Describes apparatus for use in high school chemistry instruction. Provides instructions and lists of materials needed for building a homemade sand bath for use in experiments that demonstrate the slow evaporation of a solvent. Plans for the construction of a low-cost conductivity apparatus are also included. (TW)

Describes a new biochemistry laboratory course offered at the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania) which is designed to promote scientific curiosity and creativity. Uses a problems-oriented approach which provides students with independent learning experiences. Provides a listing of some of the course's laboratory exercises. (TW)

Determined if grouping preservice elementary teachers (N=91) in physical science laboratories by their formal reasoning ability affected: (1) their science content achievement; (2) the learning environment in the laboratory; (3) their formal reasoning ability; and (4) the relationship between individuals in a particular group. (Author/JN)

As colleges and universities nationwide anticipate enrolling more than two million new students over the next decade, UC Berkeley is exploring options for serving more students, more cost effectively, in large lecture courses. This research project analyzes economic and pedagogical questions related to the use of on-line lecture and laboratory…

Wright State University School of Medicine uses community pathologists as unpaid volunteers to team teach pathology courses, making possible a small-group approach in the laboratory. The organization of the course and faculty teams, student evaluation, and results of this approach are discussed. (JMD)

Describes a year long laboratory program for third, fourth, and fifth graders. States the goal of the program is to demonstrate what chemistry is, how it is done, and why it is fun and interesting. Provides a syllabus of the experiments and lists educational objectives. (MVL)

Investigates the use of collaborative learning groups in a physical science course designed for elementary education majors (n=54). Data for the study were 20 video-taped laboratory sessions, the instructor's journal, and the students laboratory reports. Among the conclusions is that the collaborative science laboratories provided insightful…

Teaching strategies associated with a conceptual change model of science teaching were examined in a study of seventh-grade life science teachers (n=13). Greater use of conceptual change teaching strategies was associated with use of the special instructional materials, not with the training. Students in classes where teachers were provided with…

Students' conceptions of three major artificial intelligence concepts used in the modeling of systems in science, fuzzy logic, neural networks, and genetic algorithms were investigated before and after a higher education science course. Students initially explored their prior ideas related to the three concepts through active tasks. Then,…

Many have called for reform of the science curriculum to incorporate the process of inquiry: this has been shown to improve student understanding of biological concepts. Laboratory activities provide excellent opportunities to incorporate inquiry in to the curriculum. This study used a modified version of the Laboratory Task Analysis Instrument…

Faculty members from the University of South Dakota attended the Curriculum Reform Institute offered by the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, WI, during the summer of 2002 to design a course sequence for elementary education majors that better meets their needs for both content and pedagogy based on the science education standards. The special…

The study reported in this paper, combined qualitative (observation, interview and case study techniques) and quantitative (questionnaire and survey instruments) methods (n=3,182 Grade 10 students). The study (1) examined the relationship of current teaching practices to a number of variables that affected students' learning in science laboratory…

This investigation of formaldehyde exposure in school laboratories, where its principal source is from preserved biological specimens, was undertaken because of concern over exposure levels reported in the literature. Information was obtained in two ways. A limited survey of schools was conducted to determine extent of students' use of preserved…

This paper is a summary of much of the available research on college science laboratory instruction of the past decade with a focus on the effects of specific laboratory teaching strategies upon student learning outcomes. Some tentative interpretations from a review of the literature found are: (1) inquiry or investigative approaches in college…

A program for remediating science illiteracy among primary level students is offered in this publication. A practicum was designed to address the lack of science teaching and student science experiences at the Marian Boyd School in Warrentown, North Carolina. Priorities included in-service education for teachers, a science laboratory for students,…