INVESTIGATED WERE THE LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING OF SELECTED CONCEPTS CONCERNING THE PARTICLE NATURE OF MATTER AND THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE STUDENTS' MATURITY AND CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING. THE STUDENTS SAMPLED WERE OF HIGH AND AVERAGE IQ, AND IN GRADES 2-5. ALL GROUPS RECEIVED COMPARABLE INSTRUCTION. USED WERE ALTERNATE RESPONSE TAXONOMY-TYPE…

REPORTED IS A STUDY CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING OF CERTAIN FORCE CONCEPTS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS IN GRADES 2-6. EVALUATIONS WERE MADE BY MEANS OF PENCIL-AND-PAPER MULTIPLE-CHOICE TYPE TESTS, ONE FOR EACH LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING--(1) KNOWLEDGE, (2) COMPREHENSION, AND (3) APPLICATION. SUB-PROBLEMS OF THE STUDY WERE (1) TO…

Reported are the proceedings of a conference on the problems of training elementary teachers in mathematics and science. A small group of scientists, educators, and researchers representing school teachers from the elementary level through college, science and mathematics administrators and educators, scientists, government officials, and…

Analyzed were handbooks designed to guide the implementation of a course of study in elementary school science in three districts in New York City. A science survey checklist was designed after interviewing science educators and elementary school teachers. A random sampling (N = 182) of teachers, science specialists, and supervisors in 25 schools…

This booklet was developed to provide helpful suggestions for planetarium directors, teachers, and school supervisors. The booklet is divided into seven different units of study. Each unit is similar in design and format, beginning with an overview of the topic followed by a description of planetarium activities which the authors successfully…

This Newsletter concerns the National Center for School and College Television's Conference on television in science education. The Conference was conducted to assess television materials being offered in science in an effort to stimulate the development of increasingly effective television materials for the nation's schools. Part 1 is a status…

Included are four units related to coastal and oceanic awareness. The units are: (1) The Muskrat; (2) The Not-So-Common Oyster; (3) The Horseshoe Crab; and (4) The Blue Crab. All four units are designed for elementary school students. Each unit contains teacher background materials, student activity materials, evaluation materials, transparency…

This guide provides the assessment procedures for use with the seven science units of the grade 6 Conceptually Oriented Program in Elementary Science (COPES) science curriculum program. Included are individual screening assessments for each of the seven grade 6 science units, instructions for using the guide, instructions for scoring the…

Two problems were considered in this study: (1) to determine if there were combinations of variables in the population studied that were predictive of science-teaching practices and/or teacher satisfaction with teaching science; and (2) to determine if models could be developed to explain possible directional effects of selected teacher variables…

One component of Pennsylvania's Science for the Seventies Project, an experimental science curriculum for elementary schools which makes extensive use of instructional television, was an evaluation which compared the effectiveness of the project to that of existing instructional programs. As part of the evaluation, a model was developed and…

This instrument contains activities by which one can determine a child's intellectual development in: (1) observing, (2) classifying, (3) measuring, (4) using numbers, (5) using space/time relationships, (6) inferring, and (7) communicating and predicting. The seven sections of the instrument correspond to those processes defined in Science - A…

This document is intended to give the elementary school teacher background information and general suggestions for teaching units and correlated learning activities related to energy and energy conservation. Sections are directed to: A Problem Shared by All, Causes, What is Energy?, Energy Sources, Searching for Solutions, Conservation: An Ethic…

A rationale is presented for a preliminary specification of instructional outcomes for a primary grade science curriculum in terms of analytic networks and task domains. Such specifications can serve as a definition of boundaries for skill analysis, the selection of systemic and particular content, and the construction of item forms. Three…

These environmental enrichment activities were written by teachers and consultants in workshops and institutes. The activities are appropriate for K-3. For each level the sequence of original activities including the new environmental activities is listed. General objectives for the level are given. The enrichment activities list materials,…

Piaget's theory of cognitive development is explained, especially in relation to the teaching of elementary school science. Several research projects involving Piaget's theories are reviewed. (MLH)