Multiple American educational organizations such as the National Education Association, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the Council of Chief State School Officers have advocated for globalizing the K-12 curriculum. The National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) in a position statement on international education and…

This study of science standards of all 50 states and 1958 American early adolescents asked whether there is agreement among states about a science topic, lunar phases, that appears in all recent national standards documents, is of cultural significance, and has been widely studied for misconceptions held by children and adults. Secondly, we asked…

Today's learners routinely use technology outside of school to communicate, collaborate, and gather information about the world around them. Classroom learning experiences are relevant when they include communication technologies such as social networking, blogging, and video conferencing, and information technologies such as databases, browsers,…

This study investigated the effect on children's science understanding of Internet-based instruction in which children from around the world in grades 4 to 8 observed the Moon for several weeks and then shared their lunar data internationally to find global patterns in the Moon's behavior. Students in two American and one Australian class took the…

Educators can connect their students internationally in meaningful activities that address multiple teaching standards that are of concern to educators, parents, and the public worldwide. In this article, the authors describe a project wherein Australian Year 7 students made an "Edible Lunar Vehicle" (ELV) together with U.S. college…

This paper is concerned with the need for science teachers to encourage women students to pursue professional science careers. It presents five hypotheses that are often assumed about women and counters with five strategies that can be used. These are: (1) Deficiency hypothesis/Remediation strategy; (2) Unfeminine career hypothesis/Career selling…

Twelve instructional modules for Project BECOMING were administered to an undergraduate class of elementary education majors as part of their social studies methods course, in order to promote sex blindness, prevent sex-role stereotyping, and develop teachers who were supportive of students trying out new roles. The modules included: Values…

The integration of instruction on sex role stereotyping into an elementary social studies teaching methodology course is described. The course resulted in students producing nonsexist lessons, as well as achieving the usual methodology goals of the course. (JMF)

"COMETS on Careers" describes science-related careers, introduces activities illustrating a science concept being studied, and encourages use of professional persons as activity leaders. Several COMETS chemistry activities are described. These activities, which can be performed in school or at home, focus on colloids, acid/base…

Suggests systematically exposing early adolescents/middle school students to community people who use science in their work to demonstrate the value of science/mathematics study. Discusses activities related to classroom visits of resource personnel, sources of resource people, and Career Oriented Modules to Explore Topics in Science for grades…

Random sample of K-12 science teachers (N=400) was surveyed regarding their attitude toward and practice of career education in their science teaching. Results indicate, among others, a rejection of a vocational view, favoring instead a career education conception which includes self-perception, values analysis, and vocational skills objectives.…

Teachers at the middle school level not only teach content but also counsel students concerning student problems. Both tasks can be accomplished by bringing into the classroom community resource people who can concretely demonstrate the utility of learning science and math and who can help students gain information about careers. (DS)

Engages middle school students and preservice teachers in a long-term (16 weeks) investigation of the moon and provides an opportunity to share, via the internet, their observations with other students around the world. Explains the design of the study including multicultural connections, student observations, internet discussions, and…

On the Fajada Butte in New Mexico, 11th-century Anasazi constructed a site that marks the high and low points of the orbits of the sun and the moon. This unit on astronomy challenges students to think differently about the moon and about the ability of native people to understand the natural world. Includes resources for further study. (PVD)

What Australia, Alaska, Qatar, Indiana, and Ohio have in common is the authentic writing More Observations Of Nature (MOON) project. In this unique project, teachers from these disparate geographic locations teamed up to instruct children in grades four through eight via the internet on a nearly universally challenging subject for teachers in the…