Reports evaluative data on five courses that have taken part in a curriculum reform effort called the Arizona Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (ACEPT). Discusses the effects of those teaching reforms on substantial improvements in student achievement. Includes principles of effective teaching, reformed teaching…

This article comments on the previous article (Holburn, 2002), that argues misapplied approaches of person-centered planning can be remedied through scientific practices. It cautions against testing person-centered planning like a drug to establish its causal power and stresses person-centered planning as a way to improve the odds that change will…

Demonstrated in this article are some of the capabilities of a spreadsheet program using data obtained in gas law experiments and a computer interface system. The ability to organize and analyze data which a computer can provide for the student is emphasized. (KR)

Describes an experiment to determine the density of air within a 10 percent error range using a basketball and a triple beam balance. Provides the typical data and a graph. (YP)

The movement toward quantitative, "scientific" planning in organizations ignores an element essential to progress: communication within and among disciplines to explore available options. For this reason and because of the growth of technology, it will be important for higher education to expand into the field of communications. (MSE)

Examination of controversial scientific issues provide an accurate picture of science. Examples, drawn from the physical and life sciences, show how complex and subtle scientific issues may be; how difficult it may be to perform and interpret experiments; and how science constitutes a vigorous, self-correcting mode of inquiry. (Contains 45…

Addresses the problem of school-sponsored assemblies featuring guest speakers who present creation science on school premises. A science teacher who spoke at a follow-up assembly established two goals: (1) to present authoritative information about evolution; and (2) to help students evaluate the creation speaker's arguments against evolution.…

The president of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) discusses the current state of environmental education and suggests several key issues to address when designing programs: (1) the basis of the program must be sound, unbiased science; (2) critical thinking must be at the core of the learning experience to make it effective and…

Describes eliciting teachers' views on the nature of science, interpreting and understanding these views, and developing these views in the context of initial or in-service teacher education. Contains 28 references. (DDR)

Reports on a study of the contributions fieldwork made to Spanish secondary students' (n=67) understandings of concepts and principles of ecology. Concludes that fieldwork helps clarify ecological concepts and intervenes directly in the development of more favorable attitudes toward the defense of the ecosystem. Contains 47 references. (Author/WRM)

Presents a lesson that addresses the scientific aspects of the evolution versus special creation controversy by having students gather evidence from the fossil record and analyze that evidence using critical-thinking skills. Contains 13 references. (WRM)

Examines whether secondary science teachers in England give students opportunities to develop and rehearse the skills of argumentation during their lessons. Finds that classroom discourse was largely teacher-dominated and tended not to foster the reflective discussion of scientific issues. Contains 43 references. (Author/WRM)

Describes how oral and written-discourse processes in a high school physics class are related to sociocultural practices in scientific communities. Finds that students' appropriation of scientific discourse was related to the framing activities of the teachers and the social practices established over time in the classroom. Contains 74 references.…

Investigates conceptions of the geosciences held by a university geology instructor and five students before and after a teaching intervention. Argues for the use of repertory grids to elicit personal constructs. Advocates targeting the societal aims of geological education within a constructivist framework. Contains 54 references. (Author/WRM)

Teaching science is justified by linking scientific ways of thinking with the advancement of democratic society. Claims that science education must reflect the ways in which the theories and practices of science are constrained by the real world. Presents three goals of science education that can help defend it from antiscientific criticisms.…