Translating written curricular materials into rich, complex, learning environments is an undertheorized area in science education. This study examines two critical cases of teachers enacting a technology-rich curriculum focused on the development of complex reasoning around biodiversity for fifth graders. Two elements emerged that significantly…

Despite its importance as a central goal in environmental education, there appears to be little consensus about how best to document, assess and evaluate understanding of environmental concepts. This illustrative case study describes and demonstrates the use of the concept mapping strategy as an effective tool for assessing environmental…

In the project presented in this article, high school students create and observe miniecosystems in an ecology unit designed around a 5E (engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation) instructional model. Students choose a wide variety of organisms and use creativity to design miniecosystems. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

Delivery and formatting techniques for technical materials have traditionally been determined by common sense, not cognitive theory. In fact, for hundreds of years, verbal messages in the form of lecture and print have been the primary method of disseminating information to the learner. To move beyond verbal messages and toward the assimilation of…

Discusses the symposium between the scientific community and the animal welfare community in which the consensus was absolute: new laboratory methods can complement but not replace intact animals. (LS)

Explanations of a marine mammal rescue program and information on seals and sea lions are presented in this curriculum package for intermediate grade teachers. Activities are highlighted which focus on the natural history of harbor seals. This unit contains: (1) pre-trip activities (including fact sheets and worksheets on the different types of…

This coloring book showing 31 of New Mexico's wild animals was prepared in conjunction with Project WILD, an environmental and conservation education program for elementary and secondary school students. Each page contains a large line drawing of a wild animal, a brief description of its habitat and behavior, and a range map that indicates the…

Coelophysis was an ostrich-like, meat-eating dinosaur that inhabitated southwestern New York State approximately 200 million years ago. At that time the region was semi-tropical and hosted a bizarre array of amphibians, reptiles, and plants while experiencing unrest in the form of basin settling, earthquakes, faults, and intrusions and outpourings…

This document is a compilation of environmental activities related directly to the environment in Georgia. A description of the physiographic characteristics of Georgia is presented upon which the activities that follow are based. These activities include soil, stream and forest investigations; meteorology activities; and plant and animal studies.…

The New Opportunities in Animal Health Sciences (NOAHS) Center at the National Zoological Park in Washington, DC. is dedicated to expanding understanding of the biological factors, including the critical role of biodiversity, that influence animal survival. This set of activities includes a description of NOAHS and the NOAHS mission, and letters…

This resource book presents 37 behavioral experiments that can be performed with commonly-found classroom animals including hamsters, gerbils, mice, goldfish, guppies, anolis lizards, kittens, and puppies. Each experiment explores the five steps of the scientific method: (1) Question; (2) Hypothesis; (3) Methods; (4) Result; and (5) Conclusion.…

In several States one day in the fall of the year is set apart as "Agriculture and Rural-Life Day," to be observed in the schools in such ways as to emphasize the importance of agriculture to the nation and to the world of mankind, to call attention to the worth and worthiness of the tillage of the soil, the cultivation of plants, and the breeding…

Discusses findings that suggest that mating preferences of female mottled sculpins (small North American fish) are influenced by at least four major factors, and that the relative importance of these factors changes through time. The type of choice that a female makes thus depends on time of breeding. (JN)

Identifies factors which affect students' attitudes toward the use of animals in research and in learning biology. Responses of students (N=577) in grades 5, 7, 9, and 11 to questionnaires were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance by grade level and sex. Results and implications are discussed. (CS)

Described are the basic materials and procedures used to study defensive burying behavior and suggested laboratory projects. Discusses live targets, non-living targets, social variables, and previous experiences of the subjects. (CW)