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…

In spring 1994, the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Board of Directors approved a recommendation that the Association take the lead in establishing standards for environmental education. The four working papers contained in this publication are the first step in the NAAEE Standards Project. The papers discuss the…

This science curriculum was written for teachers of children in junior high or middle school. It contains science activities for the following lessons: (1) Anemometers and Wind Speed; (2) Up! Up! and Away; (3) Jet Lag--Time Zones; (4) Inventors; (5) Model Rocketry; (6) Geometry and Kites; and (7) Super Savers. In lesson one, students construct an…

This document contains 45 integrated physics, mathematics, and technology curriculum modules developed by teachers at 5 Illinois schools. An introduction discusses the collaborative project, in which teams of one mathematics, physics, and technology teacher from each school developed innovative instructional delivery models that enabled the three…

This science curriculum is a basic science program suitable for middle or junior high school science classes. The book is designed for use as a "worktext" or text book and emphasizes a wide range of science skills and concepts to provide students with post-school knowledge and the ability to successfully complete a proficiency or a…

This concept paper outlines the rationale for a project on the development of science curriculum for K-8 high ability learners. The rationale was developed through a synthesis of major recommendations from national science reform reports and from a review of the literature on effective science curriculum for high ability learners. The paper begins…

The object teaching revolution challenged the 19th century American education practices of learning by rote memorization and relying on the textbook and teacher for knowledge. The American version of object teaching evolved from Pestalozzi's educational philosophy of "Arschauung," which refers to learning from direct concrete…

This document addresses the challenges and opportunities technological advances are presenting in education. Using the example of Photonics (defined as the generation, manipulation, transport, detection and use of light information and energy whose quantium unit is the photon) the report illustrates the need for up-to-date educational curricula.…

In an era when the U.S. educational enterprise, particularly in mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering, has been found to be seriously flawed and has come under criticism from many different sectors, it is essential for science and mathematics educators from the nation's predominantly undergraduate institutions to take the lead in…

Problem solving has been a concern of science education for at least three quarters of a century. This book presents a comprehensive review of the research that has occurred in problem solving. The studies included in this summary range across the continuum. Some are concerned with gaps between conditions and resolutions; some involve science…

The Institut fur die Padagogik der Naturwissenschaften (IPN) is the research institute for science education, with a national function in the Federal Republic of Germany. The IPN consists of biology education, chemistry education, physics education, educational science, research methodology/statistics, and administration/general services…

The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) was started in 1981 with the aim of developing a low-cost science course which could be taught during the first 2 years of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. Project activities included developing student study guides, corresponding teaching…

This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the UNESCO Primary Science Project being piloted in Grade 5 in selected Malawi schools. Specific objectives included determining: (1) differences in performance and attitudes between students following the UNESCO program and students following the old primary science program and (2) problems…

The first (exploratory) phase of the Learning in Science Project focused on science teaching/learning in the Form 1 to 4 level (ages 10 to 14) and sought to identify problems and difficulties in several areas. Provided in this paper are comments obtained during structured/unstructured interviews (from students, ex-students, teachers, headmasters,…