This paper analyzes discrepant findings from research on science teacher knowledge and classroom discourse. In new science teachers' classrooms, discourse during laboratory activities differed in important ways from discourse during other types of instruction. Furthermore, teacher subject-matter knowledge had effects that were not predicted by the…

The Core Course Proficiency initiative in the State of New Jersey is an outgrowth of the recommendations from two study panels convened to review and revise high school graduation requirements and to consider the need for and impact of establishing a common core of knowledge and skills in specified high school courses. This document presents the…

This volume presents selected papers from a conference on college teaching and learning, which promotes experimentation in the teaching process and honors educators' efforts in the field. Titles are: (1) "Journey into Technological Integration: Key Steps and Strategies" (G. Aloia, K. Rhee, and M. Aloia); (2) "The Internet-Based Operations…

The Institut fur die Padagogik der Naturwissenschaften (IPN) is the research institute for science education, with a national function in the Federal Republic of Germany. The IPN consists of biology education, chemistry education, physics education, educational science, research methodology/statistics, and administration/general services…

Materials in this teaching unit are designed to foster an interest in whale preservation among intermediate grade and junior high school students. Several readings provide background information on various types of whales and the economic value of whales. Student activities include a true and false game, a crossword, and a mobile. A resource list…

This article reports the results of a study with 70 senior undergraduate biological science majors enrolled in a required course on "Writing and Speaking in the Biological Sciences". Students enrolled in this course were expected to develop oral scientific presentations of their research projects that exemplified the norms of speaking in…

This study was designed as a systematic investigation of the feasibility and effectiveness of student authored videodisc presentations in a non-major introductory level college biology course. Students (n=66) used a quick-learn authoring system, the Macintosh computer, and videodisc player with color monitor. Results included: (1) students managed…

Abstracts and abstractors' critiques of ten published articles related to curriculum, misconception research, and instruction are presented. Aspects addressed in the studies include: (1) Canadian teachers' opinions on changes in elementary and junior high school science programs; (2) current status of ecology education in Illinois; (3)…

Substantive articles in this newsletter issue concern: (1) issues related to reproductive technology; (2) marriage and family questions for the 1986 census; (3) fault and violence in the family court; (4) children and young people in institutional care; (5) marriage counseling initiatives; (6) employment and families; and (7) family life in…

Resource-based learning is described in this document as a pupil-centered approach to teaching science in which a wide variety of resources are used. Students are given some freedom of pace and choice of activity while teachers provide resources to the student when they are needed. The learning is then based on the resources and the pupil can make…

Fifth and eighth grade students in New York City participated in a citywide science survey for the fourth consecutive year in 1987. These surveys were designed to assess overall achievement in the pre-high school grades and to provide school, district and citywide summary information about student performance in basic areas of the science…

Many researchers believe that prior knowledge is the single most important variable influencing learning. Learning in the classroom is determined or affected positively or negatively, to some degree, by the knowledge people bring to the classroom. This study was designed to: (1) assess fifth- and eighth-grade Korean students' misconceptions of…

Many students, even after formal science instruction, have not developed a scientifically acceptable concept of "living,""animal," or "plant." Therefore, as part of the action-research phase of the Learning in Science Project, a working group was formed to explore (with teachers) some possible strategies aimed at…

This report contains six research papers and a summary of a panel discussion on the topic of cognition and the adult learner. The papers are as follows: "Psychology and Adult Cognition" (Wilbert J. McKeachie); "Biology and Adult Cognition" (Frank Farley); "Technology and Adult Cognition" (Barbara Grabowski); "Enhancing Cognitive Skills" (Richard…

There is always the possibility that educational research does not result in developments within the classroom. This yearbook attempts to address that situation by making teachers more aware of what research exists. It contains a collection of articles which deal with such topics as: (1) new teaching strategies; (2) the theoretical background of…