At ages 11-15, 25 intellectually highly-able youths studied high school biology and 12 studied chemistry intensively for 3 summer weeks, after which their median score on the College Board's achievement test was 727 (biology) and 743 (chemistry). Implications of these and other results for science instruction are discussed. (JN)

Identified a set of variables which characterize science course enrollment by black secondary students. The population consisted of a subsample of 3963 black high school seniors from The High School and Beyond 1980 Base-Year Survey. Residency in a given census area and English grades were significant predictors of science enrollment. (JN)

Integrated quantitatively the collective research dealing with the effects of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) on student performance and attitude. The weighted mean effect size was 0.09, indicating that the performance of ISCS students was 0.09 standard deviations about the performance of students in traditional science courses.…

To facilitate science teachers' use of classroom climate assessments, economical short forms of the Classroom Environment Scale, Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire, and My Class Inventory were developed. Each instrument contains only 25 items and is amenable to easy hand scoring. Developmental procedures, reliability, validity, and…

Determined if junior high school students prefer to study plants or animals and if their preferences are related to variables of grade level and/or sex. Findings show that, overall, students prefer animal study over plant study. Other findings (such as girls having a greater interest in biological topics than boys) are discussed. (JN)

This paper reports the evaluation of instructional provisions designed to foster higher cognitive skill in a computer programming course. This intervention explicitly encourages novice programmers to engage in the problem-solving skill of planning. (Author)

Developed and validated anecdotal and data-summary persuasive communications and tested their effect on preservice teachers' attitudes toward supplementing traditional, textbook-based science programs with either Science-A Process Approach or the Science Curriculum Improvement Study. Results show that anecdotal nature communications were more…

This study describes strategies fifth- and sixth-grade children used to solve the problem of determining how to control a "vehicle" they "drove" by pressing particular keys on a computer. The problem involves identifying or discovering a set of cause-effect relationships. (Author/JN)

Offers a critique on some of the papers on computers in science teaching that were presented at the 1985 National Association for Research in Science Teaching meeting. Implications for the conduct of research on computers in science learning are also suggested. (JN)

The substance of a commentary (SE 539 500) is a criticism of the over-generalizations by authors of computer-assisted instruction papers at the 1985 annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. This reaction attempts to examine the validity of the criticisms made in the commentary. (JN)

Reported is a study which investigated reasons responsible for the lack of enthusiasm among junior high teachers in implementing a new biology curriculum in Israel. Identified variables related to high expectations set at the ideal level, the greater role given to verbalization, and mechanical or routine implementation approaches. (ML)

Discusses a study which examined the attitudinal and subjective norm variables which impact the behavioral intentions of preservice elementary teachers. Results suggest that measuring preservice teachers' attitudes toward science cannot adequately predict nor provide a satisfactory explanation of their science teaching behaviors. (ML)

Reviews the neural modeling principles of learning, perception, cognition, and motor control, discusses their applications to sensory-motor problem solving, and explores possible relationships between that pattern of problem solving and aspects of higher order formal operational problem solving. Cites implications for science education. (ML)

Presents study findings which explored the effect of teacher reasoning level and teaching style preference on improvement in student-reasoning ability. Reports that students of concrete operational teachers and of inquiry teachers showed greater gains in reasoning ability than students of formal operational teachers and of expository teachers. (ML)

Reviews an investigation of the effects of problem format and the number of independent variables on the responses of students to a control of variables reasoning task. Results indicate that adding independent variables to a control of variables reasoning problem leads to an overload of working memory which affects performance. (ML)