Discusses components of success for students, such as self-confidence, understanding, competence, communication, enthusiasm, significance, and persistence. Discusses components of success for teachers, such as student-centeredness, urgency, commitment, creativity, expectations, surprise, and self-direction. (YP)

Presents a Project WET water education activity. Students use a Water Log (journal or portfolio) to write or illustrate their observations, feelings, and actions related to water. The log serves as an assessment tool to monitor changes over time in knowledge of and attitudes toward the water. (LZ)

Discusses the potential role of technology in evaluating learning outcomes in large-scale, widespread science assessments. Describes current state-of-the-art techniques in this area and looks at the past and future uses of technology in large-scale science assessments. (LZ)

Discusses students' awareness of science/technology/society (STS) issues, the importance students assign to STS issues, and students' achievement in a genetics unit after infusing STS vignettes into class discussions. Recommendations are made on the use of STS vignettes by science teachers. (KR)

Proposes methods by which laboratory practical exams may be structured to assess outcomes from laboratory instruction. Presents eight general considerations for writing and using practical exams. Describes four example laboratory exams involving a box camera, circuit boxes, floating objects, and light. (MDH)

Computer-assisted genetics instructor (CAGI) is a database program to help students and teachers identify conceptual weaknesses, provide interactive drill to master problem solving, and reduce teacher tutorial time. Results of a comparison of users and nonusers indicates that CAGI users averaged between 6 and 10 points higher on hour exams than…

An inner-city Omaha high school created an untracked, wholly desegregated 2-year thematic science curriculum for all 9th and 10th graders. Under the outdoor community study theme, students participate in a simulated archaeological dig of an Omaha Indian earth lodge, study the school grounds' ecological status, and design areas along a proposed…

Argues that test score rankings provide little information about educational quality because countries differ substantially in factors such as student selectivity, curriculum emphasis, and the proportion of low-income students in the test-taking population. (DDR)

Analyzes the role informal student-faculty interaction plays in the success of science and math students in community colleges. Categorizes direct, indirect, and total causal effects of job, family, timework, gender, informal student-faculty interaction, and quality of effort. States that the findings support the theory that informal interaction…

An appropriate understanding of the nature of the scientific enterprise (NOSE) is a key element of scientific literacy and can arguably be influenced through an exploration of the history of science. An elective, undergraduate History of Science course was organized in the form of small-group discussion-based inquiries into the history of science…

The authors tested a model of the relations among adolescents' perceptions of parents', teachers', and classmates' support for, valuing of, and beliefs about their competence in math/science; adolescents' own academic self-perceptions concerning math/science; and their academic performance. The sample included 378 middle school students; 65% were…

Although the participation rates of females in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (or STEM) education is poor in most Western countries, considerable differences across countries exist as well. This may be due to differences in the so-called gender achievement gaps, that is, delays of one sex with respect to the other. The variation…

In Kenya, performance in science subjects has often been dismal. This poor performance is partly blamed on the increasing school enrolment, without a corresponding increase in teaching resources. The introduction of cost sharing in secondary schools has limited the government's role to paying teachers' salaries only. Capital development and…

Classes of 100 students or more are not uncommon in higher education. With such large enrollments, it can be difficult for instructors to integrate active learning components to the traditional lecture format typically adopted in such large classes. To help address this problem, Johnny El-Rady discusses his use of an electronic classroom voting…

Data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study carried out in 1999 and canonical correlation analysis were used to investigate the effects of school inputs, environmental inputs and gender influence in the production of a joint educational production function in mathematics and science subjects for eighth grade students in…