Describes a high school pilot program to meet California's science curriculum guidelines to adopt a Scope, Sequence and Coordination (SS&C) approach. The SS&C curriculum offers four science subjects for each year of high school. Concrete, phenomenological, and descriptive topics are covered during the early years and theoretical and…

Presents an activity designed to demonstrate how heating and cooling an air mass affects its temperature, volume, density, and pressure. Illustrates how thermal energy can cause atmospheric motion such as expansion, contraction, and winds. (Author/WRM)

Introduces a software package available for the climatology curriculum that determines possible climatic events according to a long-term climate history. Describes the integration of the software into the curriculum and presents examples of active learning. (Contains 19 references.) (YDS)

Argues that a term paper worthy of a high grade must be more than a quick literature review. It should be a research project on a subject narrowly focused enough that the instructor will learn new things and in which the writing process requires numerous drafts. Offers a short guide intended to be given to students as part of the term paper…

This article examines ways to modify science instruction for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD). It first discusses the nature of the problem, suggests possible reasons CLD students struggle, and offers principles for planning science lessons. A sample thematic lesson plan in earth science is appended to illustrate…

This evaluation study investigated the effects of a teacher-centered versus student-centered computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on 10th graders' earth science student learning outcomes. This study also explored whether the effects of different forms of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on student learning outcomes were influenced by student…

Earth science teachers know how frustrating it can be to spend hundreds of dollars on three-dimensional (3-D) models of Earth's geologic features, to use the models for only a few class periods. To avoid emptying an already limited science budget, the author states that teachers can use a simple alternative to the expensive 3-D models--sand. She…

Undergraduate students in an introductory-level geoscience course successfully designed and conducted a science badge day for the Junior Girl Scouts. With national concerns that girls turn away from science at a young age, a service-learning project was incorporated into a college course with the end result providing a group of girls a positive…

The grade three curriculum set out by the British Columbia Ministry of Education has four categories for science: Processes of Science, Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth and Space Science. Within each of these categories there are numerous topics to teach. For example, the physical science curriculum requires students to learn about…

This study examined gender differences in students' scientific literacy as measured by OECD-PISA. In particular, we focused on the 2437 students from 140 Hong Kong schools. Hong Kong boys' and girls' science scores did not differ overall. However, boys scored higher than girls at the higher percentiles (75th and above). Moreover, specific test…

A curriculum unit for middle school Earth Science called "What's on Your Plate?" was designed. The unit was implemented in several middle and high school classrooms in California and Massachusetts. In the first implementation, the total number of students who participated was 1100. The unit was designed with two main pedagogical…

This study examined the effects of concept mapping on the science achievement of middle grade science students. The subjects were 182 eighth-grade students, distributed into eight intact earth science classes by ability levels. The ability level variable also was examined as a possible effect on student achievement. Two teachers were involved in…

The 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education was designed to provide up-to-date information and to identify trends in the areas of teacher background and experience, curriculum and instruction, and the availability and use of instructional resources. A total of 7,752 science and mathematics teachers in schools across the United…

Trying to implement interdisciplinary geoscience curriculum materials in geography and science education we asked how they fit into teachers' existing practices, their needs for support and strategies to plan instruction. The focus of our case study has been the identification of the goals teachers pursue with the materials, of strategies for…

This activity packet provides educators with a series of hands-on interdisciplinary classroom and outdoor education activities for grades 6-8 that focus on geology and prehistoric life at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, North Carolina. The packet was designed to meet established curriculum objectives of the North Carolina Department of Public…