This chapter investigates the impact and relative advantages of two engagement models for delivering science-specific PD: school-led partnerships and external-led PD delivered by STEM experts. Traditionally professional development (PD) led by professional education experts has been used to improve the quality of science teaching and learning in…

Ninety-three preservice elementary teachers volunteered to participate in an investigation designed to study and change their attitudes toward science teaching. The purpose of the investigation was to: (1) test a persuasive communication that had been designed using Hovland's framework, (2) question the relevance of the consistency principle for…

This paper discusses a cognitive model of how action agendas and goals emerge through the dynamics of self-organization in collaborative activities. While machines are designed to perform a function, or goal, humans are self-organizing systems that set their own goals and produce order without having external order imposed on them, or, more…

In a pilot study designed to determine whether fourth-grade students can acquire a set of behaviors related to performing certain laboratory activities, 22 students were randomly assigned to either a film-mediated modeling treatment or a control. Students in the treatment viewed a videotape model showing peer leaders engaging in the steps of an…

A model of the teaching-learning environment, based on cognitive-constructivist theories of learning, is presented. The model consists of three dimensions. Dimension One (Opportunity for Constructivist Activity) represents the proportion of teaching-learning activity that is directed to encouraging self-reflection, mobilization of individual…

Reported is a study based on the summary findings of a series of studies which indicated that many children who receive organized instruction designed around the few major concepts of science do, in fact, use scientific models to explain their observations of natural phenomena. The instruction that children in the study received was delivered by…

This paper describes a specific case study of the development of a continued evaluation program in science education. Introduced is the Audio-Tutorial Elementary Science Project (A-TESP) developed by Joseph D. Novak, which provides a model of program development, implementation, and evaluation. Three phases, characterized as the pre-developmental,…

Perceptions and attitudes have been identified as being influential components for the development of an effective precollege science education program. A carefully planned and implemented public relations program is advocated in this paper as a means of developing accurate perceptions and positive attitudes. The paper offers the process of…

This paper discusses the Science and Curriculum Reform Project, a model fostering science learning through a systematic approach to language development in young children; the paper focuses on the process and outcome of Component 1 and discusses the development phase of Component 2 of the project. The science curriculum promotes the content and…

This study investigated the extent of attitudinal change towards the teaching of science in elementary teachers (N=35) in Trinidad and Tobago during an activity-oriented science curriculum development workshop. The model used during the attempts to: (1) incorporate some aspects of science content development, manipulative hands-on experiences,…

The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) has been designed to describe change as it affects individuals and to prompt more successful change efforts. CBAM views the teacher as the focal point in school improvement efforts, yet also acknowledges social and organizational influences. This paper describes the application of the model to a curriculum…

Addresses the power held by persons who construct curricula, teach, and do research from a frame of reference that includes definite purposes for and theories about science education. Suggests the purpose of science education as a discipline is to improve existing procedures and establish new and verified procedures for teaching science.…

This study explores a learning model which suggests that a concept is acquired first through manipulation of concrete objects followed by transformation of the concrete objects into semi-concrete representations, followed by internalization of the concept through abstract representations. Microcomputer simulations of manipulative activities were…

The goal of this monograph is to explain the evaluation program designed by Schaumburg Community Consolidated District 54, Schaumberg, Illinois. It discusses the process used in the development of the model, the product, the implication for classroom teachers and the effects of using an evaluation to assess science process skills. The process…

Results of an evaluation of a governance model for inservice science teacher education by a committee of five classroom teachers, three scientists, and a science teacher educator are summarized. The model was designed to guide the implementation and evaluation of the goals and activities of a National Science Foundation-sponsored Academic Year…