Explores First Nations (Native American) science education from a cultural perspective. Recognizes science as a subculture and contrasts scientific and Aboriginal ideas about science. Provides a description of the rationale and a series of steps toward a cross-cultural education. Contains 125 references. (DDR)

Examines one theory used to justify science teaching on the basis of goals that transcend learning the content of science. Focuses on the goal of intellectual independence from science for nonscientists. Provides a brief overview of other content-transcendent goals in science education. Contains 45 references. (DDR)

Investigates changes in preservice teachers' conceptions about projectile motion brought about by a combination of reading and demonstration and appeal to usefulness. Results indicate the effectiveness of a combined Demo-Text condition on immediate posttests and effectiveness of text in producing long-term change. Analysis also indicates an…

Identifies concerns of beginning science and mathematics teachers about being a new teacher and their perceptions of the effectiveness of their preservice program in relation to their concerns. Concerns included class assignments, curriculum development, time and classroom management, and presentation of content. Perceptions include specificity of…

Explores how collaboration among teachers from several schools and with university researchers facilitates attempts to change practices. Analysis indicates that collaboration facilitates change because it provides opportunities for teachers to learn new content and pedagogical knowledge, encourages them to be risk-takers in implementing new ideas,…

Synthesizes current thought in neuropsychology, philosophy of cognition, and science education. Suggests that dualistic views and those based solely on biological structural-functional analyses may be insufficient to explain the active role of the learner. Presents 10 principles of neurocognition as a context for analysis of learner-centered…

Presents an alternative perspective that conceives of graphing as observable practices employed to achieve specific goals rather than as knowledge represented in students' minds. Highlights the nature of graphs as semiotic objects, rhetorical devices, and conscription devices. Illustrates the plausibility and fruitfulness of the new perspective in…

Addresses issues of diversity and equity with Asian American students in science education. Describes barriers as well as promising practices in science learning with these students and discusses current reform and its implications. Proposes an equity agenda with Asian American students in science education. Contains 107 references. (Author/JRH)

Research on conceptual change emphasizes the importance of factors in the cognitive domain. This research argues that models of conceptual change learning should also encompass issues of affect, conation, and self-esteem. The use of these expressions is explained via four case studies on members of a rural village concerning informal learning…

Children's activities related to science, nature, and technology were studied via structured interviews of parents and students in pre-school through upper-elementary grades. Interviews can be used to construct profiles of students to be used as a platform upon which to build instruction. Describes how interviews were developed, what type of…

The Young Scholars Program at The Ohio State University is a 6-year pre-collegiate intervention program designed to prepare academically talented, economically disadvantaged minority students for college education. This study describes the success of this effort to reshape the traditional presentation of agriculture. (Author/DKM)

Investigates a museum exhibition design assumption that visitors develop conceptual understanding of a science topic after utilizing a cluster of conceptually related exhibits which lack explicit concept labeling. Also investigated whether visitor concept development could be enhanced through the addition of explicit labeling of the intended…

This study proposed to determine if time-based learning-associated visitor behaviors at interactive science museums differ across weekend/weekday groups and family/nonfamily groups. Results separate weekday visitors into two distinct groups: family visitors spent more time per exhibit than did nonfamily visitors. Conversely, weekend family and…

The effect of humor on retention of information was examined at the planetarium at Ohio's Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, OH. Results showed that the visitors who saw a humorous show retained less of the instructional material and scored lower on the test than the visitors who saw a nonhumorous show. (Author/DKM)

Investigates the effect of seven different scientific inquiry activities on visitors' understanding of the science underlying an interactive exhibit. Findings indicate that the interpretation activity was the most effective in facilitating visitors' understanding and the prediction activity was the least effective. Other findings are discussed and…