Examines the science museum literature in light of the new emphasis for museums to become a unique partner with schools to enhance science literacy. Museums are believed to provide opportunities for students to be active learners by manipulating real objects in a stimulating environment. Asserts that additional research in this area is needed to…

Reports on the issues which impact the pedagogical development of 14 science teachers at the end of their second year of teaching. Teachers recognized how time, confidence, and support influenced their teaching. When combined with the experiences of preservice education programs, these factors became a dilemma as teachers tried to bridge the gap…

Addresses multiculturalism in science education reform: (1) problems with the universalist account of the nature of science; (2) an examination of some historical cases that illuminate the consequences of maintaining a universalist perspective on science; and (3) an argument for a multicultural perspective on scientific knowledge. Argues that the…

Describes the thoughts of a secondary science teacher faced with the dilemmas experienced while teaching an environmental science class (n=15). Some of the dilemmas identified were the following: (1) curriculum control and intellectual engagement; and (2) conflict confidence and successful discourse management. An implication of the work is that…

Analyzes the process of large scale curriculum development. Locates the projects and their development within the range of approaches advocated in science education and considers the practical decisions taken during the development in relation to theories of curriculum development and change. (ZWH)

Delineates various conceptions of curriculum and uses one of these conceptions as basis for the development of a classroom learning environment instrument. Provides an overview of how a curriculum can be conceived as a social construction that arises through interaction of participants and explains how this instrument might be used by teachers and…

Two groups of four children each were involved in a qualitative study designed to interpret the nature of fourth graders' understandings of electric circuits. Conclusions regarding knowledge restructuring are presented as well as implications for teaching, assessment, and research. (ZWH)

Analyzes the so-called mechanical theories of learning that underpin the transmission view of teaching that so permeates education and schooling. Promotes a neuroscientific basis for resolution of the impasse in psychological theories. Implications for the transmission-of-knowledge approach to teaching are addressed. (PR)

Reports on the meiosis models utilized by five individuals at each of three levels of expertise in genetics as each reasoned about this process in an individual interview setting. Results revealed a set of biologically correct features common to all individuals' models as well as a variety of model flaws (i.e., meiosis misunderstandings) which are…

From data obtained from a questionnaire administered to a stratified, random sample of Form 5 (16-year-old) students in Fiji, it was concluded that gender and ethnicity were found to have no consistent relationship with students' perceptions, attitudes, and attributions about science. Different kinds of career advice were given to students on the…

Asserts that the idea of linking science learning to the way of doing science constitutes a permanent feature in innovations in science teaching. A thread which has shown itself to be fruitful, even through its wrong avenues, is being reinforced nowadays by the emerging constructivist model and by the implications of the contemporary philosophy of…

Science-prone students are both academically gifted and display a driving interest in science. Describes the origins and evolution of the Science Talent Search Program, a program designed to identify science-prone high school students. Discusses variations of four exemplars of the program. (Contains 46 references.) (MDH)

Examines the effects of a science methods course on the attitudes of the preservice elementary teachers (n=145) toward teaching science. Results indicated a significant positive change in attitude that was not significantly different for low and high science achievers. (MDH)

Female elementary school teachers (n=42) were asked to identify the scientific skills that each student in their class displayed to determine differences in their perceptions of the scientific ability of girls and boys. Teachers perceived boys to be more cognitively intellectual and girls to be more cognitive process in their scientific abilities.…

Evaluates the effectiveness of a course using a constructivist approach in reducing Dutch secondary school students (n=190) misconceptions about force. Concluded that the lessons were effective in changing students' ideas in regard to forces in rest situations and frictional forces and that learning effects were equally distributed over student…