Discusses the origin of theories in geography and particularly the development of location theories. Considers the influence of economic theory on agricultural land use, industrial location, and geographic location theories. Explores a set of interrelated activities that show how the marketing process illustrates process theory. (MJP)

An eighth-grade science teacher shares her successes and strategies for designing and implementing an individualized scientific investigation approach for students with three major problems: (1) low reading ability, (2) high absenteeism, and (3) limited background in science. (ZWH)

In discussing the human and cultural implications of scientific discoveries and knowledge, the biological concept of carrying capacity is explored. Maintaining that human beings are truly animals answering to principles that govern all animals, the author addresses the need for human populations to work within the context of culture and carrying…

Describes an activity in which the students utilize the mathematics concepts of ratio, proportion, and data tabulation to examine the relationship between air pressure, temperature, and humidity. Students learn to approximate partial pressure by using humidity and temperature readings and by interpolating from the vapor pressure-temperature table.…

Provides background information on landfills and describes an activity where students learn how a modern landfill is constructed and develop an understanding of the reasons for several regulations regarding modern landfill construction. Students design and construct working models of three types of landfills. (PR)

Describes using the movie "Jurassic Park" as a foundation for a middle school interdisciplinary unit involving science, math, language arts, history, and geography. Suggested books and activities are presented. (PR)

Explorer is an interactive environment based on a constructivist epistemology of learning that integrates animated computer models with analytic capabilities for learning science. The system includes graphs, a spreadsheet, scripting, and interactive tools. Two examples involving the dynamics of colliding objects and electric circuits illustrate…

Describes the implementation of a bioethics laboratory exercise that incorporates a variety of instructional strategies. In the activity, General Biology students consider relevant and interesting topics of bioethical importance and prepare classroom presentations on the different viewpoints normally attendant to ethical topics. Includes an…

The first challenge in designing and teaching any course is to decide what to teach. At most colleges and universities, the process of selecting course content is an extremely local enterprise. Sometimes the decisions are made by a small group of faculty members, but most often they are made by a single professor with the responsibility of…

This study investigated the effectiveness of conceptual change texts oriented instruction accompanied by demonstrations in small groups on students' ecology achievement and attitude towards biology. 78 ninth grade students in a public high school participated in this study. While the control group was taught with the traditional method, the…

In May 2005, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop curricular units for Grades K-12 on Space Exploration. The units focus on aspects of the themes that NASA Engineers and Scientists--as well as future generations of explorers--must consider, such…

Lunar Nautics is a hands-on curriculum targeted to youth in grades 6 to 8, that allows the students to design, test, analyze and manage a space mission from initial concept to project funding. Lunar Nautics provides opportunities for development of problem solving skills and critical thinking skills that are needed to design, organize and manage a…

PISA (the Programme for International Student Assessment) is a triennial survey of the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds. It is the product of collaboration between participating countries and economies through the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), and draws on leading international expertise to develop valid…

Although science centres and museums are important educational resources, school trips to these places are not often conducted in a manner that could maximise learning. In addressing this issue, a Framework for Museum Practice (FMP) is proposed, derived from the perspectives of Cultural Historical Activity Theory, theories of intrinsic motivation,…

This article explains the apparent failure to communicate between science education researchers, policy makers, and staff at state and district offices of education. Each group is a stakeholder in K-12 education. Policy makers specify courses of action to meet the needs of an educational system, state and district staff work to implement these…