A comprehensive, quantitative evaluation of an educational intervention program designed to reduce the attrition of minorities from the biological sciences was undertaken to ascertain whether such efforts adequately address the problem. Program participants had greater odds of persisting in basic math and science courses, and of graduating in…

The purposes of the Colorado Science Teaching Enhancement Program (CO-STEP) are to improve the background in science content and the instructional skills of teachers in grades four through six throughout Colorado and to support the implementation of effective instruction. A network of six Teacher Development Centers in Colorado coordinate teacher…

Reasonable people disagree about how to introduce undergraduate students to the marvels and complexities of the biological sciences. With intrinsically varied subdisciplines within biology, exponentially growing bases of information, and new unifying theories rising regularly, introduction to the curriculum is a challenge. Some decide to focus…

Why does an academic research library, emphasizing bioscience topics, decide to alter access to periodical literature relevant to that subject? This paper discusses how and why a change was made, resulting in access to articles via compact disc (CD-ROM) and not current hard copy issues received on subscription. Issue use and cost are primary…

This seven-chapter report presents information on the 1980 assessment of students' science performance in the province of Manitoba. Chapter I describes the nature of and steps involved in the assessment. Chapters II, III, and IV present, analyze and discuss achievement and attitude results for grades 5, 8, and 11, respectively. Achievement results…

This project developed 46 units of science activities suitable for individual use outside of school by elementary school children (K-6) with supervision by an adult advisor. Focusing on the physical, biological, earth, and health sciences, experimental work, and science processes, the materials (obtained at home or in supermarkets) are designed to…

The Ad Hoc Committee on the Cornell University (New York) College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Student Computing Competencies was appointed in the fall of 1995 to determine (1) what all CALS undergraduate students should know about computing and related technologies; (2) how the college can make it possible for students to develop these…

The quality of doctoral-level biochemistry (N=139), botany (N=83), cellular/molecular biology (N=89), microbiology (N=134), physiology (N=101), and zoology (N=70) programs at United States universities was assessed, using 16 measures. These measures focused on variables related to: (1) program size; (2) characteristics of graduates; (3)…

The purpose of this exercise was to determine whether any of the available demographic or academic variables show distinct trends in three specific discipline areas that differ from those of other areas: (1) Engineering, (2) Computer Sciences, and (3) Biological Sciences. Using data from 39,087 SUS graduates in 2002-03 and of 324,164 science…

This 10-chapter report presents information on the 1986 assessment of students' science performance in the province of Manitoba in Canada. The assessment was intended to provide a broad base of accurate information on the performance of grade 3, 6, and 9 students. The program of studies for Manitoba schools is designed to educate the student in…