This report, part of the 1972-73 Unified Science and Mathematics for Elementary Schools (USMES) evaluation project, focuses on the effect of the USMES curriculum on the organization and operation of the classroom. For the study, 30 USMES classrooms and 30 non-USMES classrooms were used. Each trained classroom observer, utilizing classroom…

This document describes an empirical study on the patterns of teacher behavior and a comparison of student outcomes from two settings where different programs (types of curricula) were used. The two psychological positions identified within the curricula were stated to have been operationalized in the two programs developed for the elementary…

This questionnaire, developed for use in evaluation of the Harvard Project Physics curriculum, consists of 90 Likert scale items selected to measure seven psychological variables: (1) dogmatism, (2) authoritarianism, (3) rigidity, (4) need-achievement, (5) order, (6) affiliation, and (7) change. Items were taken (with permission) from other scales…

This study involved an inservice education program designed to enhance teacher behavior in the use of Science - A Process Approach. The major method of gaining information on teacher behavior was direct observation and involved the development and utilization of a Classroom Observation Rating Form (CORF). Twenty-three elementary teachers comprised…

Analyzed was the effectiveness of audio tapes used as a supplement to reading the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) first level materials. The instruments used on a pretest and posttest basis to compare the growth as a result of using audio tapes were: (1) Prouse Subject Preference Survey, (2) Test on Understanding Science, Form W, (3)…

This paper contains the report of an investigation to determine what relationships existed between teacher competencies in science mastered via a televised inservice program (LIFT OFF!) and teachers' science-related attitudes, past experiences, and use of a science program (Science - A Process Approach). Evidence was obtained from the number of…

Reported is a study to evaluate the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) program at the fourth-grade level, in particular the unit, "Relativity." To avoid the problems of a written test, an alternative test involving examples of relative position and motion was developed. This 30-item planetarium test was used as a pretest and…

This study discusses the differences in behavior that the open-minded teacher and the closed-minded teacher exhibit in teaching elementary school science. To study dogmatism and classroom behaviors, a group of 43 teachers enrolled in an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in-service program was identified and classified into…

Investigated were three questions related to the relationship between a science teacher's attitude regarding the use of a newer science program, in this instance the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS): (1) Could the Projective Tests of Attitudes, originally designed for fifth-grade students, be modified for use with adults? (2) Is there a…

Reported is a preliminary effort at the development of a lesson-writing paradigm. Changes in the verbal behavior of seventh-grade pupils during their study of the first eight chapters of Volume 1 of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS, 1968) were related to the frequency of occurrence of the concept words in the instructional material.…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Material Objects Unit of the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) on the cognitive operations and academic achievement of elementary school children. The Material Objects Unit was designed to give experiences and explorations in the mental operations of classification,…

Assesses the physics, chemistry and biology content of the Nuffield Combined Science Course used in British schools by experimental testing to children's understanding of the course. A model by which the pupils' achievement is mapped to an estimate of their maximum Piagetian level of thinking is presented. (HM)

Presents a classroom activity which can be used both to assess student's modes of thought and to clarify the logic of hypothesis testing. The task is based on Piaget's theories of cognitive development. (HM)

Questions findings of the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) 1975 and 1976 surveys of junior high-senior high science course enrollments. Cites previous findings of the ERIC/Ohio State survey and textbook sales data as evidence of inaccuracies in the NCES study. (CP)

A spokesperson for the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) presents arguments to refute those points cited in the previous article (See SE 522 187). (CP)