Many students are curious about the steps in food preparation. As a result of such experiences, the author of this article began to incorporate science demonstrations into food preparation classes. She conducted research, developed resources, and piloted the "Principles of Food Science" class over the next 6 years. "Principles of Food Science"…

Researchers predict that future developments in nanotechnology will bring incredible, almost inconceivable, change to the manufacturing industry. For now, though, one of technology's most trusted tools remains very relevant: In the field of thermometry, thermocouples are a tried and true technology. As a consequence, material on thermocouples…

Actions speak louder than words. Teachers may verbally agree with curriculum change but seldom do their statements match up with their classroom practice and, as a result, the intended curriculum is never fully implemented. The study described below reports on how primary and secondary teachers' statements of belief, otherwise referred to as…

Advocates of Intelligent Design (ID) theory argue that evolution is a theory in crisis, ID is a legitimate scientific theory, and biology teachers should teach the controversy. Supporters of evolutionary theory testify that ID is a religious, not scientific, concept, and evolution is in no danger of bankruptcy, having survived 140 years of…

This paper traces the sophisticated negotiations to re-inscribe the authority of Nature when a school science experiment fails during the enactment of a highly rated science curriculum unit. Drawing on transcriptions from classroom videotapes, we identify and describe four primary patterns of interaction that characterize this process, arguing…

Case study teaching is difficult in large classes, especially in fixed-seat amphitheaters. The development of audience response systems, or "clickers," for use in classrooms has opened up exciting new possibilities for creating and implementing interactive case studies, particularly in large introductory science courses.

The main purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the influence of participation in educational games on cognition and attitudes of seventh-grade students. Student attitude towards learning scientific language and concepts during gameplay was examined. This study was conducted in a seventh-grade science classroom in a North Eastern (USA)…

Edmund Rice Education Australia Flexible Learning Centres (EREAFLCs) operate within a social inclusion framework to "walk with" young people who have disengaged from the traditional schooling system. Students attending the centres face multiple stressors in their everyday lives, as well as significant barriers to achieving success in the…

Contemporary science standards stress the importance of highlighting inquiry in the science classroom as one way of learning key concepts. One critical question that needs to be addressed for a range of instructional practices is how opportunities to learn are conceptualized so that students can engage and learn the critical ideas and practices…

The Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside has developed and implemented an innovative, multidisciplinary undergraduate curriculum in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics (MBB). The objective of the MBB program is to give students a hands-on facility with molecular biology theories and laboratory techniques, an…

This article reports a study on using data mining to predict K-12 students' competence levels on test items related to energy. Data sources are the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1999 TIMSS-Repeat, 2003 Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and the National Assessment of Educational…

Adaptive chemical behavior is essential for an organism's function and survival, and it is no surprise that biological systems are capable of responding both rapidly and selectively to chemical changes in the environment. To elucidate an organism's biochemistry, its chemical reactions need to be characterized in ways that reflect the normal…

The products of modern biotechnology processes such as genetic engineering, DNA testing and cloning will increasingly impact on society. It is essential that young people have a well-developed scientific understanding of biotechnology and associated processes so that they are able to contribute to public debate and make informed personal…

In response to the needs of a newly democratic South Africa, a new education policy required science teachers to integrate Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) with school science: Curriculum 2005 (C2005) was developed. The first phase of that curriculum was implemented in 1997 with the hope that by 2005 it would have been implemented in the entire…

This article investigates the costs and benefits of the increased use of modular or unitized qualification designs through a case study of the GCE A-level science curriculum in England. Following a brief review of the development of modular A-levels, the various proposed advantages of modularity--short-term goals and regular feedback, flexibility…