Communication and collaboration are key science competencies that support sharing of scientific knowledge with experts and non-experts alike. On the one hand, they facilitate interdisciplinary conversations between students, educators, and researchers, while on the other they improve public awareness, enable informed choices, and impact policy…

The game of baseball provides an interesting laboratory for experimenting with mechanical phenomena (there are many good examples in "The Physics Teacher," available on Professor Alan Nathan's website, and discussed in "Physics of Baseball & Softball"). We have developed a lab, for an introductory-level physics course, that…

The Instructional Practices Log in Science (IPL-S) is a daily teacher log developed for K-5 teachers to self-report their science instruction. The items on the IPL-S are grouped into scales measuring five dimensions of science instruction: "Low-level Sense-making," "High-level Sense-making," "Communication,"…

This guide is designed to help researchers make sure that their research reports include enough information about study measures so that readers can assess the quality of the study's methods and results. The guide also provides examples of write-ups about measures and suggests resources for learning more about these topics. The guide assumes…

This study responds to a request from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to analyze National Board certification among high school teachers in understudied subject areas and locales to help fill gaps in the research literature. The authors also were asked to use multiple indicators of performance. The research team selected two…

In this article, the author describes a simulation of a coevolutionary "arms race" and introduce a way of teaching it that lets students use the theory of natural selection to explain the outcomes of the simulation. The simulation uses the numerical cards from an UNO[R] playing card deck to represent the speeds of individuals in populations of…

Describes a laboratory experiment dissolving zinc from galvanized nails in which data can be gathered very quickly for statistical analysis. The data have sufficient significant figures and the experiment yields a nice distribution of random errors. Freshman students can gain an appreciation of the relationships between random error, number of…

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title II funds were used in a 12-month project for the improvement of mathematics and science teaching at the prekindergarten through grade 12 levels in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD). The project provided: (1) staff development workshops; (2) consultants to develop a secondary…

This paper presents the results of a case study involving Taiwanese elementary teachers who teach science at the elementary grade school level. It advocates the position that a teacher's personal science efficacy belief influences his or her science teaching outcome expectations. It promotes the position that the success Taiwan has experienced in…

Uses data from the National Center for Educational Statistics' Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) to present a profile of biology teachers. Discusses background of biology teachers, preparation in the physical and life sciences, who does the preparation, and expected future trends. Compares data with results reported for chemistry, earth science,…

Discusses the results of the 1975 Examination for General Chemistry, and summarizes descriptive statistics as well as ten different subsets of instructional topics. The major results and conclusions are reported in three separate profiles. (HM)

This report reviews the most current data on women's progress in mathematics and science achievement, attitudes, course-taking patterns, and college majors. Results of recent studies suggest that many factors such as parental encouragement, teacher preparation, teacher student interactions, curriculum content, hands-on laboratory experiences,…

This interpretive overview of the "Science Report Card" provides a description of the ways in which science can empower and enrich the lives of students. This booklet also contains: (1) statistics which provide a picture of the state of science learning in the United States; (2) specific data that help provide a sense of the status of…

Outlines the simple exercise of measuring the length of an object as a concrete paradigm of the entire process of making chemical measurements and treating the resulting data. Discusses the procedure, significant figures, measurement error, spurious data, rejection of results, precision and accuracy, and student responses. (TW)

Students make many choices over a long period, and choose a career through a complicated process. This process includes formal instruction in mathematics and science, and the opportunity for informal education in museums, science centers, and recreational programs. The influence of family, teachers, peers, and the electronic media can make an…