Discusses science education reform and the pivotal role of the science teacher in the process. (MDH)

Describes the Project on Scope, Sequence, and Coordination of Secondary School Science (SS&C). Discusses the design of a reform in science education, the use of student metaphors and analogies in explaining phenomena, student motivation, and student performance-based assessment in the SS&C project. (MDH)

Describes National Science Foundation efforts to support the work of educators and technologists in building national communications-based infrastructures in education. Explains educational needs and technological opportunities; characterizes the current status of educational networking; identifies challenges in laying a national computer network;…

Analyzes the applicability to mathematics and science education of geographic information systems. Gives examples of possible applications involving aerosol detection in the atmosphere, verification of satellite images, and the Kidnet Project. Sketches out a research agenda and describes needed characteristics of the software when applied to…

Describes the three phases of ENLIST Macros, a teacher development program to help science teacher improve their use of microcomputers. Discusses the results of a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Presents eight recommendations to help achieve program objectives. (MDH)

Explorer is an interactive environment based on a constructivist epistemology of learning that integrates animated computer models with analytic capabilities for learning science. The system includes graphs, a spreadsheet, scripting, and interactive tools. Two examples involving the dynamics of colliding objects and electric circuits illustrate…

Presents demographics related to women in science and discusses the development of career opportunities for women as the result of efforts by science educators like Robert Karplus. (MDH)

Presents a vision of the impact of the National Public Network and offers seven recommendations for its evolution and implementation. (MDH)

Discusses the academic computing movement during the 1980s, focusing on the Faculty Workstations Project at Brown University. Six departments are compared: chemistry, cognitive and linguistic sciences, geology, music, neural science, and sociology. Discusses the theoretical implications of the study for conceptualizing the relationship of…

Describes a software library developed to teach biophysics and physiology undergraduates that includes software on (1) the Hodgkin-Huxley model for excitation of action potentials in electrically excitable cells; (2) a random-walk model of diffusion; (3) single voltage-gated ion channels; (4) steady-state chemically mediated transport; and (5)…

Collaborative summer workshops between the Omaha (Nebraska) Public Schools and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln were held to improve the learning environment in multicultural science classrooms. Workshop themes included multicultural understanding, cooperative learning, and problem solving. Discusses attitude changes in student/teacher…

Reports on the application of technology in elementary and secondary education. The report is based on a review of the research literature and on written submissions and oral briefings from a number of academic and industrial researchers, practicing educators, software developers, and government agencies. (DDR)

Illustrates how a culture of collaboration may contribute to significant technological reform and foster conceptual change leading to distinctive pedagogy and praxis. Presents a case study exploring a collaborative effort between a teacher and a researcher. Contains 31 references. (DDR)

Reports the results of a self-assessment questionnaire containing higher-order-cognitive skills types of questions administered to biology majors (N=71). Results indicate that the majority of students in the study rate themselves as capable of self-assessment. Contain 41 references. (DDR)

Examines the conceptual development of high school students' understanding of scientific research over a school year. Results indicate that students' notions of scientific questioning are uniformed and they have little experience with data analysis or communication of results. Contains 18 references. (DDR)