With the adoption of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English Language Arts (ELA) and math and the release and beginning adoptions of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), teachers, schools, and districts are clamoring for professional learning opportunities to refine and re-tool teaching to bring it in line with the reform visions in…

In this Reflection on Practice we propose a triple nexus of research, public engagement and teaching that could provide a new pathway for academic developers to enable greater engagement in learning and teaching issues from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academics. We argue that the public engagement activities demanded…

In this response to Konstantinos Alexakos, Jayson K. Jones, and Victor H. Rodriguez, I will focus primarily on the importance of relationality for the development of a science learner identity. Along the way I will review (1) The cultural dynamics involved with the formation and sustenance of relationships in social life; (2) The methodological…

This paper offers an overview of the development of the peer-led team learning (PLTL) model for teaching and learning chemistry, from the personal journeys of the authors in their classrooms to the national dissemination of the model to the full range of colleges and universities and to other STEM disciplines. In the PLTL model, students who have…

Addresses the development of innovative skills in future engineers and the factors that promote and inhibit change. Describes two theoretical perspectives which deal with some of the factors affecting individuals and groups when confronted with the possibility of radical change. (TW)

Addresses the fact that a very small number of programs in science education were identified as outstanding in the field by the National Science Teachers Association. (NKA)

A fourth-grade science teacher turns a classroom incident of flatulence into a wide-ranging science discussion. He advocates spontaneous, almost random, free-flowing lessons; exploitation of charged subjects (including death, sex, disease); and nonlinear, yet organically organized, purposeful connections of various subjects leading to satisfying…

Discusses educational effects of the style, content, and quality inherent in several multimedia and desktop-publishing products available to science teachers, including books, interactive software, videos, and computer simulations. (JJK)

Argues that, although technology has great potential to engage students, it can also undermine their notions of what serious study is. Argues the teacher's role is critical, and that teachers must engage students in making sense of their experiences. Outlines seven critical issues regarding technology in the classroom. Argues that technology…

Suggests a practical approach for coping with training students in laboratory skill through the use of videotaped (VTR) materials and discusses the technical advantages of using VTR as opposed to laboratory research. Six references are provided. (MER)

Describes the transformation of PHY 101-02, an introductory physics course taught at Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus, into a distance learning course by putting the lecture component on video tape and transforming the laboratory component into "at-home" labs. Course requirements may be completed on students' own…

Presents viewpoints by an assistant secretary at the Department of Education (DOE) regarding the status of educational research in instruction, including individualized instruction, in the United States. Discusses the need for reform in education, the ineffectiveness of the government, and the purposes and concerns of the DOE. (CS)

Critiques the use of computer-generated graphics and text in place of overhead projector transparencies in large lecture halls. Describes an experience in such a situation and suggests that colleagues can be helpful in assessing the effectiveness of educational innovations. (DDR)

Describes the relationship of Popper's theory of knowledge to chemistry instruction. Suggests that students be allowed to learn from their mistakes and presents five experiments with an implicit falsification purpose. (JN)

Explains a professional development model that is informed both by constructivist and sociocultural theory. Focuses on professional development, personal development, and social development. Contains 26 references. (DDR)