NGSS Early Implementers is a four-year initiative created to help eight California school districts and two charter management organizations, supported by WestEd's K-12 Alliance, implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Designed for professional developers and administrators, this report describes 10 tools and processes that are…

Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S.…

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) was tasked with identifying the key science concepts for science literacy in K-12 students in America (AAAS, 1990, 1993). The AAAS Atlas of Science Literacy (2001) has organized roughly half of these science concepts or benchmarks into fifty flow charts. Each flow chart or strand map…

What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, "Taking Science to School" provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of…

The Regents competency test in science is a survey test of the core process skills and core understandings taken from the 10 blocks of the "Science Syllabus for Middle and Junior High Schools." The life, earth, and physical sciences are covered equally. Questions testing knowledge (recall and recognition), comprehension, application, and…

Describes a year long laboratory program for third, fourth, and fifth graders. States the goal of the program is to demonstrate what chemistry is, how it is done, and why it is fun and interesting. Provides a syllabus of the experiments and lists educational objectives. (MVL)

Guidance for the development, assessment and/or improvement of science education programs in Michigan is provided in this handbook for teachers, administrators, and parents. It provides a philosophical foundation and curricular framework from which educators could construct comprehensive local science education programs. The nature of science is…

For several years at the Rural and Small Schools Conference, a special effort has been made to address the needs that are unique to rural science educators. This publication is a compilation of materials presented at those conferences reflecting the following themes: "In Search of Excellence" (1985); "Rural Education: A Proud…

This document reports the state of science achievement of Japanese students based on the Second International Science study conducted in 1983-84. Results are compared to the first study conducted in 1970. The target populations, samples, and structure of the second study are described. Test results including score distribution and high and low…

The purpose of this document is to provide a framework for school districts to use in the development of K-12 science curricula. The framework focuses on those ideas, skills, and attitudes that have the greatest educational significance for enabling the achievement of scientific literacy by all students. The scope of the Arizona Science Essential…

Describes a science experiment in which the heartbeats of mammals can be counted and graphed as measurable data by the computer. Provides information on materials needed, pre-lab activity worksheet, and follow-up activities. (RT)

The documents enclosed in this report provide a comprehensive and systematic review of the progress made in developing a network organization capable of supporting nanoscience education for the public on a national scale. There is a logic to the studies that were done and to the reports that are included in this notebook. The following are the…

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…

This study investigated the meanings and ideas held and questions asked by children (ages 7-14) about floating and sinking (in water). Data were collected from interviews using "interview-about-instances" (IAI) cards (included in an appendix) and 10 objects which either floated or sank. Additional data were collected from classroom…

Describes a biology course to meet the needs of nontraditional students. Included is information on the course including the needs, beginnings, framework of basic concepts with a multisensory approach, and course objectives. Reports the data showing student success. (YP)