The study looked at the potential of the Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST) as a quick, reliable method of assessing elementary school children's images of scientists. Two schools were chosen from very different environments in Western Australia. Results indicated that the DAST is potentially useful to assess global images. (MP)

Describes the Wellcome Museum of the History of Medicine (Science Museum of South Kensington), focusing on resources available and typical student activities while visiting the museum. (JN)

Suggestions are presented for 23 different hikes appropriate for school grounds and other similar settings. Topics which focus on science processes and skills include, among others, motion, color, shape, size, smells, sounds, trees, litter, and snow. (DC)

Discusses the rationale for and issues related to individualized science instruction, providing comments of various instructional strategies and materials to meet the individual needs of science students. (JN)

A sex-related difference, favoring boys, was found on initial performance of two samples (one British, one American) of 10- and 11-year-old children on tasks involving volume and density. After classroom instruction that included opportunities for interaction with appropriate materials, both sexes performed at higher levels but differences…

Presents evidence that attests to the potential usefulness of the MCI in science education research. Describes the first use of the MCI specifically in science education research and current research efforts that reveal satisfactory internal consistency, discriminant validity, and predictive validity of the MCI scales. (CS)

Presents strategies that teach children how to write in order to demonstrate, to facilitate, and to record science learning. Also suggests using frame of reference- how a writer views and interprets an issue by comparing different source accounts of science questions. (Author/JN)

Investigates common problem-solving strategies of sixth-grade students (N=25) identified by their teachers as having superior abilities in problem solving. Audiotaped interview problem-solving sessions recorded behaviors of individual students. Conclusions are that superior problem solvers share common strategies for different types of problems.…

Describes the Science Activity Teaching model, which incorporates five teacher managerial behaviors into a model with these subcomponents: focus activity, student instructions, student group activity, synthesizing, and evaluation. This plan provides for the development of fate control, language formation, and social skills. (CS)

Offers suggestions for science teaching related to the following community resources: butcher shops, bakeries, grocery stores, dairies, drugstores, music shops, health professionals, construction trades, weather forecasts, zoos, pet shops, farms and ranches, rocks and minerals, and others. (SK)

Based on the Project Synthesis findings presented in "What Research Says to the Science Teacher," (NSTA, 1981), seven priorities are listed for improving science education for the remainder of this century, including the need for a new rationale which takes into account our technologically oriented society. (JN)

Suggestions for effectively using audiovisual materials are offered including preteaching vocabulary and concepts introduced in the materials, giving students a purpose(s) for viewing and listening, setting up equipment in advance, evaluating and discussing the material, and conducting follow-up activities. (DC)

Described is a unit on rockets which begins with watching a film and ends with teams of students launching their own rockets. Activities teach students metric measuring, data collecting and graphing, report writing, and calculating, as well as group skills and model building skills. (DC)

The act of attributing human emotions to nonhuman animals (personification) may lead to misconceptions by young students who may not be able to distinguish fact from fiction. Three major types of personification (animism, anthropomorphism, and teleology) are briefly reviewed with related examples. (DS)

Presents position statements indicating the necessity of laboratory experiences for the teaching and learning of science in the elementary school. Three different perspectives are addressed: research, curriculum, and teaching. (DS)