention that occurred in a federally funded project to identify and serve the needs of gifted and talented economically disadvantaged students (grades 3-8) from minority populations. An introduction discusses the training in curriculum development and methodology, based on Bloom's Taxonomy…

This paper reviews the educational research related to student understanding of water and water resources. The literature is drawn primarily from science and environmental education literature and is divided into student knowledge of: physical and chemical properties, biology, earth systems and water resources. The majority of work has been in the…

This document describes Project A+, a cooperative school and privately funded program designed to assist the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in becoming an exemplary school district by the year 2000. The project is divided into four components. The curriculum development component presents three new curricula piloted in AISD schools in…