The Vision and Change effort to explore and implement needed changes in undergraduate biology education has been ongoing since 2006. It is now time to take stock of changes that have occurred at the faculty and single-course levels, and to consider how to accomplish the larger-scale changes needed at departmental and institutional levels. This…

Includes a description of Project Synthesis with its three-fold purpose: to describe the desired state of science education, to delineate the actual state of science education, and to assess the differences between the actual and the desired states. (MA)

Seventy-five of the most common questions concerning the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) are answered in this publication. Questions range from fundamental ones concerning the history of the project, objectives, and availability of materials to those of a more singular interest such as the distribution of the royalties from the sale of…

Presented is a unit plan designed to allow students to thoroughly investigate a human body system through a series of learning activities, and to teach the body system to other students using the products of their research. Methods, objectives, and an evaluation of the unit are discussed. (CW)

DESCRIBED IS THE OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR THE MIDDLETOWN, NEW JERSEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AT THE SPERMACETI COVE INTERPRETIVE CENTER IN SANDY HOOK STATE PARK. THE PROGRAM IS FUNDED UNDER PL89-10 OF THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT (ESEA). PHASE 1 (MARCH, 1966-JUNE, 1966) INVOLVED THE SELECTION OF NINE PUBLIC AND THREE PAROCHIAL FOURTH…

In India, environmental education (EE) is introduced at various levels. Goals of this country's EE programs include: improving the quality of environment to create awareness among the people on environmental problems and conservation; developing skills to solve environmental problems; creating the necessary atmosphere for citizen participation in…

Active participation in a variety of outdoor activities by small groups of youngsters aged 10 to 15 is the focus of the Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) project, designed to provide the firsthand outdoor experience necessary for understanding biological relationships. OBIS provides community-sponsored youth organizations and schools…

A water quality monitoring programme for schools is described. The purpose of the programme is to introduce school children to the concept of reporting on the "state of the environment" by raising the awareness of water quality issues and providing skills to monitor water quality. The programme is assessed and its relevance in the…

Recent years have seen a growth not only in biological knowledge but also, and more significantly for teacher education, in the types of knowledge manifested in biology. No longer, therefore, is it adequate for teachers to retain a Mertonian or a Popperian conception of science. Today's teachers of science need also to be able to help their…