Describes a project where teams of middle school students share their classroom pets and information about them with elementary students. Provides middle school students with experience in research skills and oral presentations. Provides elementary students with an opportunity to learn about the care and habits of the animals and to observe the…

Discusses the work and inventions of Thomas Edison and their use in making teachers and students aware of the importance of electrotechnology in their lives and in their futures. Enables students to learn about science, experimentation, research, the process of invention, and the thrill of discovery. Describes educational resources available from…

Presents a study designed to determine which particular aspects of pregnancy, birth, and babies were of most interest to 8-year-old children. Children were interested in details of a baby's behavior and development as well as the impact of its arrival on the parents. There were distinct gender differences in those topics, which particularly…

This action research study evaluated problem-based learning (PBL), traditional lecture, and a combination of PBL and lecture in an elective biochemistry course at a secondary school for gifted students. Lecture tended to wide content coverage, whereas understanding and retention was promoted by PBL. (Author/DB)

Describes a technique for downloading digital images of a fresh human cadaver from a commercially available CD-ROM and from the Internet. The images can be annotated to illustrate specific anatomic features and display groups of images in a format that is easy to use during lectures and accessible to undergraduate students for study during and…

Presents discussions on sources, health impacts, methods of analysis as well as lengthy discussions of lead, nitrates, and atrazine as related to water pollution and the interdisciplinary nature of the modern chemistry curriculum. (DKM)

Describes how the popular TV show "X-Files" was used as a model to develop an in-depth semester-length project, in which 10th graders integrated history, math, science, and English as they worked in investigative teams to develop evidence dossiers, memos, and presentations following stringent requirements yet allowing students…

Reviews the educational reform and philosophy of Confucianism, the communist ideology, the psychological characteristics of the Chinese, and the Chinese language as the cultural context of school science teaching and learning in the People's Republic of China. Focuses on the effects of cultural influences. Contains 28 references. (DDR)

Discusses a series of year-long writing activities using portfolios in eighth-grade science class. Notes that students received feedback about their performance from multiple sources. Suggests that students found this formative focus productive and valuable, and took a more active role in mastering the course content than if the course had been…

Describes projects for high school physics classes that use computer tools including integrated software packages, graphing calculators, and calculator-based lab and microcomputer-based lab. Sites available on the World Wide Web are discussed and specific examples of experiments based on Galileo and Newton are included. (LRW)

Describes reform efforts in science education at Northern Arizona University that emphasize active, inquiry-based learning in introductory biology classes. Recommends the use of a number of strategies to involve large classes in thinking about and doing science. Contains 20 references. (DDR)

Describes research conducted with student teachers of elementary and secondary science education. Analyzes and compares the preservice teachers' conceptions of science with their classroom practices when teaching a science lesson. Results indicate that there is no correspondence between student teacher conceptions of the nature of science and…

Presents an introduction to the Internet and the World Wide Web showing what they can provide for the biology teacher. Discusses how to get connected, how to avoid pitfalls, and how to maximize the benefits from a growing global information system. Includes pointers to useful and relevant Internet sites. (AIM)

Presents a science activity that integrates the disciplines of anatomy, physiology, genetics, and forensics in which students act as detectives unraveling evidence at a murder crime scene. This project is designed to enhance student interest by providing immediate application of these disciplines. (DKM)

Explores the nature and extent of perceived challenge in learning and teaching science. Teachers (n=7) and students (n=37) in 5 secondary schools were the subjects of this study. Findings suggest that many students are insufficiently challenged by the science they learn in school and many teachers are insufficiently challenged by the task of…