Focuses on the integrity and ethics of Arthur Jensen, while tracing the negative reactions his work on genetic differences in intelligence has evoked. Outlines some other areas in which Jensen has worked and commends his emphasis on honest psychological science. (SLD)

Modern thought is most dependent upon the influence of Charles Darwin. Discusses Darwin's contributions to the fields of evolutionary biology, philosophy of science, and modern zeitgeist. (WRM)

Presents a classroom activity in which students identify the possible ways of reducing NOx emissions to reduce ground-level ozone. (YDS)

Examines pre-college students' understanding of the nature of science and tracks those beliefs over the course of an academic year. Studies students' conceptions of the nature of science using a model developed for use in this study. (Contains 24 references.) (Author/YDS)

Presents three different scientific issues to students and uses debate as a way of gaining information. Involves information collection on the topic, team preparation, and debate between teams. Includes debate format and presentation guidelines, suggestions for debate questions, information on areas to explore when preparing to debate the question…

Assesses the influence of three history of science (HOS) courses on college students' and preservice teachers' conceptions of nature of science (NOS). Examines whether participants who entered the investigated courses with a conceptual framework consistent with contemporary NOS views achieved more elaborate NOS understandings. Explores the aspects…

Presents preservice elementary teachers' frames (points of view) on science curriculum. Uses Carl Sagan's text, "The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark". Explores how students retelling their reactions to experiences of their own design might influence their awareness of beliefs in general and reconsideration of…

Reports on the conceptions held by preservice primary school teachers regarding an understanding of current views of the nature of science (Author/CCM)

In science education contexts there appears to be some consensus regarding the "doing" of science but less on the "what for". In this paper we compare and contrast scientists' view of "doing science" with the practice of "doing science" in New Zealand classrooms. After examining and critiquing these…

In describing the professional development journey of science teachers, the National Science Standards (NRC 1996) provides a useful cartography. Inquiry, those standards suggest, is the central strategy for the teaching of science. By illustrating the parallels between inquiry as a form of scientific investigation and inquiry as a classroom…

It has long been a goal of science education in the United States that students leave school with a robust understanding of the nature of science. Decades of research show that this does not happen. Inquiry-based instruction is advocated as a means for developing such understanding, although there is scant direct evidence that it does. There is a…

This article focuses on the geology of a single area of the Moon, the Imbrium Basin, and shows how geologists have combined basic geologic principles with evidence collected by the Apollo missions to learn more about the history of the Moon as a whole. In this article, the author discusses lunar geology teaching tips and mapping the Imbrium Basin…

On any night, the stars seen in the sky can be as close to Earth as a few light-years or as distant as a few thousand light-years. Distances this large are hard to comprehend. The stars are so far away that the fastest spacecraft would take tens of thousands of years to reach even the nearest one. Yet, astronomers have been able to accurately…

Design activities allow students to create their own solutions, drawing upon a personal understanding of science principles and examples. We created the 'Houses in the Desert' project to engage middle school students in designing a passive solar house that will keep its owners comfortable in the desert climate. Students used their knowledge of…

A previous study showed that elementary teaching majors enrolled in an inquiry-based physical science course developed chemistry content knowledge comparable to that of students enrolled in traditional lecture-based courses. This current study compares the views of these elementary teaching majors regarding how chemistry is taught and learned to…