Explores the use of free sort methodology to compare BSCS student and teacher understanding of the BSCS conceptual framework. Results support the idea that teachers who have better understanding of the BSCS conceptual framework, as shown by their sort patterns, may impart this understanding more effectively to students. (CS)

Reports that teachers exhibit a stable degree of persistence in utilizing selected elementary and secondary NSF science curricula in the western United States. Differences between teachers trained in the NSF curricula and a control sample indicate that elementary workshop participants tended to utilize NSF-sponsored curricula longer than did…

Discusses the existing design of some undergraduate physics courses, and outlines the general aims which will give the development of a physics curriculum a definite direction and approach. (GA)

Achievement scores of Israeli high school students using Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) materials were shown to be significantly higher than those for students using another curriculum. (MLH)

Describes a Japanese process-oriented approach called KAIZEN for improving the quality of existing teaching laboratories. It provides relevant quality measurements and indicates how quality can be improved. Use of process criteria sidesteps the difficulty of defining quality for laboratory experiments and allows separation of student assessment…

The Science Mentor Program at Ruffing Montessori School East allows students to visit scientists at work. These visits, along with readings, classes, and essay assignments, help students gain a better understanding of the work of scientists and the conduct of scientific research. (MDM)

For as long as people have sought to understand the world in which they live, stories have played an important role in helping to clarify and communicate their ideas. In ancient times, stories such as the four humours of the body provided a way of explaining health and disease. In the modern world, stories have largely been replaced by rational,…

Conclusions include that, between Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) courses and non-ISCS courses, there is no difference between the students' perception of both classroom activities and teacher personality traits. (MLH)

Introduces biology teachers to the central ideas of Piaget's theory of intellectual development. Also presents a scheme of biology instruction and classroom procedures based on a Piaget-related theory of learning. (PEB)

Reviews events leading to the Congressional controversy of funding the precollege implementation program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and attempts to identify some issues related to NSF involvement in the implementation of curriculum projects that merit further study by those responsible for developing long-range educational policy.…

An established methodology involving the sequential presentation of five skills on ASPEN Plus to undergraduate seniors majoring in ChE is presented in this document: (1) specifying unit operations; (2) manipulating physical properties; (3) accessing variables; (4) specifying nonstandard components; and (5) applying advanced features. This…

Discusses formative evaluation (those evaluation activities carried out while a curriculum is still being developed) and relates this to the development of the Individualized Science (IS) program at the University of Pittsburgh. (PEB)

This study was designed to see if objectives accompanying test items increased cognitive learning. The results indicate that objectives accompanying pretest items facilitate student study and preparation for posttests, but objectives accompanying posttest items inhibited performance. (BR)

Presents data concerning teachers' reactions after using Australian Science Education Project (ASEP) materials in Tasmania. (PEB)

Reported, in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner, is information concerning student ratings of trial versions of Australian Science Education Project (ASEP) units. (PEB)