The Learning in Science Project investigated the proportion of students at different ages who considered a horse, person, dolphin, worm, and spider to be animals. Although scientists would agree that they are indeed animals, findings indicate that many students of varying ages did not consider them to be animals; similar findings were reported for…

This booklet provides teachers with background information on typical children's and scientists' views of force, friction, and gravity. Part 1 presents and discusses a survey instrument designed for teachers to use to clarify their views on the topics. Part 2 contrasts (in chart format) children's and scientists' ideas on the concepts. Parts 3 to…

The Learning in Science Project identified the learner as the key perspective for in-depth study into problems and difficulties in the teaching and learning of science at the 10- to 14-year-old level. Two complementary research foci were established to explore this viewpoint: (1) interviewing children using strategies designed to establish various…

Learning in Science Project findings have highlighted the quality of interaction between students and teachers as the key to effective learning. Major aspects of this interaction include focusing attention, linking to children's science, encouraging discussion, guiding investigations, challenging ideas/findings, and helping the restructuring…

This update of the "Learning by Design" Sourcebook expands the previous compilation of resource information and materials on environmental education projects, curriculum materials, books, people, and organizations. It, like the original sourcebook, is divided into four sections: (1) models--presenting basic features, descriptions, and historical…

An alternative teaching model has been proposed by the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P). The model uses a six-step approach (outlined in an appendix) which fosters an environment in which children can ask questions about a situation, offer explanations, carry out investigations, and report their findings. This paper reports on the…

Two booklets were developed by the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--to help teachers adopt an approach to primary science teaching which would enhance children's understanding of floating and sinking. Both booklets were designed to enable teachers to reconceptualize their teaching task from activity-driven, didactic teaching to…

A major study of Canadian science education was undertaken in 1980 to establish a documented basis for describing the present purposes and general characteristics of science teaching in Canadian schools, to provide a historical analysis of science education in Canada, and to stimulate active deliberation concerning future options for science…

This study tested the effectiveness of having fifth-grade students generate their own examples of selected concepts on energy. Hypotheses were that subjects would perform better on sections of a test related to definitions and recognition of exemplars of the concepts for which they found their own examples than on sections related to comparible…

This study develops and employs the construct, personal orientation to science learning, to study the processes by which children construct meaning as they learn science in school. The theoretical bases of the thesis are the commitments of a constructivist view of learning and the psychological framework of George Kelly's Personal Construct…

This volume presents a compilation and review of more than 400 research efforts reported in 1987, organized in such a way that studies on related topics are easy to access by practitioners or researchers. The document is organized around four major sections that reflect the process of teaching, learning, and schooling including: (1) "Learners…

This speech, presented at the reception of the Julian Smith Award, provides a short history of the author and of outdoor education. Outdoor education is defined as education in, about, and for the outdoors. Several points of interest regarding outdoor education are stressed by the author. These include: (1) there is a need for the public to be…

This document reports on the eighth of a series of hearings on the reauthorization of expiring Federal elementary and secondary education programs. Seven expert witnesses, including representatives of the Department of Education and professional and community organizations, gave testimony concerning a number of micscellaneous federal programs. The…

This resource book introduces sixth-grade children to the physical and chemical properties of gases. The unit begins with an investigation of acids and bases. Students then generate carbon dioxide, oxygen, and hydrogen, and investigate the properties of each. The unit culminates with an activity involving an unknown gas. Students conduct tests to…

Like rain, an earthquake is a natural occurrence which may be mild or catastrophic. Although an earthquake may last only a few seconds, the processes that cause it have operated within the earth for millions of years. Until recently, the cause of earthquakes was a mystery and the subject of fanciful folklore to people all around the world. This…