Reviews the present state of science curricula in light of the current crisis in science education, examining the problem of low science enrollment/achievement and its effect on society. Analyzes conflicting demands of preparing students for college and educating the large bulk of students who do not plan science-related careers. (JM)

Describes design and implementation of an investigative/inquiry-based chemistry curriculum by the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST). Also describes inservice activities to retrain teachers to use the curriculum, equipment, and chemicals. Background information on educational sociology of Thailand is included.…

Discusses findings and recommendations of an American Chemical Society (ACS) task force study on the status of chemical education in the United States. Recommendations relate to national concerns; all educational levels; elementary, secondary, university, college, and two-year college chemistry and science; chemistry careers; and industry and…

Discusses aims of and proposed programs at the Institute for Chemical Education. Aims include developing creative ideas to convey chemical knowledge, improving interdisciplinary links, and addressing critical issues in chemical education. One program proposed is designed to help science teachers at all levels develop K-12 chemistry supplements.…

Discusses solubility interactions of various oils placed on the surface of water and other liquids, explained using the basic forces of gravity, electrical attraction, and quantum mechanics (non-mathematical). Hydrogen and ionic bonding between oleic acid/water is analyzed. An experiment to determine physical properties of the oleic acid molecule…

Suggests teaching a unit on cancer in high school or introductory college courses for non-majors based on surveys of student interest and recommendations to teach prevention/cure of the disease. Discusses smoking, diet, and environmental factors as causes of cancer. Provides several instructional strategies, encouraging student…

Describes laboratory procedures, demonstrations, and classroom activities/materials, including chi-square tests on a microcomputer, an integrated biology game, microscope slides of leaf stomata, culturing soil nematodes, technique for watering locust egg-laying tubes, hazards of biological chemicals (such as benzene, benzidene, calchicine,…

Presents background information, laboratory procedures, classroom materials/activities, and chemistry experiments. Topics include sublimation, electronegativity, electrolysis, experimental aspects of strontianite, halide test, evaluation of present and future computer programs in chemistry, formula building, care of glass/saturated calomel…

Discusses poor quality of current school science curriculum; presents generalizations from a national survey that provide direction for new, improved curriculum developments; presents features of a "desired" science program formulated by Project Synthesis; and discusses the direction science programs for the 80s will take with their…

Chemistry occupies only a small portion of the Papua New Guinea science curriculum in grades seven to ten. Science itself occupies only a small proportion of the total curriculum. Nevertheless the existing syllabus, and previous and planned future revisions of it, give considerable prominence to environmental, health and safety issues. There is a…

This paper reports on the analysis of concept maps of the nature of science constructed by preservice secondary science teachers during a semester-long reflective process. During the 16-week fall semester of 1996, 17 students were enrolled in a 5-credit course. After analyzing all students' concept maps, students were classified as either good…

In an effort to improve a summer professional development program for inservice secondary mathematics and science teachers in Taiwan, a three-year action research project has recently been completed. The program attempted to provide participating teachers with a better theoretical and practical understanding of teaching and learning based on the…

An investigation-based course on teaching strategies for in-service science and mathematics teachers has been developed. The purpose of this course was to learn how to teach science or mathematics from the constructivist perspective. The course development was based on constructivism, especially social constructivism. Major adjustments concerning…

This study examined interrelationships between educators' role in teaching values and their responsibility for teaching mandatory curricula and preparing students for formal assessment. It investigated 15 British teachers' values as transmitted to 10th grade science and language arts students, gauging the impact of their values on student…

This paper presents the development and evaluation of a World Wide Web-based lesson developed to cultivate situated learning. This research employed the quasi-experimental method along with semi-structured interviews to investigate the effects of a Web-based lesson on science learning in the senior high school level. Three classes of second-year…