Professional development courses help teachers integrate new content knowledge into the high-school curriculum. Designing practical online courses for this purpose is challenging, particularly in emerging fields such as nanotechnology. In this study, we evaluated such a course in three complementary dimensions: (1) knowledge, (2) the complexity of…

Background: In this era of rapid technical advancement, there are growing debates around the idea of nanotechnology, which are both timely and controversial. Nanotechnology materials are being utilized in our daily lives in many ways, often without consumer knowledge. Due to the explosion of nanotechnology applications, there is a necessity to…

This article compares the examination performance of students following General Certificate of Secondary Education Applied Science and Double Award science on a value-added basis. It uses data from the National Pupil Database, which are analysed by a variety of methods, including multilevel modelling. It argues that the claims made within Office…

Coherent curricula are needed to help students develop deep understanding of important ideas in science. Too often students experience curriculum that is piecemeal and lacks coordination and consistency across time, topics, and disciplines. Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology (IQWST) is a middle school science…

The advent of the global information society and a myriad of other rapidly changing variables are presenting many new and unique challenges for the twenty-first century workforce, and perhaps the most pressing of these challenges is actually meeting the needs for qualified workers to fill the positions in emerging and growing fields. One such…

Offers a rationale for science education that utilizes a science-technology-society (STS) framework. The recommended STS framework can give meaning to efforts to define a K-12 science curriculum, to describe appropriate teaching behaviors and desirable student actions, and to formulate meaningful research questions. (JN)

Investigates the relationship between science and technology in industrial research laboratories, comparing the lab as "ivory tower" with the customer-oriented science approach. Describes similar patterns in science and technology curricula. Concludes that mutual commitment and shared project work would benefit integration of science and…

The author proposes that science curriculums be altered from teaching specialized subject matter and that more time be devoted to applying the disciplines to practical problems as well as imparting competencies in inquiry and values and attitudes concerning evidence and argument, certainty and uncertainty. (BR)

Suggests that technology education is an essential component of future science curricula for non-science secondary students. Explores some of the important issues and problems, and suggests directives for action, in moving toward technology education in the high schools. (JR)

This collection of papers is intended to provide a means for the exchange of information on hydrological techniques and for the coordination of research and data collection. The objectives and trends in hydrological education are presented. The International Hydrological Decade (IHD) Working Group on Education recommends a series of topics that…

Reports on the Partnership for Excellence in Teacher Education (PETE), an NSF-funded project to promote reform in mathematics and science teacher preparation that features the redesign of teacher preparation to reflect current research on learning and teaching. Concludes that new tools of technology have the potential for enhancing education but…

Argues for a decision-making-oriented science and technology curriculum for secondary school students which should: (1) expose students to open-ended problems within their natural setting; (2) provide students with real decision-making situations; and (3) involve students in scientific/technological social actions (in community institutions or…

Presents information about the organization and the participants at the Symposium on World Trends in Science Education held in Halifax, Canada in August of 1979. Presents a brief description of the papers presented and lists the views that the discussion participants considered to be problem areas. (GS)

Describes the science education improvement project at Hostos Community College (New York). The curriculum consists of a melding of technology and pure science, based on the premise that "science-poor" societies should give priority to applied science education. (JDS)

This presentation focuses on bridging one of the many gaps that exist between educational research and the practice of science teaching, examining research (known as qualitative research) which involved the analysis, synthesis, and interpretation of data to serve practical ends better. Data analysis is done in a systematic way to identify…