This report reviews some goals for laboratory activities in contemporary science teaching, discusses an investigation that analyzed and compared laboratory activities from two major physics guides, and discusses the implications of the goals and analysis for physics teaching. Six major deficiencies in the two laboratory handbooks are identified.…

Achievement scores of Israeli high school students using Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) materials were shown to be significantly higher than those for students using another curriculum. (MLH)

In evaluating whether the laboratory guides for Project Physics and for PSSC are consistent with the goals of their designers in demonstrating the interplay between experiment and theory in the development of physics, a system was developed for analyzing physics laboratory investigations, and the laboratory activities in the "PSSC Physics…

Studies the scientific curiosity and inquiry of 226 high school students from grades 10 to 12 who were studying the Israeli adaptation of the Biological Science Curriculum Studies (BSCS) program in eleven different schools representing city and Kibbutz Schools in Israel. (HM)

Presents an inventory instrument designed to facilitate conversation, communication, and assessment of programs and goals in secondary science teacher education. (SL)

Described is a study which (1) examines opinions and attitudes of students towards various aspects of using living animals in studying biology and (2) identifies variables that affect student attitudes and opinions. Results include the finding that most students clearly favor live animal studies. (CS)

Reported is a study to determine the attitudes of Israeli high school biology teachers to the Israeli adaptation of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) curriculum. Blankenship's Attitude Inventory, designed to determine teachers' reactions to BSCS materials, was translated into Hebrew. Copies were mailed to 200 high schools in Israel.…

Describes the interrelations of inquiry-oriented curricula and the development of inquiry skills and scientific curiosity among high school students in Israel. Results for whole classes seem to indicate a high correlation between inquiry performance and level of curiosity, but this is not reflected in the performance of individuals. (Author/BB)

Reports on the administration of a biology cognitive preference test to 177 science-oriented high school students. Subjects were asked to rank responses or "extension statements" to items according to their preference. It was found that the high-ability students as a group had a very high preference for questioning and low preference for recall.…

Cognitive preferences of 177 able, science-oriented high school students who participated in a secondary science training program at the University of Iowa in the summer were studied. A Biology Cognitive Preference Test (BCPT) was administered, in which 20 items required ranking and 20 items required rating on a four-point scale. The items were…

Reports on gender differences in achievement, attitudes, preferences, learning experiences and study habits of four groups of Israeli 12th grade students, three of which specialized in the sciences and one group which studied no science. Concludes that girls are generally less interested in studying science and have less positive attitudes toward…

This report reviews three science teacher education programs: the Iowa-UPSTEP program (Undergraduate Pre-Service Teacher Education Program), the STEP program (Science Teacher Education Project) in Great Britain, and the science teacher education program at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Recommendations are made for incorporating some aspects of…

Discusses the need for additional research pertaining to cognitive preferences in science. (SL)

Reviews activities of the Amos De-Shalit Science Teaching Center in Israel, established to promote and improve the teaching of science in Israel. (SL)

This study was designed to analyze the process of curriculum development adopted by developers in language arts, biology, and geography, in a centralized educational system. Specific objectives were to identify naturalistic models of curriculum development used in curriculum projects in Israel; point out relationships between contextual factors…