The authors analyze some problems met in the attempt to implement an elementary science curriculum involving the use of Elementary Science Study units. The highly organized large scale effort at implementation seemed to have considerable impact at first, but it is now hard to identify lasting effects. The organization of workshops and use of…

Described is an NSF sponsored five week summer institute for 35 teachers and administrators interested in implementing AAAS Science - A Process Approach. Prior to the institute, interaction data were gathered while observing 18 of the 30 teachers teaching a science lesson of their own choice. The composite matrix indicated that someone was talking…

This is a National Trial Print of a unit on plants produced as a part of the Australian Science Education Project. The unit consists of an information booklet for students, a booklet for recording student data, and a teacher's guide. The material, designed for use with students in the upper elementary grades, takes from 15 to 20 forty-minute…

The two purposes of this study were: (1) to identify those factors that significantly affect the use of the science process skill of prediction, and (2) to construct and test a probabilistic equation, based on a competence-performance model of cognitive development that accounts for a child's performance on tasks involving the skill of prediction.…

This study is based upon an interpretation of Ausubel's subsumption learning theory. The primary characteristic of this theory is that it views a learner's specific content knowledge as a crucial factor in learning. Two types of assessment instruments were used with first-grade students to determine concept attainment based on specific models…

This publication contains an extensive introduction for teachers covering such topics as questioning, reading in the science program, evaluation, and audiovisual materials. The book itself is a teacher's guide and is based on the concept that learning is best facilitated by providing meaningful problems which the learner is able to solve. Topics…

The primary purpose of this paper was to present the distinction between the actual contributions of Piaget regarding epistemological questions and the manner in which these contributions have been interpreted to provide a basis for current educational curriculum reform. It is the contention of the authors that the Piagetian theory concerning the…

This paper contains the report of an investigation to determine what relationships existed between teacher competencies in science mastered via a televised inservice program (LIFT OFF!) and teachers' science-related attitudes, past experiences, and use of a science program (Science - A Process Approach). Evidence was obtained from the number of…

Presented is the teacher's guide for "Science for Kindergarten," a part of the materials developed for the Science Curriculum Improvement Study project. Aimed at developing the children's powers of observation, discrimination, and description, the unit includes nine topics: Color, Shape, Texture, Smell, Sound, Size, Quantity, Position,…

The report covers the activities of the Indian Science Improvement Project during the calendar year 1970. The major emphasis is on curriculum development activities. Topics covered include elementary and secondary school science programs, traveling science workshop, college science improvement program, special college/university program, technical…

This volume replaces and updates a prior publication (January 1973) of unpublished evaluation instruments in science education. The six chapters of the publication describe instruments classified into: (1) those assessing student achievement in knowledge and understanding of science facts, principles, and concepts (grouped according to science…

Reported is the development and use of an instrument designed to measure intellectual and humanistic aspects of attitudes towards teaching science. The instrument was validated by a factor analysis technique. Test-retest reliability for the instrument was determined to be 0.87. Using this instrument, two methods of elementary science instruction…

Reported is a study to evaluate the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) program at the fourth-grade level, in particular the unit, "Relativity." To avoid the problems of a written test, an alternative test involving examples of relative position and motion was developed. This 30-item planetarium test was used as a pretest and…

This catalog lists material directly applicable to programs in environmental education. It is organized into two major divisions: (1) classroom aids--materials developed for direct use by students, and (2) reference materials--basic resources for the teacher. Classroom aids are divided into areas of environmental awareness, ecological concepts,…

This study discusses the differences in behavior that the open-minded teacher and the closed-minded teacher exhibit in teaching elementary school science. To study dogmatism and classroom behaviors, a group of 43 teachers enrolled in an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in-service program was identified and classified into…