Highlights the importance of the Human Genome Project in educating the public about genetics. Discusses four challenges that science educators must address: teaching for conceptual understanding, the nature of science, the personal and social impact of science and technology, and the principles of technology. Contains 45 references. (JRH)

Discusses the nature of science, the concept of indigenous science, and its implications for science education. (JRH)

Summarizes some of the recent literature on the use of portfolios and identifies how portfolio assessment differs from traditional methods of assessment. Highlights some of the possibilities that portfolios offer for improved educational practice. Contains 16 references. (JRH)

Looks at the author's growth and development as a classroom teacher between his third to sixth years as a teacher. Uses Habermas's theory of knowledge and human interests and a number of forms of constructivism to describe that growth. Contains 26 references. (JRH)

Describes a project that involves determining, by coulometry, the energy output of different types and makes of 1.5-volt AA cells as a function of EMF and time. Involves measuring the volume of hydrogen gas collected at the cathode from the reduction of hydrogen ions in aqueous sulfuric acid by a current produced by the discharge of an AA battery.…

Discusses some of the important characteristics of fungi. Presents exercises designed to introduce students to factors influencing the development of mushroom fruiting bodies. (JRH)

Describes the manufacturing of ethanol, the effects of ethanol on the body, the composition of alcoholic drinks, and some properties of ethanol. Presents some classroom experiments using ethanol. (JRH)

Investigates the effect of the presence of context in physics problems by comparing the performance of physics students (n=8) on two sets of matched problems. Results indicate that the students performed better on the tasks with context. Reports that real-life context plays an important role in the ability to visualize the problem. (JRH)

Reports on the stated preferences of first-year high school students (n=499) about a range of science topics. Analyses of responses indicate that some topics were selected equally by boys and girls while other topics were selected predominantly by girls and other topics by boys. Discusses curriculum implications of the findings. (Author/JRH)

Discusses the use of student-generated performance rubrics as a substitute for traditional teacher-generated three-part performance objectives. Gives three examples. (MKR)

Presents nine science activities to help students improve their thinking and problem solving skills. Activities cover the science process skills of classifying, ordering, space-time relationships, inferring, predicting, and elaborating. (MKR)

Proposes a design for a life science curriculum following the National Research Council National Science Education Standards. The overarching theme is that science as inquiry should be recognized as a basic and controlling principle in the ultimate organization and experiences in students' science education. Six-week units include Matter, Energy,…

The Standards for Teachers of Science address the preparation, provisional practice, continued practice, and support that teachers will need to ensure that students are prepared for life and to be lifelong learners. The background of educational reform, vision behind the Standards, goals for science teachers, and suggestions for sustaining…

Discusses traditional models found in teacher education and multicultural education to better understand the union of these two fields. Explores the implications of multicultural teacher education for future research in the field of multicultural science-teacher education. Proposes several ideas for multicultural science-education inquiry for…

Describes a leadership institute in Science-Technology-Society (STS) education which was established to develop middle-school science teacher/leaders in STS education across rural areas of central Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. The program was comprised of professional-development activities and complementary research that used STS…