The aim of this report is to encourage enhanced richness and relevance of the undergraduate engineering education experience, and thus produce better-prepared and more globally competitive graduates, by providing practical guidance for incorporating real world experience in US engineering programs. The report, a collaborative effort of the…

Operation Magpie was a citizen science project that involved the community in collecting data about magpies. This article describes one aspect of the project from an education perspective. The study began with a collaboration of teacher educators, environmental scientists and a local radio station. After an initial workshop with 75 teachers, three…

Describes an undergraduate polymer laboratory program in which the laboratory simulates an industrial organization. The goals of the program are to foster an understanding of the properties of polymers and how they change, their preparation, and industrial application. (JN)

Presents letters written by students of the former Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern Bloc to provide insight on the state of education before and after the fall of the communist regimes. (ZWH)

Describes an innovative freshman chemistry program in which course sequences have been designed to accommodate students with strong or weak chemistry backgrounds or with no previous chemistry at all. Includes information on courses offered, instructional strategies, and laboratory examinations. (JN)

The Program for Leadership in Earth Systems Education (PLESE), a teacher enhancement program sponsored by the National Science Foundation in 1990-94, was a coordinated effort to infuse Earth Systems concepts throughout the K-12 science curriculum across the United States. Characteristics of the program are reviewed in this paper and the results of…

Presents and describes New York State's desired learning outcomes that integrates mathematics, science, and technology outcomes. (PR)

Describes nine commercially available programs which represent one aspect or a portion of the human ecology theme. Other information supplied for each program includes: program objectives; methods of instruction; specific subjects, grade, and ability levels; materials produced and purchasable; program implementation; teacher preparation; program…

The advantages of using videoconferencing in engineering education are stressed. Discussed are technological change, engineering practice, faculty development, educational effectiveness, and teleconferencing vendors. An example of a campus-based teleconferencing service is cited. (CW)

Described are efforts of the Open University (United Kingdom) to retrain physics teachers using distance learning strategies. Discussed are the teacher shortage, the program design, styles of delivery, group activities, content, teacher types, and the National Curriculum. (CW)

Describes an interdisciplinary approach to science learning in settings usually associated with the humanities or social sciences. Explains the program, its rewards and results, the self and identity seminar, why the program works, and ways of adapting the program. (RT)

A college professor who desired to practice what she preached and an elementary teacher who wanted to observe a hands-on science curriculum on a day-to-day basis form a teaching partnership. They offer insights on their successes, obstacles, and methods for improving hands-on science programs. (ZWH)

The redesign of basic science curriculum at the Columbia University (New York) dental school is outlined. Goals included development of a medical continuum allowing students to apply basic science to patient care; decompression of crowded second-year content; and facilitation of student pursuit of research and other biomedical interests in third…

Hydrology is the science dealing with the earth's waters, their occurrence, circulation, and distribution, their chemical and physical properties, and their reaction with the environment. As such, hydrology is an indispensible requirement for planning in the field of water resources. Objectives for, spectrum of, and topics for education in…

Described is an interdisciplinary program designed to coordinate the physics and calculus courses for seniors in a Massachusetts high school. Target audience, benefits, team coordination, and impact are discussed. A list of suggested crossover topics is provided. (CW)