Examines the pros and cons of laboratory instruction. Complaints lodged against laboratory instruction include its high cost, and lack of research supporting the lab. Justifications listed include science education research supporting the lab, psychology, and common sense. (DS)

Describes modular science units for use in New Zealand primary schools. Includes a description of format, trial units, final product, and list of titles, as well as samples of a title page and page from a teacher's guide. (DS)

Describes several activities for preschool and primary age children integrating science and music sounds. Activities include using musical instruments, the voice, and the piano. Through these activities students can learn to listen to and discriminate between musical sounds made by striking and vibrating. (DS)

IT-INSET (Initial Training-In-Service Education of Teachers), is sponsored by the Department of Education and Science. It supports curriculum development by local teachers, providing them with initial-year education students as aides. The operation of the project at one junior school and the science curriculum developed are outlined. (SJL)

Describes the physics program at Saudi Arabia's University of Petroleum and Minerals, including the physics curriculum, examinations, and future plans. Includes comments on the development and operation of the University as a whole. (SK)

Describes a single introductory course for both nonscience and physics majors, emphasizing wave aspects of selected physics phenomena rather than traditional Newtonian mechanics. Modes of presentation, consistent with the notion of a spiral syllabus, are explained with reference to the cognitive and educational theories of Bruner and Piaget.…

Presents 15 recommendations to be discussed by delegates attending the international conference on chemical education at the University of Maryland during August 1981, including: exchange of information, new organizations, college instruction, new experiments and low cost equipment, academic-industry cooperation, popularizing chemistry, and…

Describes the relationship of Popper's theory of knowledge to chemistry instruction. Suggests that students be allowed to learn from their mistakes and presents five experiments with an implicit falsification purpose. (JN)

Determined if modifying Bloom's mastery strategy improves science achievement during a six week human physiology unit. Findings indicate only a small degree of improvement in achievement of 185 students. Suggests that the approach employed in this study would be impractical for the biology classroom. (DS)

Describes aspects of the preprofessional program for minority students in the health sciences at the University of Washington, including a summary of the history of the entire preprofessional program, factors bearing on selection and placement of students, and motivational factors. (CS)

Five types of models are discussed as they relate to their function in the sciences and science teaching. These include scale, analogue, mathematical, theoretical, and archetypal models. (SA)

Described are different chemistry curricula that use lecture-experiments. Different components are discussed within the lecture-experiment format, such as determinism, memory, note taking, descriptive chemistry, and holistic chemistry. Also discussed are different personalities in chemistry education. (DS)

Described is a Piagetian learning cycle based on Monte Carlo modeling of several simple reaction mechanisms. Included are descriptions of learning cycle phases (exploration, invention, and discovery) and four BASIC-PLUS computer programs to be used in the explanation of chemical reacting systems. (Author/DS)

Described is a diffusion apparatus to be used in an undergraduate physical chemistry laboratory experiment to determine the diffusion coefficients of aqueous solutions of sucrose and potassium dichromate. Included is the principle of the method, apparatus design and description, and experimental procedure. (Author/DS)

Described is a science experiment involving the isolation and study of microorganisms. Bacteria from the mouth are cultured on blood agar culture plates and are then exposed to four different mouthwashes to test their effectiveness. (DS)