The purpose of this study was to determine the best-fitting structural equation model between the freshmen's physics achievement and selected affective characteristics related to physics. These characteristics are students' situational interest in physics, personal interest in physics, aspiring extra activities related to physics, importance of…

This study investigated the interaction between students' academic background (high school grades, standardized exams, and enrollment in advanced high school courses) and how much autonomy they reported having in high school science through labs and projects. The objective was to see if students who reported experiencing more or less self-directed…

A previous study showed that elementary teaching majors enrolled in an inquiry-based physical science course developed chemistry content knowledge comparable to that of students enrolled in traditional lecture-based courses. This current study compares the views of these elementary teaching majors regarding how chemistry is taught and learned to…

An effective way to teach the concept of image is to give students a model of human vision which incorporates a simple mechanism of depth perception. In this study two almost identical versions of a curriculum in geometrical optics were created. One used a mechanistic, interpretive eye model, and in the other the eye was modeled as a passive,…

This curriculum guide includes a brief textbook, a hands-on activity guide, and resource listings. The textbook provides background information in solar physics for teachers and contains problems suitable for advanced students at the end of each chapter. Topics covered in the textbook include stellar evolution, the structure of the sun, methods of…

This paper reports on results of a series of three group interviews with three high school sophomores who used a motion detector to explore a mechanical device, the Bouncing Car device, that can display periodic and chaotic behaviors. The ways that students interacted with the Bouncing Car and used their body motions and imaginations to try to…

This study examined the teacher's role in creating a gender-sensitive environment in an all girls physics class and the effects of that environment on girls' achievement, self-concept, and career choices. Reflective journaling by the teacher-researcher was used to discover, analyze, and challenge appropriate teaching strategies and personal…

This paper reports on a theoretical and empirical study into curriculum innovation in secondary education in the Netherlands focusing on mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. Curriculum specialists, subject specialists, researchers, policy makers, and teachers were interviewed for the study. Results indicate that mathematics had the most…

This book is organized around a set of simple observational physics activities that stimulate questioning and answering and encourage the generation of answers to stimulate individual creativity. The activities integrate drawing, counting, measuring, predicting, recording, hypothesizing, and verifying. The activities are designed to sharpen…

This document is designed to provide practical information for teaching the Physics 20-30 Program of Studies. The first section provides an overview of Physics 20, explaining the program philosophy and the selection and sequencing of topics. The use of concept connections and teaching a course around the science themes are described, as well as…

This is the second document on the teaching of electronics to appear as part of UNESCO's science and technology education program. An introductory section describes the role that electronics plays as part of the physics curriculum. The following section outlines the content of the electronics course. The outline includes guidelines for determining…

The Science Assessment Program is part of the overall Manitoba assessment program as recommended by the Joint Committee on Evaluation and approved by the Minster of Education and Training. This report contains a description and analysis, along with conclusions and recommendations of the assessment conducted in Science 100, Biology 200, and Physics…

This book shows how physics relates to daily life. Chapters included are: (1) "Physics of Fun" (dealing with the concepts of friction, Bernoulli's principle, lift, buoyancy, adhesion, cohesion, surface tension, gas expansion, waves, light, mirror images, and solar cells); (2) "Physics of Nature" (illustrating the concepts of inertia, static…

Designed for college-bound students, their parents, and high school teachers, counselors, and administrators in California, this statement sets forth recommendations concerning the skills, attitudes, and qualities that should be imparted by high school science programs and the curriculum and courses to impart them. Prefactory material provides…

Spacelab is a facility which enables scientists and engineers to go into space for in-orbit research studies. For the 10 European nations that designed, constructed, and financed Spacelab jointly through the European Space Agency and for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which designed, constructed, and financed the Spacelab…