Inquiry-based science interventions aim to improve students' science proficiency by helping them understand scientific processes. In these interventions, students conduct hands-on investigations of science concepts and everyday phenomena, construct explanations for what they observe, consider alternative explanations, and communicate and justify…

Inquiry-based science interventions aim to improve students' science proficiency by helping them understand scientific processes. In these interventions, students conduct hands-on investigations of science concepts and everyday phenomena, construct explanations for what they observe, consider alternative explanations, and communicate and justify…

Science teachers, whether in primary or secondary schools, are in the front line for creating a more scientifically literate community. This article describes the STEM X Academy, a program created with the following goals: (1) demystify Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); (2) help teachers transform their teaching with…

"Potemkin schools" is used as the phrase to capture what a US science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) public speciality high school becomes as a result of its institutional branding. By way of an examination of the efforts of one teacher drawn into school branding through his "inquiry-based reform" of an Advanced Chemistry course,…

This report summarizes findings from one component of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education's (CPRE) evaluation of the General Electric Foundation's (GEF) "Developing Futures"™ in Education program in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). As described in the CPRE proposal and research design, the purpose was to closely…

Discusses three recent attempts to establish national science-education standards: "Project 2061: Science for All Americans"; the National Research Council's national standards for curriculum, teaching, and assessment; and the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Suggests that such reform movements could provide useful direction to local…

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…

The premise of this report is that only the science-technology-society (STS) effort offers the potential for meeting the challenge of science for a general education. Presents the goals of STS issue-based instruction. (PR)

Describes the Project on Scope, Sequence, and Coordination of Secondary School Science (SS&C). Discusses the design of a reform in science education, the use of student metaphors and analogies in explaining phenomena, student motivation, and student performance-based assessment in the SS&C project. (MDH)

A call is made for the integration of science and social studies education in elementary and secondary schools. Examples are given of situations where instruction has been integrated over the two areas. It is felt instruction can be provided which focuses on problem solving and decision making. (MP)

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…

The State University of New York at Buffalo dental school's reform of basic science curriculum is discussed. The paper first outlines the curriculum review/development process, focusing on incorporation of specific competencies, computer-based curriculum analysis, and the role of a dental schools consortium. The paper then looks at future…

An inner-city Omaha high school created an untracked, wholly desegregated 2-year thematic science curriculum for all 9th and 10th graders. Under the outdoor community study theme, students participate in a simulated archaeological dig of an Omaha Indian earth lodge, study the school grounds' ecological status, and design areas along a proposed…

There is a general agreement that academic standards in Papua New Guinea high schools are below those in many other countries. This paper will examine this problem generally and also in relation to the teaching of mathematics and science. At Goroka Teachers' College, which is the only teacher training college for secondary school teachers in Papua…

Advances in science and technology, information in philosophy and psychology, and changes in society have placed different demands on science education than was the case in the 1960's. Post-Sputnik era curricula in science were organized to reflect the structure of the discipline and were aimed primarily at encouraging students to pursue science…