Examines the traditional language of physics textbooks and the way of looking at science and science education that underlies that language. Covers five high school textbooks ranging from 1900 to 1984. Reports little change in the style of presentation. Includes text examples, conclusions, and recommendations. (YP)

Examined the evolution of the knowledge and the notions of students in order to see how after one year of university study their concepts and ideas of scientific theory in chemistry had progressed. Reports that sometimes the students' conceptions are modified in the wrong way. (Author/YP)

Suggests that engineering curricula should be designed on the basis that engineering is a vocation. Outlines how curricula might be developed by identifying engineering jobs and proceeding from job specification through engineering capability profiles to subjects of instruction. (YP)

Reviews seven software programs: (1) "Science Baseball: Biology" (testing a variety of topics); (2) "Wildways: Understanding Wildlife Conservation"; (3) "Earth Science Computer Test Bank"; (4) "Biology Computer Test Bank"; (5) "Computer Play & Learn Series" (a series of drill and test…

Describes and discusses an epistemological approach to the education of science teachers that emphasizes similarities in knowledge and modes of acquiring knowledge among children, scientists in their historical contexts, and student teachers. (ZWH)

Describes the philosophy, development, content structure, and general instructional strategy of BioCom, an introductory biology curriculum for the heterogeneously mixed high school science classroom. Discusses recent recommendations by national commissions and science education research and similarities and differences between BioCom and ChemCom.…

Describes the Science Bound project, a partnership aimed at increasing the participation of ethnic minority students in science and technology and encouraging them to prepare for careers as scientists, engineers, and technologists. Presents eight successful field-tested strategies for ensuring that students in multicultural settings learn science.…

A college professor who desired to practice what she preached and an elementary teacher who wanted to observe a hands-on science curriculum on a day-to-day basis form a teaching partnership. They offer insights on their successes, obstacles, and methods for improving hands-on science programs. (ZWH)

Students in general and science-oriented curriculum courses used concept mapping as the basis for developing lesson plans after having first learned the technique through a "fast-track" approach developed by the author. Resulting lesson plans were high in quality with few, if any, sequencing errors. (LZ)

Reports on one rigorous evaluation and search for desired components of a science methods course at a large state university. Student evaluations of assignments are used to rate them for effectiveness. Provides a model for other instructors interested in course evaluation. (LZ)

Examines three anecdotal cases of the teaching of evolution theory in an exploration of the best approaches for teaching about evolution. Three instructional options are presented: (1) readings in natural history, (2) commercially prepared activities, and (3) the use of small-group (peer) discussions. (LZ)

Examines the question of whether variables associated with middle school classroom practices and instructional emphasis would contribute to a prediction of science course placement in later grades. Concludes that what happens in early schooling does have a direct and substantive impact on later education. (ZWH)

Developmental assumptions that are frequently regarded as constraints on elementary school science curricula are analyzed. The argument that elementary school children cannot function as experimentalists because they have not yet attained formal operational thought is not supported by the Piagetian or non-Piagetian research reviewed. (SLD)

Article discusses the Science-Technology-Society approach and describes a study (n=116) of differences in learning outcomes for Taiwanese students who study college biology in an issue-oriented format with students who study in a concept-oriented format. Students in the issue-oriented format class had statistically higher scores for concept…

Discussed is the idea that scientific illiteracy among scientists lies at the heart of the problems with undergraduate science education. Included is a description of a science literacy course for nonmajors and a proposed list of the most important ideas underlying science. (KR)