We report on an evaluation of the effectiveness of Project ARIES, an astronomy-based physical science curriculum for upper elementary and middle school children. ARIES students use innovative, simple, and affordable apparatus to carry out a wide range of indoor and outdoor hands-on, discovery-based activities. Student journals and comprehensive…

American officials lament U.S. students' mediocre skills in math and science, and warn that China, with its firm academic emphasis on those subjects and its enormous student population, stands to reap economic rewards from American complacency. They suggest reforming math and science education in the U.S. to more closely resemble the systems…

This manual is an overview of the science curriculum intervention that occurred in a federally funded project to identify and serve the needs of gifted and talented economically disadvantaged students (grades 3-8) from minority populations. An introduction discusses the training in curriculum development and methodology, based on Bloom's Taxonomy…

This paper reviews the educational research related to student understanding of water and water resources. The literature is drawn primarily from science and environmental education literature and is divided into student knowledge of: physical and chemical properties, biology, earth systems and water resources. The majority of work has been in the…

This document describes Project A+, a cooperative school and privately funded program designed to assist the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in becoming an exemplary school district by the year 2000. The project is divided into four components. The curriculum development component presents three new curricula piloted in AISD schools in…

This paper discusses a model of integrated instruction and assessment called SMART (Special Multimedia Arenas for Refining Thinking). SMART involves interactive use of the Internet and multimedia software. The Internet serves three important functions: it acts as a formative assessment tool by providing individualized feedback to students, creates…

The purpose of the Model Academic Curriculum Project was to assess and define the most effective components of the curriculum for Massachusetts vocational-technical schools that would be reflective of current academic demands and employment needs. Eight study goals were implemented: establish statewide meetings; identify/select study groups;…

This publication supports the implementation of science, technology, and society education in schools, as well as news of the nationwide network. Volume 1 includes: "The Present Opportunity in Education," a position paper of the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education; "An STS Learning Cycle for Middle School Students" (Peter…

As students observe plant growth, the questions that naturally arise can provide opportunities for student exploration and discovery. This guide presents a collection of activities for students in grades K-8 that turn students' questions into life sciences learning experiences. The guide contains four chapters, each with background information and…

Assessment of student performance is emerging as a crucial ingredient in the recipe for ongoing improvement of school science. This digest focuses on assessment in the service of instruction, for helping students, teachers, and parents monitor learning. According to M. Jorgensen, performance-based assessment requires that the student demonstrate,…

This curriculum module, one of seven developed by the "Infusion Project," offers information and lessons on drug use prevention for integration into an existing seventh-grade exceptional education middle school curriculum for social skills, mathematics, science and language arts. The module, based on a type of interactive learning called…

The resource persons and program descriptions in this directory came from answers supplied in a 1988 survey mailed to 135 entities having some relationship to or interest in promoting the distribution of water education materials suitable for use in Texas elementary or secondary schools. This directory includes an update on the programs submitted…

A summary is provided of the goals, objectives, activities, and findings of Hudson County Community College's (HCCC's) comprehensive science evaluation project. After introductory material outlines the status of science education at HCCC, the project's objectives are presented; i.e., to analyze the college's science courses and their ability to…

Virtually every aspect of chemistry education was examined to determine changes needed to improve public understanding of science in general and chemistry in particular, and to improve the effectiveness of chemistry education. Among the findings reported are those indicating that: misunderstanding of science is widespread and public understanding…

This document lists science objectives for Boston elementary and middle school students. All objectives are presented in two columns. The left-hand column states each objective in general terms and gives an idea of its scope. The right-hand column, giving a specific example of what students should be able to do when the objective is achieved,…