Because many incoming geoscience students did not acknowledge their previous personal encounters with the earth's geological processes or products, we developed the Geological Sense of Place (GSP) template as a convenient way to assess students' earth science backgrounds through short answer, mini-essay, and induced associative responses. The GSP…

This article describes a challenge given to students completing a senior high school biology course. The scenario described encourages students to apply their knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of scientific and commercial principles. It permits them the opportunity to develop skills in research, collaboration, cooperation, delegation, and…

How do students' best learn in science? The traditional, teacher-centered view was that students, viewed as "empty vessels" waiting to be filled with new knowledge, "received" understanding by absorbing information supplied by teachers and found in written materials. Supplying information to students, without accounting for…

In this fifth Report on Teaching compiled by Change Magazine, focus is on anthropology, foreign languages, and physics. Articles dealing with teaching competence at the higher education level in anthropology deal with both classroom and field instruction, written by: Francis L K. Hsu, Nathaniel Sheppard, Jr., Ronald Henkoff, Evan Jenkins, Liva…

A program description and evaluation for a high school course in aviology is presented. The curriculum, originally taught at the Laboratory School at the University of Florida, was designed to: (1) use aviation as a motivator for science; (2) present an overview of aviation; (3) help students see their role in the future of aviation; (4) provide…

Intended for use by local school districts, this guide provides assistance to curriculum planners, members of boards of education, administrators, supervisors, classroom teachers, and others involved in and concerned about the development of science curriculum for elementary and secondary education. It is designed to assist in: (1) establishing…

Three studies were made of the implementation of the Australian Science Education Project (ASEP) materials in secondary classes in Victoria, Australia. The materials were designed to facilitate a more individualized approach to the learning of science. The first implementation study sought the perceptions of teachers, the second analyzed student…

In spring 1980, a study was conducted to determine the present level of course activity in community colleges in the areas of science and society, technology and society, environmental studies, the history of science and/or technology, or other science, technology, and society (STS) fields. In addition, the study sought to encourage contact…

A conceptual basis for a major study on science education in Canada to be conducted by the Science Council of Canada is presented. Section one explains the rationale behind the study. Different people argue that the relevance of science to daily living has been lost and that science education should therefore focus on the purpose of science rather…

Originally prepared for the Science Council of Canada, this document presents a rationale and general framework for a science and society curriculum for Canadian students. Pointing out ways in which citizens are scientifically illiterate, it argues that science education must address social issues and prepare individuals to make social and…

Designed to serve as a resource for science teachers, kindergarten through college, this publication contains 10 chapters, each focused on a topic of interest to science teachers working in the 1980's. Chapter titles and their authors are: (1) Understanding Science as a Cultural Phenomenon - Mission for the 80's, Drew Christianson; (2) What…

This study investigated the extent of forward shaping due to post-questions on (1) focussing Canadian chemistry students' (N=109) attention on different and similar categories of information (for example, kinds of chemical reactions) described in a science text and (2) requiring students to process science information at high/low knowledge and…

Two main factors are involved in bilingual-bicultural education as far as science education is concerned. First, there is the interplay between language and concept formation, and secondly, there is a need for culturally familiar examples in science materials for bilingual students. In line with these factors, this paper suggests that an inquiry…

The procedures, major findings, and conclusions of the Adolescent Reasoning Project are summarized in this final report to the National Science Foundation. Eleven different experiments were conducted to investigate the role of naturalistic and laboratory task content on scientific reasoning. Participants involved 1500 seventh, ninth, eleventh, and…

Presented are the teacher's guide and student materials for one of a series of self-instructional, computer-based learning modules for an introductory, undergraduate chemistry course. The student module for this introductory unit on chemical equilibrium includes objectives, prerequisites, pretest, instructions for executing the computer program,…