Seventh-grade students (n=397) were studied to determine the effect on immediate achievement and retention of a unit designed to promote the development of estimating skills involved in metric measuring. Identical metric instruction was used with the exception of activities in estimation for the treatment group. The treatment group retained…

Describes Socratic Dialogue Inducing (SDI) laboratory methods and procedures developed to increase conceptual understanding in introductory physics laboratories. Gives an example of a typical beginning SDI lab manual section and a representative Socratic dialogue. Describes several examples of laboratory experiments developed for the SDI method.…

Presented are 27 science activities for secondary school science instruction. Topic areas include microbiology, botany, biochemistry, genetics, safety, earthquakes, problem solving, electricity, heat, solutions, mechanics, quantum mechanics, flame tests, and molecular structure. (CW)

Described are four musical instruments constructed from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe. The use of computerized synthesizers to play scales and chords is discussed. Suggestions for other illustrations of acoustics are included. (CW)

Described is Creative Problem Solving (CPS), a model which may be employed to help integrate higher-order thinking skills into elementary science instruction. An example of the use of this model is presented. (CW)

Describes activities in which students learn that it takes teamwork, problem solving, and personal commitment to save the environment. (PR)

Discusses the inherent flaws in considering and using the epistemology of the natural sciences as equivalent to a pedagogic basis for teaching and learning in the natural sciences. Discusses the difference between practicing science and learning to practice science. Concludes with the presentation of three new motives for the use of laboratory…

Explores the perceptions held by practicing engineers of what is involved in learning to solve technological problems and examines their pedagogical approaches to technological problem-solving in elementary-classroom contexts. Concludes that recognition of the nature of each occupation is needed to realize a potential of collaboration between…

Offers suggestions for incorporating topics that relate to the Apollo 13 space mission into a chemistry course. Discusses connections between the study of chemistry and space exploration, including fuels and oxidants used, reasons for an oxygen tank rupture, and lithium hydroxide-containing carbon dioxide filters. Contains 11 references. (WRM)

Describes a problem-based course in which students in an interdisciplinary program explored the manufacture of biological knowledge. Discusses how students gained an appreciation of the complex interactions between ideals, individuals, institutions, and investments that comprise modern biological research through study of a variety of problems and…

Examines the relationship of microcomputer simulation graphics and alphanumeric modes of data presentation to ninth-grade biology students' science process skills and conceptual understanding of selected science topics (N=64). Concludes that use of microcomputers and appropriate software can result in significant learning and understanding of…

Groups of teachers and schools can bridge the theory-practice gap by using the Web-based Integrated Science Environment (WISE) project library. The WISE learning environment promotes lifelong learning along with language and technology literacy by making science accessible, thinking visible, and learning a cooperative experience. (Contains 16…

Discusses the meaning of a "contextual approach" to teaching physics. Advances a model of contextual physics teaching that can also be applied to other science disciplines. (Contains 54 references.) (Author/WRM)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the beliefs of six experienced high school science teachers about (1) what is successful science learning; (2) what are the purposes of laboratory in science teaching; and (3) how inquiry is implemented in the classroom. An interpretive multiple case study with an ethnographic orientation was used. The…

This study examined the writing strategies and text characteristics associated with discovering a scientific principle by writing about an experiment. Sixty-four university students (non-science majors) carried out a physics experiment concerning either buoyancy, or the forces acting on a balance scale, then wrote an informal journal-style note…