In India's beleaguered higher-education system, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) stand apart. The seven institutions have turned out some of the world's finest engineers and computer scientists, eagerly recruited by top graduate schools in the United States. Many of the institutes' graduates have gone on to become the chief executives of…

Students' views of science and scientists have been widely studied. The purpose of this study is to analyze image of scientist from drawn picture of scientists using The Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST) by 5th grade students and to analyze where this image comes from students minds in changing Turkish educational perspective. Two hundred eighty seven…

To test whether epistemically unproblematic ways of thinking and talking about science could be transformed during preservice teacher training, we designed a system of learning activities based on a set of "heuristics for progressive disciplinary discourse" (HPDD). The HPDD outline six design principles of learning environments where the aim is to…

Women remain underrepresented in science professions. Studies have shown that students are more likely to select careers when they can identify a role model in that career path. Further research has shown that the success of this strategy is enhanced by the use of gender-matched role models. While prior work provides insights into the value of…

Despite federal legislation and national technology plans, making technology significant in K-12 classrooms has yet to happen. The difficulty lies in veteran teachers who struggle to gain technological fluency. Many identified barriers continue to prevail, not for lack of teachers' trying but because of the overwhelming nature of technology.…

The purpose of this study was to explore the personal stories of men who selected careers in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) to better understand the ways in which their self-efficacy beliefs were created and subsequently influenced their academic and career choices. Analysis of 10 narratives revealed that mastery…

When scientists at small colleges and universities seek research grants, they often run into challenges not faced by their colleagues at major institutions. It is, nonetheless, possible to maintain a research program at a small institution, says the writer, if people have a great deal of passion and a little ingenuity. Issues to consider at…

Blogs, wikis, and social-networking sites such as Facebook may get media buzz these days, but for scientists, engineers, and doctors, they are not even on the radar. The most effective tools of the Internet for such people tend to be efforts more narrowly aimed at their needs, such as software that helps geneticists replicate one another's…

Reviews the history of cartography. Describes the contributions of Strabo and Ptolemy in early maps. Identifies the work of Gerhard Mercator as the most important advancement in mapping. Discusses present mapping standards from history. (CW)

This CD-ROM was designed as a resource for K-12 educators who are interested in teaching their students about the accomplishments of Chicano/Latino and Native American scientists. Profiles of 48 Latino and Native American scientists, mathematicians, and engineers have been written at the middle school and high school levels and are searchable in…

This article suggests use of information officers as means of making social science information system more human and discusses benefits resulting from their introduction in academic environment based on British experience. Nature of social sciences and scientists, information retrieval, and role of information officers are noted. Thirty-three…

The purpose of this study was to explore elementary school children's images of scientists with emphasis on how children define scientists, their idea of the nature of scientists' work, and factors that might influence the formation of their images of scientists. Twenty-eight 5th and 6th grade students were asked to draw pictures and write…

Describes the contributions of women in chemistry from the time of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization to the time of Maria Curie. (GS)

Communication is often thought to be a language problem. In reality, it is not so much words as commonality of background and value systems that make communication possible. Scientists need to improve their communication with non-scientists. (Author/RH)

The three major parts of this directory are (1) the alphabetical list of palaeontologists, (2) the indices of specialization, and (3) the regional list of institutions employing paleontologists. Listed under Part 1 are name and business address, major and minor regional specializations, disciplinary specializations, and major and minor systematic…