Reports the results of a study that compared two concept-mapping techniques, one high-directed, "fill-in-the-map" and one low-directed, "construct-a-map-from-scratch". Examines whether: (1) skeleton map scores were sensitive to the sample; (2) the two types of skeleton maps were equivalent; and (3) the two mapping techniques provided similar…

Reports on an evaluation of the impact of two science enrichment programs on gifted high school students (n=330). Evaluates the programs using a multimethod, multiperspective approach that proves to be a comprehensive evaluation of program impact on science attitudes. (Contains 57 references.) (DDR)

Provides a conceptual framework for understanding what is involved in improving urban science teaching and what might be implied by conducting research on its improvement. Believes that three sets of forces and conditions have a direct impact on urban science classrooms. Suggests how this framework can direct research. (Contains 28 references.)…

Explores how sociocultural factors involved in the manifestation and eventual disappearance of the gap for these groups may shed light on how to address the achievement gap for African American students in urban science education. (Contains 47 references.) (DDR)

Presents a case analysis of the Miami-Dade Urban Systemic Initiative (MDUSI). Describes the development of a general framework for systemic reform that is used as a tool to examine the particulars of systemic reform initiatives and their potential to impact the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in diverse contexts. (Contains 27…

Reports on the results of case studies in two Ohio middle schools that employed a model known as the equity metric to identify factors affecting equity in urban science education reform. (Contains 33 references.) (DDR)

Describes a unique and ongoing collaboration involving a team of bilingual/multicultural teacher-educators, preservice teachers, teachers, students, and community members in an urban California elementary school. Uses critical ethnography as a framework and focuses on building an American garden house to show how, by drawing on participants' funds…

Recognizes the persistent science achievement gap between inner-city African American students and students from the mainstream and suggests that the imposition of external standards on inner-city schools will do little to ameliorate this gap because such an approach fails to address the significance of the social and cultural lives of the…

Urban science education is a civil rights issue and in order to effectively address it as such we must shift from arguments for civil rights as shared physical space in schools to demands for high quality academic preparation that includes the opportunity to learn science. (Contains 39 references.) (Author/YDS)

Investigates 10th grade biology students' decisions to enroll in elective science courses and explores certain attitudinal perceptions of students that may be related to such decisions. Examines possible differences in enrollment decisions/intentions and attitudinal perceptions among males and females in these course contexts. (Contains 59…

Explains the history of technology education as it relates to science education and discusses how new conceptions of scientific and technological literacy are moving beyond the dichotomies that formerly characterized the relationship between science and technology education. Examines how research can provide guidelines for potential interactions…

Technology education should play a far more substantial role in schools. Defines the term technology and presents a comprehensive set of goals for elementary technology education. (Contains 30 references.) (Author/YDS)

Presents a study that took place in an inner-city neighborhood school populated mainly by African American students characterized by poverty. Explores the discourse and practices of students and three co-teachers as a curriculum was enacted to provide opportunities for students to learn about the physics of motion through designing, building, and…

Reviews two dimensions in which science and technology share fundamental similarities: (a) the production and transformation of representations; and (b) the action-oriented language that describes the two domains. Illustrates what and how students know and learn science during technological design activities. (Contains 66 references.) (Author/YDS)

Reports on what naive, novice, and expert designers do and learn when investigating simple mechanical devices, then planning their redesign. Involves 32 high school and adult subjects who did investigate-and-design (I&R) tasks. Examines and evaluates same-gender pairs of subjects with similar design experiences. (Contains 55 references.)…