The labour market for young STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) graduates requires flexibility and adaptability, which may potentially conflict with the spreading worldwide tendency toward delayed graduation. This is a cause for concern among academicians, policy makers and practitioners at all levels, as it may generate important…

The ongoing reform in science education in many countries, including Israel, has attainment of scientific literacy for all as one of its main goals. In this context, it is important to provide teachers with the opportunity to construct meaning for the term science literacy and by doing so to obtain a clear understanding of the new teaching goals.…

Investigates gender issues in Israeli advanced placement physics classes. Analyzes matriculation exam scores from approximately 400 high schools over 12 years. Conducts semi-constructed interviews with 50 advanced placement physics students (25 girls and 25 boys). Discusses changes in the ratio of girls, performance, and factors that are…

Describes a diagnostic evaluation to measure the idea of the living cell as the basic unit of life. Describes the classification of student knowledge as common knowledge, wide-spread lack of knowledge, inadequate alternatives, and contradictions. (YP)

Presents the STS (science/technology/society) outlook profiles of 546 eleventh graders from Israeli high schools within the existing science, nonscience, and technological tracks in terms of cognition, behavior, and literacy. Findings indicate significant differences between the profiles for students regarding behavior and literacy but not for…

Course of study, target student population, structure of matriculation examination, student outcomes and attitudes of student toward various components of this examination are described. It was found that this examination not only offers a fair, educationally valid assessment but also provides support and direction which result in more effective…

Experiences with an instructional strategy which enabled students to build for themselves the appropriate scientific concept for energy are described. This was done by pupil/teacher dialogue in small groups, in which students were expected to create for themselves a "generalization mechanism" based on their own frameworks. (KR)

The consistency, if any, with which force concepts are used by individual students in different, but closely related, contexts was investigated. A total of 534 university and high school students were tested to elicit their beliefs about the forces acting on various objects. Students' beliefs about the forces acting on objects at rest and in…

Studies the role of intuitive rules in science and mathematics education. Describes the effect of two intuitive rules on students in grades 7-12 as they perform tasks related to mathematical and physical objects. Contains 28 references. (DDR)

Suggests a new approach to teaching about biochemical cellular processes by stimulating student interest in those biochemical processes that allowed for the outcomes of modern biotechnologies. Discusses the development of students' ability to ask meaningful questions about intra-cellular processes, and the resulting meaningful learning of relevant…

Investigates the scope and nature of tasks demanding students' application of higher order thinking skills while studying biology in junior and senior high schools in Israel. Contains 29 references. (DDR)

Delineates some of the important difficulties that the reform of chemical education faces in Europe. Focuses on student perceptions of chemistry, the chemistry curriculum, and teacher training. (DDR)

Assesses the conceptual change of teachers who have been involved in the development, implementation, field testing, and evaluation of several modules. Points out that the intrinsic nature of the STEMS (Science-Technology-Environment-Society) curriculum requires that the teachers who teach it also be the developers of its modules. (Contains 48…