Examines the influence of the use of hands-on materials in elementary school science instruction from a survey of 301 school principals. The rationale for the survey, questions used, and responses are provided. Lists 12 references. (YP)

Discusses an undergraduate course for developing interest in and skills for research. Provides a course outline and briefly describes each part of the outline. (YP)

Discusses criteria for writing, designing, and selecting a physics text including topics covered, target students, diverse problems, and focused content. (YP)

Reviews a model used in the teaching of plate tectonics which includes processes and concepts related to: terranes and the amalgamation of terranes, relative plate motion and oblique subduction, the effects of continent-continent collision, changes in plate motion, plate configuration, and the type of plate boundary. Diagrams are included.…

Provides information for the development of a lesson which teaches students about sand, discusses facts about sands, sand studies, life in the sands, and sand activities. Includes diagrams showing the range in sand grain shape, formation of sand ripples, and sand samples from around the world. (RT)

Described is the situation in the field of continuing engineering education (CEE) in Europe, especially the European Society for Engineering Education and Helsinki University of Technology. The need and structure of the Professional Development degree is introduced. (Author/YP)

Evaluates five courseware packages covering the topics of Newton's laws and seven courseware packages for work, energy, momentum, and conservation laws. Discusses the price, sub-topics, program type, interaction, time, calculus required, graphics, and comments of each courseware. Selects some packages based on the criteria. (YP)

Addresses some of the problems confronting curriculum writers who seek to interface Science-Technology-Society (STS) units into science. Describes an urban school program which has STS as a component and has been successful in keeping at-risk students motivated and achieving in attendance. (RT)

States that the responsibility for bringing outdoor education themes into the reading of literature lies with the outdoor educator and not the classroom teacher. Presents a model for introducing such themes into school curricula and uses the works of Thoreau, Brautigan, and Dr. Seuss as examples. (Author/CW)

The nature of engineering is examined along with the nature of expertise. School knowledge and out-of-school knowledge are compared. Suggested are four strategies for the development of engineering expertise including problem-based instruction, cognitive apprenticeship, reflective practicum, and cooperative learning. (YP)

Describes a course entitled "Biotechnology Laboratory" which introduces a variety of laboratory methods associated with biotechnology. Describes the history, content, and seven experiments of the course. The seven experiments are selected from microbiology and molecular biology, kinetics and fermentation, and downstream…

Reports on the findings from the House of Commons Education Committee's Inquiry into Science and Technology at Key Stages two and three. Discusses background, views of Key Stages two and three, pupil motivation, curriculum, and recommendations. (JRH)

Examines the public's lack of understanding and interest in science. Places much of the blame on the perception of science as a dense yet pristine discipline divorced from everyday concerns. Criticizes the concept of science as independent of social construction and argues for instruction emphasizing relationships between science and society. (MJP)

Notes that traditional early childhood science programs have attempted to facilitate children's understanding of the physical or natural world. Suggests another view: that children are developing scientific thinking processes or learning strategies in the personal and social domains, and that this should be seen as part of science program in early…

Investigated the problems chemistry majors have with learning distillation concepts in traditional chemistry laboratory courses. Reports that students take the generalized concepts at face value, construct decontextualized concepts for distillation, and cannot interpret their observations or make reasoned decisions based on the theoretical…