What makes a good teacher? What makes a good curriculum? While these two questions are intimately related, they are different. This author states that when he reflects on his best teachers, he cannot separate the person from what the person taught. On the other hand, when designing a curriculum, it is important to figure out what to teach and how,…

Presented is a pilot study focusing attention on problems of deteriorating physical plants and inadequate/obsolete equipment contributing to the current crisis in engineering education. Data are reported from a survey instrument (included in an appendix) from 26 colleges/universities, representing 168 programs out of a national total of 1212…

This is the final report of the evaluation of Project CAUSE, a three year project to improve the laboratory portions of undergraduate physics courses at North Texas State University. The report is divided into six sections. Included in the overview are goals and purposes, the instructional format, and the evaluation plan. Demographic profiles…

This paper relates philosophical and psychological concerns in formulating a theory of teaching and learning. The laboratory exercise is shown to be a paradigm case of the theory, and a means by which students can be taught to think. The laboratory exercise is presented as a means to demonstrate a facet of the conceptual nature of science and to…

GUIDELINES FOR THOSE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR AND DIRECTLY CONCERNED WITH THE IMPROVEMENT OF SCIENCE INSTRUCTION ARE PRESENTED. PROBLEM AREAS RELATIVE TO SCIENCE INSTRUCTION IN GRADES 7-12 ARE--IDENTIFICATION OF ESSENTIAL IDEAS EMPHASIZED IN MODERNIZED COURSES, DELINEATION OF THE LABORATORY AS CENTRAL IN SCIENCE LEARNING AND INVESTIGATION PRACTICE,…

THE DESIGN OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS USED FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IS DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF LABORATORY SAFETY AND BUILDING CODES AND REGULATIONS. MAJOR TOPIC AREAS ARE--(1) SAFETY RELATED DESIGN FEATURES OF SCIENCE LABORATORIES, (2) LABORATORY SAFETY AND BUILDING CODES, AND (3) EVIDENCE OF UNSAFE DESIGN. EXAMPLES EMPHASIZE…

This study was designed to investigate and compare the effects of two laboratory approaches in biology upon prospective elementary teachers in their understanding of the social aspects of science, achievement in selected biological principles, understanding of science as process, and ability in critical thinking. The two approaches compared were…

A consumer science course at Rumford (Maine) Junior High School uses resources and facilities of the home economics and science departments to take low-ability students through a variety of practical learning experiences combining chemistry, biology, and home economics. Rotation of classrooms and teachers helps to keep the students interested. (MF)

Describes four science laboratory, consumer oriented activities including: milk, fireproofing clothing, acetic acid, and paints. (SL)

Criticizes the way organic chemistry teaching laboratory experiments are approached from the viewpoint of physical chemistry. Compares these experiments to cooking. Stresses that what matters is not the practice of the finger skills of organic chemistry but practice in the style of thinking of organic chemists. (CW)

Described are the Howard Hughes Medical Institute programs for providing funds to assist science education. One program is designed to assist private liberal arts colleges that are not affiliated with a graduate school. Other programs have been established to provide support for postdoctoral research and laboratories. (RH)

Eighth grade physical science students studied graphing with a microcomputer as the lab partner in a microcomputer based laboratory. Graph templates were used to solve problems based on previous learning. It was concluded that the Computer as Lab Partner curriculum was effective in teaching graphing concepts. (GDC)

Describes a program in which senior engineering students are given the opportunity to design, make, and test apparatus intended for an upper-level teaching laboratory. Discusses such projects as a vapor compressor test stand with refrigerant mass flow measurement, a double-walled concentric annular heat pipe, and a vacuum filling station. (TW)

Indicates that the most dangerous laboratory hazards are the least dramatic ones and that hazardous chemicals are often used in laboratories without proper precautions. Selected sources of information essential for secondary schools and recommendations for safe practices and chemical use statistics from a study of Ohio high schools are given. (DH)