Summarizes the results of three related studies whose overall purpose was to determine elementary students' conceptions about earthquakes at two widely separated locations in the United States. Certain topics, such as the cause of earthquakes, seemed to cause difficulty for students. New definitional responses emerged in the studies that took…

Examines perspectives contributed by sociologies of science. Describes Mertonian sociology of science and some of its shortcomings. Explores work contributed by the Strong Program for the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge, laboratory studies, feminist critiques of science, and complementary writings. Outlines the implications for science education…

From respondents to a questionnaire sent to a random sample of 654 Texas biology teachers, the following conclusions were made: 86% agreed evolution should be taught, 47% agreed it was a central theme in biology, 8% indicated that it conflicted with the Bible, and 7% noted there were more useful alternative theories explaining the history of the…

The premise of this report is that only the science-technology-society (STS) effort offers the potential for meeting the challenge of science for a general education. Presents the goals of STS issue-based instruction. (PR)

This summary of research developed by the ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education contains two main sections: Research on Teaching and Research on Learning. The first section contains subsections on Curriculum and Instruction, Science Teacher Education. Curriculum and Instruction, Cognition and Achievement, and…

Examines the research literature in science education to determine how appropriate it is for teaching science to young children 3-5 years of age. In the context of this discussion, a model for the teaching of science in early childhood is presented. For clarity and continuity, the example of teaching electricity is used throughout. (PR)

Presents a vignette about Karen, a student teacher in her first attempt at teaching chemical isotopes. Karen focuses on transmitting what she knows. An overview of Schulman's conceptions of pedagogical content knowledge is then provided. Shulman's ideas are employed to frame the experiences of Alan, a student teacher, as he and his cooperating…

Describes an evaluation of a program on science and mathematics for perspective elementary teachers. Among the conclusions are that students in the program (n=65 in 1988 and n=61 in 1989) had significantly more positive scores on teaching science and mathematics than a control group of students. (PR)

This research endeavored to study student's views of science through their operative definitions of science. The results were used to create an instrument with which teachers could evaluate students' perceptions of science and then prepare lessons that address misconceptions. (PR)

An ex post facto study of 1,486 education majors reported that 53.5% of participants were at the formal operational stage and 43.9% were at the transitional stage. Students with more science courses in grades 10-12 had significantly higher scores for cognitive development and science process skills. No significant differences were found in…

Describes the Iowa science-technology-society (STS) models and goals. Characterizes and gives examples of using the STS approach in classrooms. Reports the results of four studies that have assessed the outcomes of learning with STS instruction. Identifies some problems concerning the future use of STS in schools. (PR)

Describes a vignette of an American white teaching successfully in the Philippines and an American white teaching unsuccessfully in a Washington, DC, school. Although the lesson is the same, successful teaching comes from cultural preparation while in the second situation, the teacher did not recognize he was teaching in a different culture.…

Reviews some of the factors known to influence the achievement and retention of Hispanic Americans in technologically related fields. Discusses directions in which research should focus to meet the needs of Hispanic-American students. (PR)

Explains that the science curriculum does little to raise the self-esteem of children from some ethnic groups and is seen by many as irrelevant to their experiences, needs, and interests. Explores ways these deficiencies can be rectified to help all children acquire scientific knowledge, interests, and skills without doing violence to their…

Examines whether and to what extent general education STS and physics courses helped college students build more informed, realistic views about the interactions among science, technology, and society. General education STS courses were found to be of value while the physics course had almost no impact on students' views. (LZ)