This project, stemming from work started under the National Science Foundation grant "Development of a Television Computer Assisted Instruction (TVCAI) System" SER-7806412, called for the transfer to videodisc of some of the videotape materials developed under the grant. Three efforts were included in the proposal: design and development…

Describes the most common type of science teacher preparation program in England in which a Bachelor's in Science degree is followed by professional training. Projects changes for the future training of physics teachers in the areas of initial training and inservice education. (CP)

This paper presents a laboratory exercise in which an integration problem is applied to cinematography, without the need for apparatus. The problem situation is about the oscillation control of a camera platform to attain the contrast angular rate of objects. Wave equations for describing the oscillations are presented and an expression for…

A laboratory experiment, based on a simple electric circuit that can be used to demonstrate the existence of real-world "related rates" problems, is outlined and an equation for voltage across the capacitor terminals during discharge is derived. The necessary materials, setup methods, and experimental problems are described. A student laboratory…

Bridges and similar constructions are highlighted in this book of guided lessons and activities for secondary school physics students. This program was developed by the Physics Curriculum Development Project under the auspices of the Physics Curriculum Innovation Committee. Contents include: (1) "Introduction" (presenting a rationale for…

Over the past several years, an increasing number of educators have come to believe that teaching should acknowledge the transactional nature of knowledge and suggest that a shift be made to focus on social practice, meaning, and patterns. This style of teaching proposes that it is important to permit students to construct knowledge meaningfully…

There is virtually universal agreement on the need to strengthen science education at all levels in Ohio. Not only must the state be able to produce more and better scientists, but it is increasingly important for all citizens to become knowledgeable about scientific issues and analysis. This report presents the conclusions and recommendations…

Noting that children and adults often hold misconceptions about topics in content area texts, particularly those in the area of science where counter-intuitive notions about how the real world works abound, a study examined the effect of activating students' background knowledge about motion theory prior to asking them to read a physics text.…

The method presented is a means of determining the communality of the content of two or more texts in the same knowledge domain. The discipline studied was physics. Undergraduate curricula at 59 colleges were studied to determine consensus among the textbooks with respect to general program requirements and specific course offerings. Chapter…

Participation by women in scientific and technical careers is still low despite gains made by women in the United States job market. Consequently women's earning power and job opportunities as a group are diminished. Another effect is a loss of talent in the American work force. The objectives of this study were to: (1) study the rates of…

This document provides the findings of pilot tests of 10 units for an applied science course for high school vocational students. Each of the reports on the pilot tests of the Principles of Technology units contains information on procedures, methodology limitations, sample, the pretest/posttest instrument and results, student attitude results,…

A unified science approach is incorporated in this K-6 curriculum mode. The program is organized into six major cycles. These include: (1) science, math, and technology cycle; (2) universe cycle; (3) life cycle; (4) water cycle; (5) plate tectonics cycle; and (6) rock cycle. An overview is provided of each cycle's major concepts. The topic…

Two questions about the effects of microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) activities on graphing skills were addressed in this study: (1) the extent to which activities help students link their concrete experiences with motion with graphic representations of these experiences; and (2) the degree of importance of the real-time aspect of the MBL in…

This paper attempts to show that it is possible to analyze a problem solving protocol in which the subject spontaneously generates a series of analogies. The qualitative physics problem given to the subject describes a situation where that which is unfamiliar is often solved by relating it to several analogous situations that are more familiar.…

A number of documents were written in 1983 by groups seeking to improve American education. This digest was developed to review and examine some of the common themes (as they pertain to science education) from these documents. They are: (1) "A Nation at Risk"; (2) "Educating Our Citizens: The Search for Excellence"; (3)…