This teacher's guide has been constructed to assist in developing and implementing a life science course with an environment/ecological unit for Grade 4. Designed primarily for use with other science units, it offers numerous multidisciplinary activities which emphasize involvement in problem-solving through open-ended investigation rather than…

Reported is a study related to diagnosing elements of propositional thinking in the cognitive functioning of 62 sixth- and seventh-grade students. The rationale is based on the work of Piaget and others. Instruments used to diagnose levels of abstract thinking involved using computer simulated experiments (CSE). The direct and indirect effects of…

Examined were instructional methods for science teaching and the effects of using such teaching strategies on the attitudes and perceptions of 32 undergraduate elementary education students. The effects on the participating students' science interest, science skills and knowledge, perception of teaching style and behavior of the teacher were also…

This guide was prepared to assist elementary teachers in planning and implementing an activity-centered, conceptually-based science program. The guide consists of the following major sections: (1) Point-of-View, which sets forth a description of science, its role in the curriculum, the role of the teacher, and evaluation procedures which are…

Presented is the third part of the K-12 unified science materials used in the public schools of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Detailed descriptions are presented for the roles of students and teachers, purposes of bibliography, major concepts in unified science, processes of inquiry, scheme and model for scientific literacy, and program…

The Test of Logical Thinking in Science and tape recordings and notes from a scientific inquiry lesson were used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of the regular and new science programs in developing scientific thinking among elementary school pupils. The findings, limited by sample size and short-term experimental design, indicated that the…

An instructional management program was developed to assist students in selecting learning activities. The program was based on a general model for specifying hierarchical curriculum structure. This model was developed using the directed graph, a mathematical form of a structural model. A hierarchy could then be generated from the curriculum…

The purpose of this research was to develop and implement an observational instrument to measure the process of innovation adoption as described by the Concerns Based Adoption Model developed at the University of Texas. This model defines seven levels of use of an innovation, ranging from no knowledge of the innovation, through routine use, to…

School districts were identified that were involved in implementation of recent National Science Foundation (NSF) elementary school science curricula and in corresponding in-service work. Questionnaires sent to 6 school districts, selected somewhat randomly from across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, compiled information regarding…

This quarterly publication includes articles concerning the advancement, improvement, and coordination of science education in all fields of science at all educational levels. In this issue, articles deal with science resources, physics teacher workshops, environmental education programs, laboratory equipment and instructional aids, and…

This is one of a series of units for environmental education developed by the Highline Public Schools. This unit on water is designed for primary grades. Included are ten lessons. Each lesson includes the concepts of the lesson, materials needed, time for the activity, procedure, evaluative activities, and follow-up activities. Included are…

Described are 12 instruments utilized in studies measuring the Piagetian level of cognitive development of students. Instruments for elementary and secondary students are included, and a detailed analysis of the concepts measured and the method for evaluating the results of each instrument is included. Stressed is the importance of analyzing why a…

Analyzes the performance of the Electronic Task (ET), to test for combinatorial reasoning, over a broad range of subject ages and abilities in order to evaluate it as a substitute for the original Chemical Task (CT). (GA)

Examines whether elementary school children's cognitive achievement in science process skills increases significantly because of teacher training in the Individualized Science (IS) materials. Investigates the effects of teacher training in the IS materials on teachers' attitudes and skill achievement. (GA)

Attempts to analyze the effects of advance organizers on an environmental education unit, assess retention of the instructional material one year later, and determine if changes in perceptions of a woodland occurred. (GA)