The educational reform movement since the 1990s has led the secondary earth science curriculum in Taiwan into a stage of reshaping. The present study investigated secondary earth science teachers' perceptions on the Goals of Earth Science Education (GESE). The GESE should express the statements of philosophy and purpose toward which educators…

Implementation of science curriculum materials has been a fundamental challenge in science education for decades. Policy researchers have argued that alignment of standards, curriculum, and assessment are the key to supporting implementation. This paper focuses on teachers' perceptions of curricular alignment and on curriculum implementation using…

An area that teachers often find difficult to make interesting is the earth science component of the science curriculum. This may be for a variety of reasons, such as lack of knowledge, lack of ideas or lack of resources. This article outlines ideas and activities that have been developed by the Earth Science Teachers' Association (ESTA) primary…

To enhance bioengineering in the chemical engineering curriculum, a Unit Operations experiment simulating the hemodialysis of creatinine was implemented. The blood toxin creatinine was used for developing a more realistic dialysis experiment. A dialysis model is presented that allows students to assess the validity of model assumptions. This work…

Advances in the biological sciences necessitate the training of chemical engineers to translate these fundamental discoveries into applications that will benefit society. Accordingly, Tulane University revised its core chemical engineering curriculum in 2005 to include a new introductory course in bioengineering and biotechnology for sophomores.…

Gifted students are often underserved because they do not have access to highly challenging curriculum. In October, 2002, Project LOGgED ON (www.scrolldown.com/loggedon/) at University of Virginia received federal funding from the Jacob Javits Act to tackle this issue. Those who were part of the LOGgED ON project developed advanced science…

This article explores the meaning of the nature of science education to enhance scientific literacy. It argues that the teaching approach for science education should be regarded as "education through science", rather than "science through education". A model of the nature of science education is proposed, having its foundations based on activity…

The features and the development of various new acids and bases activity sets that combines chemistry with nanotechnology are being described. These sets lead to the generation of many nanotechnology-based pharmaceuticals for the treatment of various diseases.

Decision making is influenced by multiple factors, especially when approaching controversial socio-scientific issues, such as stem cell research. In the present study, we used qualitative data from 132 college student papers in a biotechnology course to investigate how students made decisions about stem cell research issues. Students indicated…

Constructing scientific explanations and participating in argumentative discourse are seen as essential practices of scientific inquiry (e.g., R. Driver, P. Newton, & J. Osborne, 2000). In this paper, we identify three goals of engaging in these related scientific practices: (1) sensemaking, (2) articulating, and (3) persuading. We propose using…

This article reports on two research projects (one in Malaysia and one in Australia) that studied the experiences of Islamic background learners studying western science. Conceptually, this research program is conducted within a socially constructivist discourse and employs both quantitative and qualitative forms of data collection. The article…

This paper describes and discusses the unique chemistry course opportunities beyond the advanced placement-level available at a science and technology magnet high school. Students may select entry-level courses such as honors and advanced placement chemistry; they may also take electives in organic chemistry with instrumental methods of analysis;…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the environmental teaching efficacy and outcome-expectancy beliefs of elementary preservice teachers. The study also evaluated the importance of ethnicity as a construct in influencing teachers' beliefs toward environmental education. Among groups, participants involved in the Global Learning and…

The idea that formative assessments embedded in a curriculum could help guide teachers toward better instructional practices that lead to greater student learning has taken center stage in science assessment research. In order to embed formative assessments in a curriculum, curriculum developers and assessment specialists should collaborate to…

Changes in teacher efficacy and attitudes toward teaching were examined throughout a teacher education program as teachers worked to integrate new skills into their science curriculum. Correlation coefficients were calculated for the changes. Positive correlation was observed between changes in attitude and self-efficacy. Negative correlation was…