This digest comments on various aspects of school science fairs. General expectations for science fair projects and participants are discussed, and tips for choosing a topic and completing a project are given. Organizational strategies for teachers charged with conducting science fairs are presented. Guidelines for parents in helping children with…

This digest presents a summary discussion of the value of holding science fairs in the elementary school context. Reasons for conducting science fairs for elementary students are discussed in terms of several learning theories. Developmentally appropriate types of elementary science projects are suggested. Goals for elementary school science fairs…

The reform of elementary and secondary school science education in the United States has received renewed attention with the publication of several science reform documents and the 1989 Education Summit sponsored by the nation's governors and President Bush. This digest reviews documents which focus on the reform of science education and projects…

This digest provides information about "Research Within Reach: Science Education. A Research-Guided Response to the Concerns of Educators," part of a series produced by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory, Inc., Charleston, West Virginia. (Previous volumes in the series focused on reading, elementary mathematics, oral and written…

The first science education digest for 1985 focused on data obtained by use of meta-analysis techniques on research studies of science instruction. Instruction seldom takes place without instructional materials, so this second digest is a companion one containing a discussion of science education research on instructional materials. Data are shown…

Presented are abstracts and abstractors' analyses of 10 studies related to science instruction and 3 studies related to science curriculum. Analyses in the first section (instruction) are on studies of: the influence of instructional structure and focus of control on achievement; effects of individualized audio-tutorial and frontal…

Presented are analytical abstracts, prepared by science educators, of four research studies classified as relating to science curricula, four studies about learning, and one study on the evaluation of an instrument designed to measure students' orientation toward science. Three of the curriculum studies each relate to a specific curriculum project…

There are ways in which elementary teachers in general and rural elementary teachers in particular can overcome inadequate science preparation and can upgrade the science program resources of their small schools. Parents and children should be involved in obtaining free and inexpensive science-related materials throughout the year. These can be…