The focus of this study was elementary preservice teachers' development as effective teachers of science and mathematics as influenced by their participation in elementary science and mathematics methods courses. Preservice teachers' reports of factors that influenced their perception of their teaching abilities were analyzed according to…

In this study our purpose is to determine how the teachers are applying the structuralist approach in their classes by classifying the teachers according to graduated faculty, department and their years in the duty. Besides understanding the difference of the effects of structuralist approach and traditional education method on student's success…

This collection of instructional materials and class activities emphasizes five different situations in which courage is a necessary quality. For each section, lessons are planned to extend the theme through a cross-curricular approach. The topics include: a definition of courage; the courage to resist in the context of the Holocaust; mythical…

National professional organizations have increasingly emphasized the need for active involvement of elementary school children in thinking, decision making, and problem solving situations. Educators are calling for role playing, writing, reading, drawing, and use of manipulatives, to name but a few activities, to become part of an integrated…

An increasing number of schools and businesses are entering into more collaborative partnerships focusing on frequent classroom interactions centered around active learning. The "Authentic Assessment Project" was developed by the Science and Mathematics Network of Central Ohio to assist teachers and business partners in designing innovative…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that if selected instruction materials were more culturally-relevant, Native American students should be more motivated and better able to make connections between school learning and their own lives. This increased motivation and improved connections between school learning and their own…

This guide is one of a set of 10 science guides, each covering a separate grade in Manitoba, together covering kindergarten through grade 9. The guides have been designed to provide a framework for building scientific concepts and developing the learning of process skills. They replace an earlier set of guides dated 1979. Each guide is essentially…

The NASA-Industry Education Initiative (NIEI) is the response of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its private-sector contractors to the education crisis. Findings from the initial survey show that support for NIEI appears to be strong among the organizations surveyed and there is a significant level of cooperation…

Spacewalking has captured the imagination of generations of children and adults since science-fiction authors first placed their characters on the moon. This publication is an activity guide for teachers interested in using the intense interest many children have in space exploration as a launching point for exciting hands-on learning…

A study investigated changes in prospective elementary teachers' conceptions about projectile motion. The preservice teachers (enrolled in reading methods courses) were either told or not told that they were expected to teach a videotaped lesson on projectile motion. In addition, they either participated in a combined demonstration-reading or in a…

This booklet provides information and five worksheets for elementary students studying the solar system. Fact sheets provide information on the sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars, asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and comets. The worksheets are entitled: (1) Astronomical Unit; (2) Solar System Trivia; (3) Solar System Flash…

Investigated as predictors of preservice elementary teachers' attitudes toward the teaching of science were scores on the science subtests of the C-BASE and ACT, number of college science hours, and college GPA. The Science Attitude Scale for Preservice Teachers, measuring comfort/discomfort of teaching science, science as a basic need, time…

This paper presents the course outline of a methods course for elementary education majors that is based on the structure of the Florida Sunshine State Standards pertaining to science. This structure provides education majors with the vertical scope and sequence of public school science education. The focus is on pedagogical knowledge beyond the…

This book contains 114 experiments, mostly behavioral, with animals that are commonly found in nature. Each experiment is a five-step procedure: question, hypothesis, methods, result, and conclusion. Chapter 1 is devoted entirely to explaining these five steps, which together constitute the scientific method. The experiments are in the last part…

An ethnographic study was conducted with the goal of evaluating the botanical concepts of sixth-grade students. One aspect of the study involved examination of the levels of abstraction students use for naming plants. Nine sixth-grade students were interviewed individually. Each was asked to identify the plants seen in a set of 64 slides and…