Compared are boys' and girls' abilities and achievement in a research class which included both classroom and research institute experience. It was found that boys were more active in classroom interactions and that the ratings of girls and boys were otherwise not significantly different. (CW)

Reports on 18 months of action research that examined the effectiveness of using the history of science to promote British students' understanding of the nature of science. Both quantitative and interview data offer substantial evidence of a strategic movement away from serendipitous empiricism and toward an appreciation of the interactive nature…

Interview data exemplify students' attempts to integrate the concepts of electrochemistry with related knowledge that they had previously constructed or acquired in other classes. The implications for minimizing potential misconceptions center on the difficulties students experience when using more than one model for explaining scientific…

Explains science teachers' perceptions and decisions about the development and implementation of a science/technology/society curriculum. Discusses the teacher interviews based on teachers' decisions. Summarizes five themes: concerns over content, discomfort with grouping, uncertainties about evaluation, frustrations about student population, and…

Examined are the global issues of population growth, world hunger, air quality and atmosphere, and water resources in 10 middle school science textbooks. Less than two percent of text pages were devoted to these issues and no significant differences were found between textbook series. (Author/YP)

Described is a cost-effectiveness analysis applied to the question of the probable impact of 69 actions advocated for improving science education. The major objectives and the 11 categories of interventions are discussed in regard to effective schools and implementing educational change. (KR)

Examines 11 elementary science texts in terms of conceptual structure and reasoning demands using concept maps. Reports that (1) the conceptual structures vary widely across texts; (2) most of the structures are well defined; and (3) the reasoning demands are above the developmental capabilities of most of primary-level children. (Author/YP)

Presents the case study of a second-year middle school science teacher's beliefs about science and science teaching, and the influence of these beliefs upon classroom instruction. Discusses the teacher's struggle to reconcile conflicting beliefs affecting strategies and outcomes, and the conflict between classroom needs and roles resulting from…

More than 1,600 middle school students, including an experimental group exposed to the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS), were administered the Modified Nature of Scientific Knowledge Scale. Results indicate that the students utilizing the traditional science curriculum possessed a significantly better understanding of the testable nature…

Compares models of the classroom dynamics for a traditional laboratory setting and a problem-solving-centered environment, both at the eighth grade science level. Descriptive data indicate no differences in the models, whereas path analyses suggest that, in the problem-solving model, student behaviors significantly correlate to lesson structure,…