The ability to become a scientifically literate citizen rests on the foundation students build from elementary, middle, and high school science experiences. The North Carolina Science Standard Course of Study (SCS) provides the concepts and theories all students should understand. Strands unify the goals and objectives and reflect a science as…

Presents four stories of teachers and learners engaged with natural phenomena. Relates stories of elementary students' inquiry into ecosystems, sound, and matter, and college students' inquiry into the moon. Includes a set of guidelines for helping teachers characterize inquiry in their own classrooms. (Author/WRM)

Discusses controversy over the teaching of biological evolution and other scientific ideas such as Big Bang theory. Recommends that teachers avoid debating creationists, help students develop a greater understanding and appreciation for science as a way of explaining the natural world, and emphasize inquiry and the nature of science. (Contains 19…

Investigates the relationship between students' conceptions of the nature of science and their reactions to evidence that challenged their beliefs about socioscientific issues. Stimulates students to reflect on their own beliefs and defend their opinions and suggests that the reaction of students to anomalous socioscientific data are varied and…

In this extended earth science activity, students create a hands-on model of a volcano to achieve an understanding of volcanic structure, lava flows, formation of lava layers, and the scientific work of archaeologists and geoscientists. During this simulation activity, students have opportunities to learn science as inquiry and the nature of…

This paper presents part of the findings from a comparative study on existing and proposed science curricula of grades IX-X in Bangladesh. It aims to explore relevant research to find out what ideas about science are recommended to include in school science curriculum, and then to compare the existing and proposed curricula in terms of ideas about…

Adapted primary literature (APL) refers to an educational genre specifically designed to enable the use of research articles for learning biology in high school. The present investigation focuses on the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of four high-school biology teachers who enacted an APL-based curriculum in biotechnology. Using a…

In his "The Making of the Atomic Bomb," Richard Rhodes remarks of the July 16, 1945, Trinity atomic bomb test in New Mexico that "had astronomers been watching they could have seen it reflected from the moon, literal moonshine," an allusion to Ernest Rutherford's famous dismissal of the prospect of atomic energy. Investigating…

This publication presents examples of inquiry-based science teaching in which students develop an understanding of the natural world. Sections include: (1) "Connecting Students to Science and the World" (Jennifer Stepanek); (2) "Apple Orchard Lush with Life's Lessons" (Helen Silvis); (3) "Student Scientists Team Up with the Pros" (Amy Sutton); (4)…

This document, from "The Teacher's Desk Reference to Standards and Performance Indicators for Curriculum Planning and Unit Development," is part of the Delaware Department of Education's ongoing efforts to provide assistance and support to local school districts in their development of a standards-based curriculum. It explains the…

Science educators have reclaimed the importance of educating to promote a scientifically literate society. Project ICAN: Inquiry, Context, and Nature of Science is a professional development project designed to enhance middle and high school science teachers' knowledge and pedagogical skills that directly address the reform's call for student…

Describes current debates over the nature of science in the science curriculum. Illustrates the subtle ways in which epistemological portrayals have been influenced with regard to the public's relationship with institutional science in the United States by using the curricular ideas of John Dewey and Joseph Schwab as an historical perspective.…

Investigates the influence of an explicit and reflective inquiry-oriented instructional approach compared with an implicit inquiry-oriented approach on sixth grade students' understanding of the nature of science (NOS). Emphasizes tentative, empirical, inferential, and imaginative and creative NOS. Involves (n=62) sixth grade students in two…

Introduces an assessment instrument developed to evaluate students' views on the nature of science. Examines the ways in which learners mark out science as a particular domain, particularly the types of questions that they think are open to scientific investigation. (Contains 35 references.) (Author/YDS)

Focuses on two of the principal issues for science curriculum developers who wish to introduce the history and philosophy of science into science teaching along with the justification for and the placement of historical materials within teachers' work schemes. Proposes a new model for inclusion of such material that directly addresses children's…