The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics and Huston-Tillotson University collaborated on a proof of concept project to offer a geoscience course to undergraduate students and preservice teachers in order to expand the scope of geoscience education within the local minority student and teacher population. Students were exposed to rigorous…

Physical science is important for developing scientific literacy yet a majority of teachers responsible for physical science courses do not have an academic degree in physical science. Programs aimed at increasing teacher content knowledge can be time consuming. This dissertation examines the impact of an inquiry based, professional development…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Inclusion of "Deeper Learning" Competencies Varies in State Waiver Applications, New Alliance Report Finds: Report Argues That…

The study was aimed at designing and developing a Physics module based on learning style and appropriate technology in secondary educational setting by employing Isman Instructional Design Model and to test the effectiveness of the module. The paper draws attention to the design principles which employs Isman Instructional Design Model. The…

This Forum paper explores how Matthew Gaydos and Kurt Squire in their manuscript, "CITIZEN SCIENCE: Role Playing Games for Scientific Citizenship," represent issues of games literacy and science literacy. What is the meaning of expertise in the context of games-based learning? An examination of the studies presented suggests that games, like other…

For more than half a century concerns about the ability of American students to compete in a global workplace focused policymakers' attention on improving school performance generally, and student achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) specifically. In its most recent form--No Child Left Behind--there is evidence…

Learning science requires higher-level (critical) thinking skills that need to be practiced in science classes. This study tested the effect of exam format on critical-thinking skills. Multiple-choice (MC) testing is common in introductory science courses, and students in these classes tend to associate memorization with MC questions and may not…

The purpose of the current study was to identify the extent to which learning styles influence the educational process as well as the outcome of elementary-age students in terms of academic achievement. This study examined potential relationships between the degree of match (as determined by comparing learning style preferences of students with…

The GetWET Observatory was developed as part of an overall course redesign of the Introductory Geology Laboratory at Colorado State University to improve student learning of key surface and groundwater concepts for nonmajors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Consisting of six groundwater monitoring wells, the GetWET Observatory…

The study investigates the effect of cooperative and individualistic learning strategies on the academic performance of students in the general chemistry laboratory. The samples of the study were divided into experimental and control groups. The hypotheses were first generated and, after collecting data, analyzed by an analysis of t-test at an a =…

The policy of changing the medium of instruction in the teaching of mathematics and science from Bahasa Melayu to English is an important innovation affecting teachers of mathematics and science. It poses special challenges not only for teachers who have been trained in the Malay medium but also for those trained in English. This investigation…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of a context-based teaching approach (STS) versus a more traditional textbook approach on the attitudes and achievement of community college chemistry students. In studying attitudes toward chemistry within this study, I used a 30-item Likert scale in order to study the importance of chemistry in…

Despite costly global efforts to improve and reward teacher qualifications like education and experience, little international evidence exists on the relationship between these attributes and student achievement. It is also unclear whether these attributes are more important for disadvantaged children, or in lower-income countries. This article…

This study examined changes in student motivation and achievement in science during a visit to a university children's science museum. The study was based on the pretest-posttest control comparison group design with four treatment groups: control, exhibit, lesson and exhibit/lesson. The sample consisted of 228 sixth-grade students from a Louisiana…

A Geological Perspective is a general education survey course for non-science majors at a large southwestern research extensive university. The class has traditionally served 600 students per semester in four 150-student lectures taught by faculty, and accompanied by optional weekly study groups run by graduate teaching assistants. We radically…