Lead teachers were a major part of a staff-development program first offered in 1983 for science teachers in Iowa. Later, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) reform project called Scope, Sequence, and Coordination (SS&C) involved 20 school districts and worked annually with new teachers involved during the 7-year funding period,…

Nine years after the National Science Education Standards' release, just how well do science teachers in grades 5 to 8 actually use them to plan content, define improved teaching, and assess real learning? Find out the answers to these key questions in this groundbreaking collection of 15 essays by teachers, researchers, and professors whose…

This collection of 16 essays is ideal for staff development providers (university faculty, district supervisors, lead teachers, and principals) as well as preservice science methods instructors. Each essay describes a specific program designed to train current or future teachers to carry out the constructivist, inquiry-based approach of the…

The National Science Education Standards include suggested visions for changing staff development programs for preparing new teachers and working with inservice teachers. Analyzing the visions for the most successful programs precedes the identification of programs that best match the NSES visions. The National Science Teachers Association is…

Focuses on constructivism and lists some of the procedures that teachers use to illustrate the constructivist learning model. Describes characteristics of a classroom that is using the constructivist model. First published in 1991. (YDS)

Compares science education in the United States to that in Germany, France, Japan, People's Republic of China, Soviet Union, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Includes a list of science education endeavors in each of these countries to stimulate discussion of how to improve the situation in the United States. (JN)

Reports on research modeled after the studies of the National Assessment of Educational Progress which sought to acquire data on student perceptions about science programs. Indicates that student attitudes are not as negative in exemplary schools as they are in randomly chosen schools. (RT)

Argues that there are five domains of science education: knowing and understanding, exploring and discovering, imagining and creating, feeling and valuing, using and applying, and not just the two domains of content and process which many people view as being science. (RT)

Highlights activities of the National Science Teachers' Search for Excellence in Science Education (SESE) program. The program involves searching for exemplary programs which can become models for designing new programs. A list of six SESE exemplars chosen for onsite study is provided. (JN)

Points out that discrepancies exist in secondary and college level teachers' perceptions of what is essential for student success in college science. Stresses that more research is needed and offers participation in the National Science Teachers Association "Every Teacher A Researcher" program as one means of addressing the concern. Includes a…

Described is a nutrition education program which could be integrated into home economics, health, and social studies as well as science. The program exemplifies the importance of science to basic issues facing society, while affecting the day-to-day and lifetime well-being of each person emphasized through health and nutrition education.…

Provides rationale for interdisciplinary science curricula which emphasize decision-making skills. Includes examples of interdisciplinary curricula using an issue-centered approach: Unified Science and Mathematics for Elementary School (USMES), Health Activities Program (HAP), Human Sciences Program (HSP), Individualized Science Instructional…

Implications for science curriculum and instruction are addressed based on a comparison of attitudes of seventh- and eleventh-grade students toward the study of science as reported in the third assessment (science) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). (SK)

Describes a Science-Technology-Society (STS) course implemented in Iowa that utilizes the National Science Teachers Association guidelines for STS courses. (PR)

The development of the Science/Society/Technology (STS) movement in the United States is reviewed. The basic philosophy of STS instruction is discussed. Traditional instruction is compared to STS instruction. Suggestions for making STS instruction more effective are provided. (CW)