This is a two-part curriculum package for the teaching of chemistry and the periodic table. The first part, the Teacher's Guide, contains information necessary for using the equipment in a typical classroom including learning goals, vocabulary, math skills, and sample data for each activity. The second part of the package consists of photocopy…

Nearly 100 teachers worked with staff members at the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco, California, to create scaled-down versions of Exploratorium exhibits that teachers could make on their own using common, inexpensive, readily-available materials. The experiments--called "snacks"--are divided into easy-to-follow sections that…

Provided is a list of educational software arranged alphabetically by manufacturer. Entries include name, system requirements, current cost, and a brief description. A wide variety of subject areas, educational levels, and formats (drill/practice, games, tutorials, and others) are included. (JN)

Discusses how local, state, and national initiatives are addressing the need for improved financial benefits, better training, and greater recognition for science teachers, and for programs to attract more science students. Suggests that physicists and other scientists become involved in various areas of science education in schools. (JN)

Criticizes a proposed approach to teaching physics in terms of energy carriers (SE 532 196), arguing that it requires energy to be thought of as a substance which can flow. Discusses problems related to concept formation and logical difficulties with the curriculum, considering several contradictions to physics principles which may arise. (JM)

Describes the development of a two-week National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded course at the Virginia Military Institute to promote the lecture demonstration technique. (SK)

Information is presented, based on two visits to the USSR combined with a reading acquaintance of Soviet science education, about education in science in Soviet schools. (PB)

Describes a course using the prospect of living in space for motivating students to learn basic physics as well as differences between pure science and technology. Includes course content and a sample final examination. (Author/JN)

A study found first-year physics students at the University of Namibia (UNAM), considered to be a select group of students, to be as prepared for laboratory work as Australian tenth-graders. Comparison with students of Potchefstroom University (South Africa) found UNAM students deficient in both cognitive and affective aspects of laboratory work.…

Presents several types of functions which fit a given set of data and create opportunities for classroom discussion comparing different kinds of functions and identifying some of the potential hazards associated with extrapolation from best-fit functions. (DDR)

Presented is a unified science and technology instructional model that emphasizes multidisciplinary learning through discovery and hands-on activities. Two courses, developed from this model, are described in terms of curriculum, teaching methods, scheduling, credit, limitations, enrollment, and promotion. (KR)

This study reports a new analysis of data on children's ideas about direct current (DC) electrical circuits. The analysis is theoretically informed by Piagetian stage theory of genetic epistemology. The limits of the genetic epistemology are discussed. (KR)

Within 40 departments, 10 each of physics, sociology, electrical engineering, and education, faculty commitment to the institution was assessed for each career stage and level of research productivity, examining the relative power of rewards and support variables. A meaningful but differential role for rewards is found among the disciplines.…

Described are the apparatus and procedures needed for a demonstration of the measurement of the electrical resistance of metals as a function of temperature using a microcomputer interface. Discussed are materials, apparatus construction, and experimental results. (CW)

Described are the apparatus and procedures needed for a demonstration of a determination of the polarity of charges carried by individual ground flashes of lightning. Discussed are materials, apparatus construction, and experimental results. (CW)