The implementation and results of the use of videotapes in introductory biochemical engineering classes are discussed. The topics of the videotapes and the results of a questionnaire about this instructional method are presented. (CW)

Many students are deterred from science because of the way science courses are packaged. To find out what makes science hard for intelligent students, the author employed nonscience faculty and graduate students as surrogate students in science. Their responses to the sequence of the units, demonstrations, homework assignments, examinations, and…

Presents an interdisciplinary approach to introductory biology using a learning community model that addresses many of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) and Sigma Xi's objectives in the teaching of introductory science courses. (PR)

Explores how changing curriculum and teaching techniques may lead to different composition of pool of scientists who hold slightly modified theoretical perspective. Presents seven-stage spiral model for transforming mathematics and science teaching, in which each stage fuels change in next stage, moving toward more accessible, varied, and humane…

Describes the software HyperCard for the Macintosh computer. Explains how it can be used as an information presenter and information expander. (PR)

Describes the Russian approach to integrated science education and discusses new ideas that Russians are working on. (PR)

There is a need for research that depicts better-differentiated social contexts for science education in their full complexity. Social scientists have developed a promising model for research in context. Three critical conceptual and methodological strands of the model are discussed, along with their implications for science education research.…

Discusses BioProjects, a new technique for helping students understand the scientific method, in which students formulate a hypothesis, test it, and present the project to the class. States that through biological, quantitative investigations conducted outside of the classroom, BioProjects helps students develop investigative as well as oral and…

Presents a teacher's reflection on his teaching using two different perspectives. The first perspective uses the cognitive apprenticeship metaphor as a tool for analyzing and understanding teaching. The second, a methodological perspective, uses conversational analysis to arrive at microanalytic descriptions and conceptualizations of teaching. (PR)

Three themes emerged from interviews with 149 elementary through secondary students: instructional strategies, cognitive demands, and students' ideas about how science should be taught. Elementary students enjoyed the messing around quality of their activities. Junior high school students were becoming uncomfortable with open-ended activities. In…

This paper set emerged from an international symposium that aimed to shed light on issues associated with the enactment of inquiry both as means (i.e., inquiry as an instructional approach) and as ends (i.e., inquiry as a learning outcome) in precollege science classrooms. The symposium contributors were charged with providing perspectives from…

The results are described of two case studies on the conceptions and classroom practice of two Portuguese physics and chemistry teachers on the role of problem solving in the teaching/learning of science. One of these teachers was a novice and the other had about 20 years of teaching experience. The data were obtained from a questionnaire, a…

A tool for teaching bioinformatics concepts to information systems majors is described. Biological data are available from numerous sources and a good knowledge of biology is needed to understand much of these data. As the subject of bioinformatics gains popularity among computer and information science course offerings, it will become essential…

Since the recommendation of biology (or natural history, as it used to be called) in 1893 as part of the high school science curriculum, biology was considered a descriptive subject. In the late 1890s biology consisted of zoology, botany, and physiology. The group that decided on the high school science course configuration was the Committee of…

This paper reports on the examination of physics teachers' beliefs and perceptions of laboratory and ICT supported physics instruction. The findings indicate that the teachers in the sample were generally positive about the affordances offered by the physics lab and ICT in physics instruction. However, school culture context, mainly the need to…