Notes that traditional early childhood science programs have attempted to facilitate children's understanding of the physical or natural world. Suggests another view: that children are developing scientific thinking processes or learning strategies in the personal and social domains, and that this should be seen as part of science program in early…

Researchers revised a psychological assessment of organization in memory to measure organization in thinking. Secondary students viewed a videotape, wrote essays, then created word trees using provided words that eliminated the memory component in their original task. The ordered-tree technique reliably measured organization in thinking.…

Investigates scientific reasoning skills used by students in a naturalistic collaborative writing context and changes in students' reasoning discourse over time. Findings suggest that an understanding of socially constructed scientific reasoning skills is important for designing meaningful collaborative activities and assessments in science. (LZ)

A study involving 60 fifth-grade classrooms assessed student growth on integrated science process skills after being taught a 20-36 hour science unit based on the Integrated Curriculum Model developed for gifted learners. Results indicate small, but significant, gains for students in skills when compared to students not using the unit. (CR)

Examined the complex interactions among student engagement, scientific-thinking practices, and student role taking and social interaction in the context of school-based science lessons. Found that students in an intellectual-roles plus audience-roles condition were more active in initiating engagement episodes than those in intellectual roles only…

Introduces puzzles that proved challenging and popular in the Mexican Chemistry Olympiad. Presents data showing that mainstream general chemistry students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln enjoyed the puzzles and were challenged by them. (WRM)

Gives several sample experiment problems for electricity and magnetism. To solve an experiment problem, students have to do one or more of the following: clarify a poorly defined problem, divide a problem into parts, access the appropriate concept needed to solve each problem part, decide whether approximations are appropriate, design an…

Describes an activity in which students use metric measurements to find length and mass, calculate the towing strength of a bess beetle, and compare animal adaptations with human adaptations. (WRM)

Describes an activity in which students make careful observations about earwigs, then design their own questions for further investigation. (WRM)

Describes the development of an innovative, multimedia, interactive CD-ROM aimed at helping teachers tackle the problem that students have with evaluating science laboratory work. (Author/WRM)

Describes an experiment in which students determine the density of Coke and Diet Coke, consider density as an intensive property, and compare the accuracy and precision of different types of glassware. (WRM)

Argues that treatment of one investigative longitudinal topic from start to finish in a high school biology class can illustrate many major ideas and concepts. Discusses ways to use various longitudinal studies of plant growth with General Biology classes. (WRM)

Examines the growth in students' understanding about the nature of astronomy in a one-semester college course. Discusses how students respond to instruction with regard to the extent to which they demand and examine evidence used for justifying claims, integrate scientific and religious views, and distinguish between scientific and nonscientific…

Discusses ways for teachers to help students understand how to ask questions appropriate for scientific inquiry. (WRM)

Explores different curricular emphases in processes and content which reflect different goals and educational research traditions. Problem solving remains neglected in both areas. Draws on situated learning and social constructivist literature to provide insights into problem solving in technology education. Contains 54 references. (Author/PVD)