Describes a means for determining student knowledge in science. Written in student-level language, WALLS contains statements about science knowledge within bricks on a worksheet. Students shade in bricks they know or activities they have done and part-shade any they are unsure about, giving a differentiated starting point that allows them to plan…

Information on the content of the intended science curriculum, what science was actually taught by the teachers, and how that science was taught is presented. Student achievement and attitudes were assessed using tests and questionnaires. Data were obtained from teachers regarding whether the content had been taught to the students (n=657) who…

Reports on the relationship between students' propositional knowledge, measured by concept mapping tasks, and their study strategies, measured by self-report questionnaires, as it relates to the concept of photosynthesis as presented in a first-year biology course. Results indicate that involved, purposeful study strategies, prompted by relevant…

South Korean students scored better than students from 18 other countries on math and science achievement tests. In South Korea, economic social status for oneself and one's family are directly related to educational level. This, plus intense pressure from parents and authoritarian teachers, motivates students to score well on competitive national…

Describes a study of Australian independent schools that assessed the use of laptop computers in science classrooms in grades eight and nine. Highlights include students' perceptions of teachers' interpersonal behavior; associations between teacher-student interpersonal behavior and students' attitudes to science and their enquiry skill…

Compared the effect of problem solving-based computer- assisted instruction (PSCAI) and lecture-Internet-discussion instruction (LIDI) on Taiwanese high school students' science achievement and attitudes. Pretest-posttest investigation indicated that PSCAI students scored higher, but not significantly higher, than LIDI students. There were…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between different types of professional development, teachers' instructional practices, and the achievement of students in science and mathematics. The types of professional development studied included immersion, examining practice, curriculum implementation, curriculum development, and…

This study examined associations between multiple parental behaviors and children's participation in out-of-school math, science, and computer activities for children in 2nd (n = 125), 3rd (n = 123), and 5th grade (n = 200). Mothers and fathers reported how often they encouraged their children's activities, participated in activities with their…

A challenge for urban systemic reform initiatives in science education has been to achieve local, state, and national standards for teaching and learning. We have collaborated with teachers in the Detroit Public School System to design project-based curriculum materials that contextualize the learning of science in meaningful real-world problems,…

With few exceptions, accountability systems for programs for English language learners (ELLs) have focused on the achievement patterns of ELLs who are still considered "limited English proficient" and program evaluations have been unable to answer the question whether ELLs actually catch up with English proficient peers after attending a bilingual…

Education aims to enable students not only to acquire knowledge but also to become capable and enthusiastic lifelong learners. Prior research has found that learning is more likely to be effective where a student plays a proactive role in the learning process. Such a proactive process, including learning on students' own initiative and strategies,…

A large percentage of U.S. students attending high-poverty urban middle schools achieve low levels of science proficiency, posing significant challenges to their success in high school science and to national and local efforts to reform science education. Through its work in Philadelphia schools, the Center for Social Organization of Schools at…

This study focused on teachers' academic preparation for teaching science and mathematics, as measured by the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) which collected data for a nationally representative sample of 26,435 8th-grade students clustered within 1,052 schools. The relationship between teachers' academic preparation, their…

This document presents an overview of the frameworks developed for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) at grades 4, 8, and 12 in reading, United States history, geography, mathematics, and science. The critical elements of NAEP framework material for the five subject areas are brought together for planning and policy formation…

Evidence from the research literature suggests that a variety of cognitive factors are responsible for chemistry achievement. This investigation examined the role that four cognitive factors, namely, prior knowledge, formal reasoning ability, memory capacity and field independence/dependence, play on achievement in chemistry as measured by tests…