Using available data and analyses on the current situation in science and technology education, it was determined that science and technology education in the United States is lacking in two critical areas: recruitment and training of scientists and engineers, and nurturing a general scientific/technological literacy useful in all facets of daily…

These instructor materials for an aviation maintenance technology course contain three instructional modules covering safety, aviation mathematics, and aviation physics. Each module may contain an introduction and module objective, specific objectives, an instructor's module implementation guide, technical information supplements, transparency…

In response to the President's Office of Science and Technology Policy request to identify promising areas for U.S. research investment in science and technology, this report contains briefings by outstanding researchers in several fields of science. This volume is the fifth in a series of briefings which are used to anticipate important new…

Suggestions for instructional improvement are offered for science teachers in this compilation of research summaries on specific areas of science education. This series includes the articles: (1) "Improving Students' Understanding of the Nature of Science" (discussing the relationship between teachers and students conceptions of science…

This physical science activity module was designed to facilitate developing concepts related to sound. It is intended for use primarily in elementary grades but may be useful at higher grades. It provides students with hands-on experience and observational skill development. The package provides: (1) a teacher background sheet; (2) an activity…

The fourth in a series of reports produced by the Education and Employment Statistics division of the American Insititute of Physics (AIP) is presented. Data are based on a stratified random sample survey of one-sixth of the U.S. and Canadian membership of the AIP member societies. In the spring of 1986, every individual in the sample received a…

The teacher is one of the most important variables for maintaining or developing excellence in education. According to many surveys many teachers of high school physics earned their degrees in other fields. This paper deals with preservice and inservice high school physics teacher education. Topics include: (1) what physics teachers are expected…

Students of reasoning have long tried to understand how people revise systems of beliefs. This paper maintains that people often change their beliefs in ways driven by considerations of explanatory coherence. In this report, a computational model is described of how experimental subjects revise their naive beliefs about physical motion. First,…

This project consisted of an analysis of United States' data collected during the Second IEA Science Study (SISS). It focused on the differences in achievement scores between female and male participants at Grades 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12. A manipulative process test, as well as the written achievement test, was administered to students in grades 5…

The purpose of this study was to: (1) assess the reasoning levels of students using the Longeot Test; (2) compare the background of each student with the student's reasoning ability; and (3) identify which factors would best determine a student's reasoning level on the Longeot Test. The sample consisted of 636 students (336 females and 300 males)…

This paper is part of a paper set which addresses the potential contributions of teacher effectiveness research to science teacher education. The goal of the study is to assess selected research-based teaching and observation practices in combination with an effective staff development procedure in the context of science education. Two techniques,…

This report synthesizes the findings of the Illinois statewide curriculum census projects of 1977 and 1982. The census was designed to produce normative data relative to offerings and enrollments in Illinois public secondary schools and establish a source of information on secondary school curriculum. Statistical information include: (1)…

A study determined the degree of importance secondary vocational instructors place on students' possessing science skills for successful completion of their vocational program. It also determined the specific skills in biology, chemistry, and physics the instructors taught and identified the secondary vocational programs that require students to…

This four-part booklet examines various issues related to nuclear weapons and how they will affect an individual working as a scientist or engineer. It provides information about the history of nuclear weapons, about the weapons industry which produces them, and about new weapons programs. Issues are raised so that new or future graduates may make…

A brief summary of data gathered from the Survey of Earned Doctorates during the academic year 1976-1977 is presented in this, the eleventh in a series of yearly summaries of data, a series that began in 1967. Data was obtained from questionnaires filled out by the graduates as they completed all requirements for their doctoral degrees, and refers…