The Science in Action series is designed to teach practical science concepts to special-needs students. It is intended to develop students' problem-solving skills by teaching them to observe, record, analyze, conclude, and predict. This document contains a student workbook which deals with basic principles of physical science. Seven separate units…

This curriculum guide, developed to establish statewide curriculum standards for the Louisiana Competency-based Education Program, contains the minimum competencies and process skills that should be included in a physics course. It consists of: (1) a rationale for an effective science program; (2) a list and description of four major goals of…

This document is the last of three volumes of the proceedings of an international seminar which focused on student misconceptions in science and mathematics as well as teaching strategies intended to deal with those misconceptions. An introduction to the volume explains the format of the conference and the organization of the sessions. It stresses…

Results of the American Institute of Physics' 1986-87 annual survey of bachelor's degree recipients in physics and astronomy are reported. Data are presented in tables, with accompanying narrative analysis. The information on physics students includes: trends in postbaccalaureate plans of successive graduating classes of physicists from 1977-78…

Results of the American Institute of Physics' 1985-86 annual survey of bachelor's degree recipients in physics and astronomy are reported. Data are presented in tables, with accompanying narrative analysis. The information on physics students includes: trends in postbaccalaureate plans of successive graduating classes of physicists from 1977-78…

It is often both possible and valuable for a teacher to be a researcher in his or her own classroom. This paper describes the nature of cognitive research and focuses on two areas of research that may be of special interest to classroom physics teachers. The first area refers to misconceptions that students bring with them to their physics…

This report assesses the adequacy of United States resources in support of mathematics. Section I (the introduction) considers the support of research, the scope of mathematics, and relationships of mathematics to computer science and education. Section II discusses strengths and opportunities in the mathematical sciences by considering…

This teacher's guide was developed for the last of four courses in Valencia Community College's Interdisciplinary Studies program, a 2-year core general education curriculum which chronologically examines the major developments in the evolution of human knowledge. The guide provides an introductory overview of the semester's content (i.e., the…

In order to investigate the nature of students' prior knowledge of current electricity and how they applied their knowledge to different problems, 5 middle school science teachers and 11 elementary school teachers were given a written test that required them to: (1) predict what happens to the brightness of a bulb if a change is made to the…

A study was conducted at Pima Community College to determine the relationship between the final grade received by students in an introductory, algebra-based physics course (PHY 121) and their scores on the reading, writing, and mathematics portions of the college's nonmandatory assessment test. Between 1983 and 1988, 639 students obtained a final…

The Institute in Physical Science was developed to address the need for updated information and training in physics, chemistry, and technology among teachers of physical science. Five major objectives addressed were to: (1) improve physical science teachers' understanding of fundamental concepts in physics and chemistry; (2) provide physical…

This book, addressed to students for their independent use as well as to teachers as a supplement to the standard texts, contains nearly 100 practical science experiments that cover a wide range of subjects at different grade and ability levels. It is designed to involve students in active scientific experimentation, demonstrations, and projects…

This resource book introduces first-grade children to the world of magnetism and magnetic effects. The students are provided the opportunity to observe interactions between magnets, identify what materials a magnet will and will not attract, study magnetic fields, induce temporary magnetism, make an electromagnet, and use compasses. The 16 lessons…

Average salary increases for 2,452 faculty in the field of physics are reported for 1983-1984 and 1986-1987, as part of the College and University Personnel Association's annual faculty salary studies. Included are comparative data for 120,580 faculty at 167 public colleges and 235 private colleges, representing 44 academic disciplines. In 1983,…

The Learning in Science Project investigated teaching and learning in science at the Form 1 to 4 level to identify some of the key difficulties in this subject area and to find ways of overcoming such difficulties. Included in this final report are: (1) brief accounts of the three major phases of the research; (2) a list of papers derived from the…