Reported is a summary and review of over 300 research papers published in 1988. The review is organized into 10 sections: (1) "Professional Concerns"; (2) "Teacher Education"; (3) "Programs"; (4) "Curriculum"; (5) "Instruction"; (6) "Conceptual Development"; (7) "Problem…

Examined Australian year-10 students (n=110) for the effects of an instructional sequence in physics on their subsequent physics achievement and their perceived value of instruction aimed at conceptual change in year 11. An appendix outlines the year-10 instruction. (Contains 24 references.) (MDH)

The fair test is predominately used by primary teachers participating in a science-education project with King's College London. Debates whether this level of use of fair test investigations is appropriate. (DDR)

To successfully generate student excitement in science, teachers need to be flexible regarding their curriculums. Students also need to be open to novel, hands-on experiences. This article describes a student teacher (ST) who taught a science unit on "Our Environment." She had already prepared her lesson and unit thoroughly but she changed the…

This article offers a review of the major literature about attitudes to science and its implications over the past 20 years. It argues that the continuing decline in numbers choosing to study science at the point of choice requires a research focus on students' attitudes to science if the nature of the problem is to be understood and remediated.…

This is the second and final part of a review of educational research on children's ideas about gravity. The first part concerned students' understanding of how and why things fall. This article picks up the trail of research studies that address students' understanding of the more complex ideas of projectile motion and orbits and examines how the…

Formative computer-based assessments (CBAs) for self-instruction were introduced into a Year-2 field biology module. These CBAs were provided in "tutorial" mode where each question had context-related diagnostic feedback and tutorial pages, and a self-test mode where the same CBA returned only a score. The summative assessments remained…

The theory of reasoned action is a social psychological model that was first considered by science educators in the early 1980s to investigate attitude-behavior relationships. The theory has encouraged intense investigations in the prediction of behavior, development of instruments, and creation of belief-based interventions. This investigation…

Designed for integration into existing science curriculum for grades 8-10, this curriculum uses a current environmental issue, climate change, as a vehicle for teaching science education. Instructional goals include: (1) familiarize students with scientific methods; (2) help students understand the role of uncertainty; (3) encourage students to…

This document presents an overview of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Teacher Development Modules for Elementary School Science. It documents the collaboration of BSCS with science educators, science supervisors, and outstanding science teachers in developing, evaluating, refining, and disseminating four teacher development modules…

This proceedings report includes papers presented at a conference on teaching science to students with disabilities. In the first paper, "Family Pedigrees: A Model Lesson Illustrating Strategies for Teaching Students with Disabilities in a Mainstreamed High School Biology Class" (Kathleen Ball and Edward C. Keller, Jr.), strategies are described…

An evaluation of a CD-ROM multimedia component of a first grade science curriculum, the IBM/CTW "Through the Woods," is presented. The presentation offers hands-on activities related to forest ecology, such as virtual nature walks. Children participating in the study (n=95) displayed ability to use the technology, a high degree of affect…

This proceedings is comprised of the edited papers presented at the 21st meeting of the Western Australian Science Education Association (WASEA). The 26 papers included here relate to many different topics such as proportional reasoning, the state of primary science in Western Australia, faculty culture, concept formation in elementary science,…

Science/Technology/Society (STS) is widely recognized as a major reform effort as correctives are sought around the globe to attain scientific literacy for all. The focus of this book is on STS offered as reform. The efforts during the decade from 1984-1994 have resulted in research that can be used to affect practices while also assuring that STS…

In response to national reform movements, an introductory biology content science course specifically designed for elementary education majors has been developed and implemented for 3 years in a collaborative manner between the School of Biological Sciences and the Teachers College. Preliminary and ongoing quantitative survey analysis of teacher…