When state leaders and national partners in the development of the Next Generation Science Standards met to consider implementation strategies, states and school districts wanted to know which materials were aligned to the new standards. The answer from the developers was short but not sweet: You won't find much now, and it's going to…

Considers the development of science curricula from World War II and how the emphasis has changed to conceptualization of science knowledge in order to encourage intellectual activity. As well, this change has led to an improved climate for curriculum innovation. (Author/RK)

The Executive Director of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) identifies three ways in which the U.S. can improve its science education. The first is to ensure that all science teachers have enough knowledge of the content they are teaching. Second, the science education community needs to improve the science education standards by…

Raphi Amram, the late director of Israel's Society for Excellence Through Education, founded the Ethics in Science and Humanities Program operating in Israel and five other countries. Though the ethics program currently operates only in high schools serving high-achieving or gifted students, founders emphasize the universality of its appeal.…

Discusses collaborative work as part of the school reform movement. Includes case examples of five collaborative programs. Also provides a list of guidelines for developing collaborative programs. (MD)

Each year, about 57 ninth graders cooperate with the managers of Mason Neck Wildlife Refuge, an eastern deciduous forest near the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in northern Virginia. Pursuing integrated studies in English, biology and technology, the students have inventoried a pond's biota, collected deer browse data, and…

Southeastern New Hampshire schoolchildren are involved in three network science projects for grades 2-8: Batnet, Birdnet, and Treenet. The listserv projects were developed by a group of teachers interested in using the computer-Internet connection to enrich and extend the science learning. Network science makes topics more real, lends immediacy to…

Describes the SPARCS (Solving Problems and Revitalizing Curriculum in Science) program, an interdisciplinary partnership between University of Nebraska-Lincoln students and faculty and Omaha Public Schools science teachers and administrators. Success depended on establishing long-term, diverse partnerships; providing a learning community for…

Science centers and children's museums, such as the New York Hall of Science and the Orlando (Florida) Science Center, offer rich programs linked to students' classroom learning and provide an informal, inquiry-based setting for exploring major concepts. School/museum partnerships can further teachers' and students' lifelong learning progress.…

A meta-analysis of research findings shows that, regardless of grade level, scientific discipline, or student, teacher, or school characteristics, students following science curricula that were developed after 1955 and emphasized scientific processes outperformed students following traditional science courses that emphasized scientific knowledge.…

In the Discover Lab, a science education center at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, students learn to investigate, critique, and test big scientific questions and devise their own answers. Students are guided through cyclical processes of inquiry, logic and reasoning, testing and experimentation, and communication. (MLH)

By combining hands-on research and telecommunications, the National Geographic Society's Kids Network enables K-8 students to grapple with basic science and geography concepts, hone communication and research skills, and network with kids around the world. Students focus on real-world problems, work cooperatively, and share results in class…

Collectivism, stressing family members' interdependence, is common to Latino cultures. In contrast, schools foster independence and individual achievement. To help teachers understand assumptions underlying these different values, the authors developed the "Bridging Cultures Project" as a research-based professional-development program.…