Discusses the implications of Wallis Suchting's comprehensive search for a definition of the nature of scientific thought for helping students develop scientific thinking skills and an adequate understanding of the nature of science. Discusses implications that relate specifically to the science education community's current conceptions of science…

A new model for problem solving is broken down into four overlapping and interactive processes: Problem Posing, Problem Approach, Problem Solutions, and Communication. Figures illustrate the skills used in this new image of science problem solving, and a ninth-grade science investigation employing the processes is described. (LZ)

Students (n=46) were assigned to one of three instructional groups (descriptive, question design, and hypothesis testing) to test the hypothesis that descriptive learning cycles are not sufficient to stimulate students to reason at a formal operational level. Analyses indicated that the hypothesis-testing group exhibited a significant increase on…

Describes an assessment tool called the 4P's (pretest, posttest, portfolio, and performance) designed to assess hands-on science. (ZWH)

Discusses ways for teachers to help science students understand what makes a good description of a problem in a scientific investigation. (WRM)

Computer-based simulations of scientific phenomena provide learner-centered environments within which students can explore systems, manipulate variables, and test hypotheses. Explains how simulations fit into the big picture of instruction and offers recommendations for developing a written guide for students, determining student accountability,…

In this classroom simulation of a crime, students take on the challenge presented in the article To Catch a Thief. Students witnessing a surprising event learn to question the nature of how criminals get identified and generate ideas about how criminals can be better identified. A key component of the evidence is an unusual distinguishing…

Explains the goals of a course to teach non-science majors how scientists think. Approaches science primarily as a way of knowing rather than as a body of knowledge and conveys the scientific method as an empirical endeavor. (DDR)

Introduces the Magic in a Tube activity in which students formulate questions and practice science skills. (YDS)

Defines adaptive inquiry and argues for employing this method which allows lessons to be shaped in response to student needs. Illustrates this idea by detailing an activity in which teams of students build rockets. (DDR)

Presents an activity designed to provide students with opportunities to practice drawing atomic models and discover the logical pairings of whole families on the periodic table. Follows the format of a television game show. (DDR)

Examines the process of action research and how it contributes to the professional development of a first-grade teacher. Explores the research process experienced by the teacher as she examined whether portfolios could be used as an effective means for facilitating and assessing young children's development of science process skills. (Contains 58…

The theory that children's development of strategies-of-science experimentation is a consequence of developments in theory of mind was examined with 72 children in grades one, three, and five. Ability to predict, explain, and affect the reasoning of a doll or cartoon character predicted performance in planning controlled experiments and in…

Presents a mock interview with John Dewey in which the questions are from the present, and the answers are culled from Dewey's writings from 60-100 years ago. Questions relate primarily to the current state of education in science. (WRM)

Describes the development, preparation, and use of a medium that can select against a wide variety of Gram-negative bacteria while still allowing growth and differentiation of a wide range of Gram-positives. (WRM)