This publication is designed to provide a diverse audience with information about the Human Sciences program initiated in March, 1971, by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study with financial support from the National Science Foundation. The program differs markedly from the course content improvement programs of the past, since its purpose is…

The effects of conventional classroom instruction, television instruction alone, and the combination of classroom and television instruction on the learning of science content and vocabulary by 470 sixth-grade students was tested. The three treatment groups were pre- and posttested to determine the degree of achievement each group attained. The…

Policy statements are made to assist groups of teachers in making a self-study of their elementary science programs in light of new ideas and developments. Suggestions include: stating explicit and concrete objectives; selecting instructional materials to give students a first-hand experience to maximize opportunities for them to ask questions,…

These guides for teaching conservation and resource-use education give a sequential treatment of conservation concepts from primary through junior high school grades. There are four sections, each sequential; this guide covers the "Forest" section (others are "Soil and Water,""Minerals" and "Wildlife"). Ten…

The Science Curriculum Improvement Study has developed this teacher's guide to "Communities," the fifth part of a six unit life science curriculum sequence. The six basic units, emphasizing organism-environment interactions, are organisms, life cycles, populations, environments, communities, and ecosystems, and make use of scientific and…

The seventeen papers presented in this publication review various programs and issues in elementary school science. At least one paper is devoted to each of these programs: The United Kingdom program Science 5/13; The African Primary Science Program; The Tel Aviv Elementary Science Project; UNESCO Program in Junior Science Teaching; The Philippine…

The development and validation of a test of science problem solving skills for use in grades one through three are described. Norms (grade placement scores) for children in urban, outer-urban, and suburban areas are provided for the total score on alternate forms of the test, each of which uses two physical science problems to assess (1) the…

An instrument, combining the advantages of Piaget's individual concept assessment and criterion-referenced testing, was developed to test area conservation, area measurement and area subdivision of primary grade children. This Test of Intuitive Area Concepts was included with the Primary Mental Abilities spatial relations subtest and the Minnesota…

This publication describes features of the South Central Kansas Elementary Math-Science (SOCKEMS) project developed as a child-centered program, although the actual teaching materials and methods are not described. Materials are presented in such a way that children learn science by using their perceptual ability to great extent. Considerable…

The purpose of this research was to measure the effectiveness of two methods of automated instruction in teaching sixth grade students selected problem solving behaviors, namely observing, comparing, classifying, interpreting, analyzing, making assumptions, summarizing, and critical thinking. Two treatments (one visual and one auditory) were…

There were significant relationships identified between selected science teaching materials and teacher behavior during elementary science instruction in the sixth grade among the 25 Elementary Science Study (ESS) teachers (non-textbook teachers) and 25 textbook teachers. Analysis of the data collected indicated clearly defined differences in the…

The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the effects of two modes of small-group instruction in an elementary science methods course upon the attitudes held by preservice elementary teachers related to science and the teaching of science. Eighty junior- and senior-level students enrolled in a course at Michigan State University were the…

Conclusions of an extensive project aimed to prepare lessons and associated materials related to teaching concepts included in the scheme "The Particle Nature of Matter" for grades two through six are presented. The hypothesis formulated for the project was that children in elementary schools can learn theoretical concepts related to the particle…

The purpose was to determine (1) if there was a significant difference in the performance on five science-related Piaget type tasks by fifth graders who were currently involved in different elementary science programs, and (2) if the tasks formed a hierarchical sequence of difficulty for the students. Three groups of fifth graders were studied;…

A program of stimulation, motivation, and cultural enrichment for children in New York City's School District 10 is evaluated in this report. The Bronx Zoological Gardens were used for living laboratory experiences, coordinated with classroom activities in different curriculum areas. Employing zoo visits, lectures, films, and classroom…