A biochemical molecular modeling project on heme proteins suitable for an introductory Biochemistry I class has been designed with a 2-fold objective: i) to reinforce the correlation between protein three-dimensional structure and function through a discovery oriented project, and ii) to introduce students to the fields of bioinorganic and…

Can cognitive research generate usable knowledge for elementary science instruction? Can issues raised by classroom practice drive the agenda of laboratory cognitive research? Answering yes to both questions, we advocate building a reciprocal interface between basic and applied research. We discuss five studies of the teaching, learning, and…

''Stories do not simply contain knowledge, they are themselves the knowledge'' (Jackson (In: K. Eagan, H. McEwan (Eds.), Narrative in Teaching, Learning and Research, Teacher College Press, New York, 1995, p. 5)). How can we teach well? Perhaps we can find answers through our stories from the classroom. It is through our stories that we make sense…

A learning situation in which the principal content of what is to be learned is not given but is independently discovered by the learner is often considered "discovery learning." Recently, learning scientists have been able to make explicit some of the conditions under which such independent discovery is likely to occur (Andronis, 1983; Epstein,…

In this paper I discuss some of the strengths and weaknesses of two different approaches to teaching motor skills to students in outdoor education and outdoor recreation settings. Using acronyms to describe their stages: DEDICT is a six step, direct instructional model that some outdoor leaders may already be familiar with; and FERAL is my…

A six-year project providing training for prospective elementary school science teachers is described. Phase one, a period of three years, involved a longitudinal study of a pilot group of students as they encountered science content and science teaching methodology, coupled with early and continued field teaching experiences. In the final three…

The journal synthesizing activity is intended to combine aspects of the formal essay with that of a diary. Activities associated with lecture topics are written up as short journal entries of approximately five typewritten pages and are turned in during the weekly class session at which the related topic is being discussed. The journal project…

This curriculum guide, part of a series of science units, stresses concept-learning through the discovery approach and child-centered activities. It is intended that the unit will be studied in depth by grades 3, 4, 5, and 6. Kindergarten pupils will study the unit in less detail. "Our Useful Rocks" is studied in the kindergarten,…

Open education practices are illustrated in this paper in which children's natural interest in the outdoor world is used to outline learning activities which might result from a short nature walk. The teachers' objective is to help the child learn strategies and skills which will enable him to acquire, sort, store and use information, in contrast…

The interaction of mental ability and of two different instructional methods was investigated for a second grade linear metric curriculum unit. Mental ability was positively correlated with achievement under the guided discovery method, but essentially uncorrelated for the self paced mastery learning method. (Author/JKS)

Suggested are investigations of rational numbers and their decimal representations where a computer generates the data for explorations. Conjectures and two program listings are included. (MNS)

Discussion of the role of the media specialist as a teacher summarizes 10 major elements of the inquiry approach to teaching and learning and seven areas of the school media center's commitment (networking, flexibility, cooperation, concentration, financing, community, and encouragement). Discovery learning research and program implementation are…

Describes a series of programs written in Logo that have been used successfully to support young children's programing efforts. These programs remove the mechanical obstacles of typing, spelling, and estimating distances; remove the demands of abstract planning and ordering instruction; and provide a set of programing procedures. (MBR)

Discusses five instructional strategies for increasing the meaningfulness of technical or scientific information. These include organization of prose, use of concrete analogies as advance organizers, use of inserted questions in prose, elaboration activities such as note-taking and discovery learning. (JN)