In this study, I present an analysis of instructor comments on assignments written for upper-division courses in the biological sciences as a window into current practices around teaching science writing to major students. My results demonstrate that, while the overwhelming majority of instructors respond primarily to lower order issues of grammar…

This quasi-experimental study examined effects of a 12-week, teacher-delivered, morphologically focused intervention on writing outcomes for fifth-grade U.S. students. In order to help students gain control over the morphologically complex words that typify academic writing, the intervention called students' attention to the morphological…

This study examined the influence of a professional development program based around commercially available inquiry science curricula on the teaching practices of 27 beginning elementary school teachers and their teacher mentors over a 2 year period. A quantitative rubric used to score inquiry elements and use of data in videotaped lessons…

Diversity, multicultural education, equity, and social justice are dominant themes in cultural studies (Hall in "Cultural Dialogues in Cultural Studies." Routledge, New York, pp 261-274, 1996; Wallace 1994). Zeichner ("Studying Teacher Education: The Report of the AERA Panel on Research and Teacher Education." Lawrence Erlbaum…

This paper estimates the effects of an education policy (Triple Science) in England aimed at increasing the take-up and attainment of young people in science subjects. The effect of the policy is identified by comparing two adjacent cohorts of pupils in schools that offer Triple Science to one cohort, but not to the other. The results suggest some…

Since soil plays a crucial role in all aspects of global environmental change, it is essential that post-secondary institutions provide students with a strong foundation in soil science concepts including soil classification. The onset of information technology (IT) and web-based multimedia have opened new avenues to better incorporate…

In this study, federal court opinions and writings of legal scholars, spanning 63 years of establishment clause jurisprudence in the US federal courts were analysed in an effort to determine dominant trends in judicial philosophy that are of significance to science educators. The study's findings suggest that the dominant legal theory underpinning…

How does the degree of inquiry-based laboratory instruction impact student performance and student perseverance in the laboratory portion of a first-semester general chemistry course? The implementation of a new first-semester general chemistry laboratory curriculum provided an opportunity to address this question. A modified version of…

School science courses have widely varying participation rates across a range of student characteristics. One of the stated aims of the 2006 Key Stage 4 science curriculum reforms in England was to improve social mobility and inclusion. To encourage students to study more science, this reform was followed by the introduction in 2008 of an…

Quantum mechanical (QM) and molecular docking methods are used to probe systems of biological and synthetic interest. Probing interactions of nucleobases within proteins, and properly modeling said interactions toward novel nucleobase development, is extremely difficult, and of great utility in RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics. The issues in…

In a standards-based system, it is important for all components of the system to align in order to achieve the intended goals. No Child Left Behind law mandates that assessments be fully aligned with state standards, be valid, reliable and fair, be reported to all stakeholders, and provide evidence that all students in the state are meeting the…

The purpose of the present article was to gain knowledge about what aspects of, and in what way, contextual and conceptual intersubjectivity contribute to emergent science knowledge about sound. Starting from a Vygotskian theoretical base, the article rests on the work of Fleer (early learning and development. Cultural-historical concepts in play,…

This study utilized an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach to explore randomly assigned treatment and control participants' frequency of inquiry instruction in secondary science classrooms. Eleven treatment participants received professional development (PD) that emphasized a structured approach to inquiry instruction, while 10 control…

This paper aimed to explore the factors that influenced teachers' adaptations of the curriculum materials of the new senior secondary chemistry curriculum, a standards-based science curriculum, in China. This study was based on the premise that the interaction of the teacher with curriculum materials in a given social context determined what…

This one-day workshop for pre-service teachers was aimed at implementing a uniquely designed and ready-to-implement chemical engineering curriculum in high school coursework. This educational and professional development opportunity introduced: 1) chemical engineering curriculum and career opportunities, 2) basic industrial processes and flow…