In this keynote address presented at the Mid-western Educational Research Association Annual Meeting in October, 2004, the author discusses the increasing interest of federal policy-makers in scientifically-based research. A comparison between education and other disciplines is offered, and a proposal for increased rigor in educational research is…

The experiments reported here were designed to investigate the influence of stress typicality during speeded grammatical classification of disyllabic English words by native and non-native speakers. Trochaic nouns and iambic verbs were considered to be typically stressed, whereas iambic nouns and trochaic verbs were considered to be atypically…

Some positive responses emerged from the tragic events of September 11, 2001, including recognition of the importance of international education, especially about non-Western cultural regions of the world. Colleges and universities in particular saw dramatically increased interest in teaching and learning about Islam and the Arab world. Many…

Reading youth writing is an avenue for the youth where they can express their opinions and ideas. In this article, the author questions whether practitioners in the field of cultural studies are actually engaged in this particular dialogue. The author has examined several articles written by young people from "Toronto Star." He realized…

We present an alternative to a traditional first-year chemistry laboratory experiment. This experiment has four key features: students utilize stoichiometry, learn and apply principles of green chemistry, engage in authentic scientific inquiry, and discover why each part of a scientific lab report is necessary. The importance and essential…

This study explored the application of authentic discovery laboratory techniques in the teaching of motor learning with 35 undergraduate students. Students received either the traditional theory driven protocol during the laboratory component of a required motor learning class or were asked to complete the laboratory component utilizing "consider"…

Science process skills such as observing, classifying, inferring, interpreting, predicting, and hypothesizing can all be classified as a sub category of thinking skills. This book is part of the series "Strategies for Learning" that focuses on the step-by-step development and application of thinking skills as a vehicle for learning science. The…

The focus on practical investigations in the National Curriculum is seen to be important if students are to attain a connoisseurship in science experimentation. The chain of processes involved in doing real science involves: non-linear thinking; creative flair; and critical evaluation within an authentic setting. The research presented in this…

This book contains innovative hands-on science laboratory activities designed to teach 4th- through 9th-graders about the environment. The background materials and instructions included in each activity are written for students to work together in teams. Activities cover subjects such as smog, symbiosis, soil, trees, ecosystems, recycling,…

This paper reports on an investigation into individual differences and group differences in learning styles, test anxiety levels, task performance, and students' attitudes regarding cooperative learning in beginning and advanced biology classes. The Transactional Analysis Inventory (TAI) and Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) were administered to two groups…

The Cognitive Science Laboratory of the University of Southern California has conducted a series of studies on the experimental effects of motivation on a low-stakes (to the student) standardized test. This report summarizes these studies and their results. The test in question is the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). A series of…

This curriculum unit on the ozone is intended for high school students and contains sections on environmental science and chemistry. It has been structured according to a learning cycle model and contains numerous activities, some of which are in a cooperative learning format. Skills emphasized include laboratory procedures, experimental design,…

ChemSource is designed as a strategy to help preservice and inservice high school chemistry teachers promote student learning more effectively. Its major premise is that well-designed laboratory investigations are an important avenue for cultivating student interest, engagement, and meaningful learning in chemistry. The SourceBook component of…

This teacher's guide presents 12 hands-on laboratory activities for high school science classes that cover the environmental issue of water resources in California. The activities are separated into three sections. Five activities in the section on water quality address the topics of groundwater, water hardness, bottled water, water purity, and…

The purpose of this guide is to help students better understand the science, citizen action, and research issues that are part of the acid rain problem. The guide is designed for students in grades 4-8 and their teachers. Following an introduction, the first seven sections are informative in nature. They include: (1) "Observations about Acidity";…