Describes a lesson on pseudoscience for a teaching methods course that promotes active student participation, is not a laboratory activity, and follows the sequence of the three phases associated with the learning cycle model. Contains a true-false science questionnaire to be administered to students as a bridge to discussion. (PR)

Describes school science as a rite of passage, and exposes problems in school science that are made visible through the use of this metaphor. (PR)

Describes a simulation exercise developed for an introductory biology course for nonmajors. The simulation focuses on the control of western spruce budworms in forests of the western United States. A nonlinear, multivariate simulation model is used. (PR)

Students' conceptions of three major artificial intelligence concepts used in the modeling of systems in science, fuzzy logic, neural networks, and genetic algorithms were investigated before and after a higher education science course. Students initially explored their prior ideas related to the three concepts through active tasks. Then,…

This study compares frequencies of instructional practices across differing scheduling plans (Traditional and Block plans), and explores the association between high school scheduling plans and college science preparation, using introductory college science grades as the outcome measure. More than 7000 students enrolled in introductory college…

Many have called for reform of the science curriculum to incorporate the process of inquiry: this has been shown to improve student understanding of biological concepts. Laboratory activities provide excellent opportunities to incorporate inquiry in to the curriculum. This study used a modified version of the Laboratory Task Analysis Instrument…

One of the hottest areas of science today is the field in which biology, information technology,and computer science are merged into a single discipline called bioinformatics. This field enables the discovery and analysis of biological data, including nucleotide and amino acid sequences that are easily accessed through the use of computers. As…

Understanding the basic principles of structural biology is becoming a major subject of study in most undergraduate level programs in biology. In the genomic and proteomic age, it is becoming indispensable for biology students to master concepts related to the sequence and structure of proteins in order to develop skills that may be useful in a…

Based on recent reports in the science education literature, curricular modifications were made to one section of a freshman-level general chemistry course. Assessment results indicate that these modifications resulted in a more student-centered learning environment and increased student learning and satisfaction as compared to results from…

This study investigates the effectiveness of traditional and reform approaches in teaching earth science to future elementary school teachers. The research team was interested in whether reform strategies produce more content knowledge and a more positive change in attitude toward earth science among elementary education students when compared to…

This research project was designed to evaluate the synergistic effects of linking workshops for science teachers with electronic conferencing. The rationale for this study was that these two methods of professional development and communication would have an impact beyond that which either would have alone. Included are the abstract, a description…

This project used an "intrinsic models" approach to develop a sample of microcomputer materials on graphing linear and quadratic equations and on recognition of general functional relationships. The "intrinsic models" approach uses motivating activities which are direct expressions of the underlying mathematics. The area of…

This investigation of formaldehyde exposure in school laboratories, where its principal source is from preserved biological specimens, was undertaken because of concern over exposure levels reported in the literature. Information was obtained in two ways. A limited survey of schools was conducted to determine extent of students' use of preserved…

An experiment was conducted that compared the teaching effectiveness of a computer assisted instructional module and a lecture-discussion. The module, Predator Functional Response (PFR), was developed as part of the SUMIT (Single-concept User-adaptable Microcomputer-based Instructional Technique) project. A class of 30 students was randomly…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on students' (N=39) ideas on the concept of "animal." Data were…