The purpose of this research study was to examine the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) on eleventh grade students' understanding of "The effects of temperature, concentration and pressure on cell potential" and also their social skills. Stratified randomly selected control and experimental groups with 20 students each were used in…

This article describes the approach of a five-year initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation, to improve the teaching of mathematics and science in 10 rural school districts of Missouri. Traditional challenges of improving the professional practice of teachers are addressed through a regional partnership. External project evaluation…

Promoting access to the general curriculum has emerged as a central theme of the standards-based reform movement, challenging educators to identify effective strategies for supporting students with disabilities to access the numerous social and learning opportunities within general education. We examined peer support interventions as an…

The purpose of this research project was to determine the effects of incorporating concept mapping on the achievement of fifth grade students in science class. The study was conducted with twenty-three students at Ata Elementary School, Trabzon, Turkey. The students were tested with teacher-constructed pre- and post tests containing 20…

Many proven research-based instructional strategies have been developed for introductory college-level physics. Significant efforts to disseminate these strategies have focused on convincing individual instructors to give up their traditional practices in favor of particular research-based practices. Yet evidence suggests that the findings of…

Forty-eight new secondary science teachers participated in a study that required a listing, discussion, and application of criteria to rank three chemistry laboratory procedures. The three similar lab procedures involved synthesis of a compound from its elements. The top criteria noted by teachers focused on procedural issues (i.e., timeliness,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the impact of Internet Virtual Physics Laboratory (IVPL) instruction with traditional laboratory instruction in physics academic achievement, performance of science process skills, and computer attitudes of tenth grade students. One-hundred and fifty students from four classes at one private…

Applying the whole language perspective across the primary-grade curriculum, this book presents 10 essays that describe first-, second-, and third-grade classrooms where teachers find authentic, meaningful ways for children to communicate about their lives and what they are learning. Essays in the book demonstrate numerous whole language…

Suggesting that writing can play an integral part in the learning process, this ERIC "FAST Bib" provides annotations of 31 ERIC documents and journal articles published between 1987 and 1992 concerning the Writing to Learn movement. The citations in the first section of the FAST Bib present an overview of the theories and criticisms of…

Factors influencing the learning of mathematics in the linguistically diverse classroom are examined, drawing on the literature of mathematics and science instruction and of multicultural education. Teachers are encouraged to be aware that several linguistic, cultural, and cognitive factors affect the learner's academic performance, and to use…

An assessment of the professional needs of science teachers was conducted in order to aid in the development of more effective preservice and inservice teacher training programs in Malaysia. A modified version of the Teacher Need Assessment Questionnaire was administered to 78 science teachers. Data analysis indicated that the top 25 perceived…

Teaching is essentially a personal and professional business in which lively, thinking, enthusiastic teachers continue to analyze their own activities and mediate the curriculum framework to their students. This book aims at encouraging teachers and curriculum developers to continue to rethink how science and technology should be taught in…

This study investigated the effectiveness of experiential learning in promoting student understanding and achievement, as compared to traditional expository instruction. Twenty third-grade students from central Virginia were divided into two heterogeneous groups and taught a single lesson on air using identical content objectives. The control…

The primary objective of the Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics and Science (PIMMS) is to bring high quality staff development in mathematics and science to teachers of all levels. This report describes the progress PIMMS has made over the past 12 years in fostering an appreciation of mathematics and science by teachers in the state of…

This study explores the way music operates in the mental processing of computer-supported instructional messages, whose other modes are text and graphics. The experiment examined the effect of music on the immediate recall and understanding of three equivalent science lessons delivered by a computer. The objective properties of the music were…