This paper provides a brief review of research on concept mapping in biology at the college level that has addressed the issues of "conceptual transparency" and "learner friendliness." For many college students, biology is "conceptually opaque." Students may memorize the characteristics of a plant, but find it difficult to identify that plant in…

Since attaining independence in 1960, Nigeria has attempted vigorous promotions of science education involving changes in curricula. This paper examines the impetus, nature, and impact of such curricular reforms at the post-secondary level. The historical context of these issues is provided. Issues necessitating reform and reform trends are…

The Nordic countries have worked together over the last decade to enhance the efforts of environmental educators. This document details: (1) the history and activities of the group responsible for the coordination of efforts at the university level; (2) the types of environmental education occurring in Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, and…

This study presents a quantitative method for scoring concept maps generated by students learning introductory college chemistry. Concept maps measure the amount of chemical information the student possesses, reasoning ability in chemistry, and specific misconceptions about introductory and physical chemistry concepts. They provide a visualization…

This document reviews the literature in the collections of the Library of Congress on electric vehicles. Not intended as a comprehensive bibliography, this guide is designed as the title implies, to put the reader "on target." This is of greatest utility to the beginning student of the topic. (AA)

Physics learning studies demonstrate that students' pre-instructional world knowledge is often logically antagonistic to the principles of Newtonian mechanics taught in introductory physics courses. Under these conditions psychological theory predicts that learning will be inhibited, a prediction consistent with both the experiences of physics…

This study brings together published and previously unpublished salary data from more than 50 salary surveys to provide a comprehensive picture of current salaries in industry, government, and educational institutions with breakouts by field, highest degree, sex, years since first degree, age group, category of employment, work activity, type of…

This project was designed to improve the graphing competency of students in elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, and trigonometry courses at Virginia Commonwealth University. Computer graphics programs were designed using an Apple II Plus computer and implemented using Pascal. The software package is interactive and gives students control…

Provided is a collection of papers on computer literacy and simulation originally published in The Physiology Teacher, supplemented by additional papers and a glossary of terms relevant to the field. The 12 papers are presented in five sections. An affirmation of conventional physiology laboratory exercises, coping with computer terminology, and…

Examines the traditional role of textbooks in physics teaching, looks at new trends in physics teaching, examines use of books in new courses, and describes the Danish physics project. (GS)

Reviews basic concepts of predator-prey interaction, encourages the presentation of the predator's role and describes a model of predator behavior to be used in secondary school or college classes. (LS)

Describes a college genetics course for prospective biology teachers that was designed by a systems strategy including: (1) defining objectives and delineating subject content; (2) management of methods and resources; and (3) evaluation. (LS)

Describes a single technique for an enzyme assay of catalase. The method shows that vegetable seeds submitted to pre-sowing 'hardening' cycles of imbition and drying have greater catalase activity and more rapid germination than do the controls. (LS)

Suggests that teachers actively involve students in biological fieldwork through the use of self-guided educational trails. (LS)

Criticizes the post-Sputnik wave of multi-disciplinary science curricula aimed at teaching the students about social problems and how science can help solve these problems. Suggests that science teaching should concentrate more on the basics of a given discipline and should be taught be specialists rather than generalists. (MLH)