The Partners in Elementary Science (PIES) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is a model Teacher Enhancement project. Its goal was to develop and test a program to help elementary teachers strengthen their science teaching by addressing areas of need, specifically teachers' confidence in teaching inquiry science and helping teachers…

This paper, designed to be used in conjunction with a video-tape developed by the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--shows excerpts from some of the interview schedules used to examine children's ideas about floating and sinking. These interviews involved the use of "interview-about-instances" (IAI) cards (included in an…

The mission of the National Center for Improving Science Education, a partnership between the NETWORK, Inc., and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), is to promote changes in science curricula, science teaching, and assessment of student learning in science. The center analyzes and makes recommendations for policy and practice at the…

Four papers to be used in conjunction with video-tapes developed by the Learning in Science Project are presented. Topic areas of the papers focus on: (1) animals; (2) electric current; (3) force; and (4) science activities. The first paper presents transcripts of class discussions focusing on the scientific meaning of the word animal. The second…

Two previous papers of the Learning in Science Project recorded the thinking of the project team at the outset of the exploratory and in-depth phases of the project. This paper briefly reconsiders the work done in the in-depth phase and then discusses some central issues and tentative ideas as the project moves into the third and final…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on students' (N=37) views of chemical change. Data were obtained using the…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on students' thinking regarding their views on gravity. Students (N=42) were…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on the concept of "light" held by 36 students. Data were obtained…

One area explored in the Learning in Science Project (Primary--LISP(P)--was children's questions about and explanations of phenomena. Data were obtained from work with classes of children, interviews with children, informal discussions with teachers, and observations of two teachers using an alternative teaching model (outlined in an appendix)…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--investigated the ideas and interests about spiders held by 8- to 10-year-old children. Data included 303 questions--and answers to some of the questions--about spiders obtained from children in four classes and from responses obtained during individual interviews with 10 children from each age…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on the concept of "plant" held by 29 students. Data were obtained by…

Observational techniques were employed to gain insights into students' experiences from three perspectives (learner, teacher, and observer) as related to four aspects of a set task (nature of the task, including its purpose; how the task was carried out; perceived significance of outcomes achieved; and significance of outcomes in terms of science…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on the concept of "electric current" held by 43 elementary school…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on the concepts of "living" held by 32 students in four different…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on students' thinking regarding their views on particles and particle…