The Teacher as Partner is an approach to inquiry-based science teaching, where the teacher works as the students' partner. Prior research suggests that it offers an opportunity to model inquiry actions and voice their often tacit rationale. It also enables learners to witness the difficulties and fallibility that even experts can experience, which…

The Prime Minister's Committee on Natural Science in Education in Great Britain reported in 1918 that "...in many schools more time is spent in laboratory work than the results obtained can justify." Seventy years later this conclusion can often still be drawn. This is particularly a problem in open distance education where laboratory practicals,…

Many primary school teachers feel a lack of confidence in teaching science and technology. This paper aims to demonstrate useful and practical strategies for non-specialist science teachers to use in stimulating a positive scientific attitude among primary school students. It proposes that teachers should strive to develop children's natural…

This paper describes open-ended experimentation with the fungus Pilobolus for laboratory work by high school students. The fungus structure and reproduction is described and sources of the fungus are suggested. Four areas for investigation are suggested: the effect of a diffuse light source, the effect of a point light source, the effect of light…

Understanding students' challenges about using microcomputer based laboratories (MBLs) would provide important data in understanding the appropriateness of using MBLs in high school chemistry laboratories. Identifying students' concerns about this technology will in part help educators identify the obstacles to science learning when using this…

Science teaching practices at the Long Island School for the Gifted emphasize hands-on experiments where children do the work and the teacher assists learning. This approach bypasses the reading/writing barrier that prevents some children from learning science. Many science experiments are described, including a first-grade lesson on using…

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of graphing technology for the teaching of mathematics. This interest has been, in part, sparked by the recommendations of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards and "Everybody Counts: A Report to the Nation on the Future of Mathematics Education."…

The consolidation of the theoretical concepts as well as the use and learning of experimental techniques that are compatible with the technological evolution has been the main goals in Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer and Thermal Systems Laboratories at Escola Politecnica of University of Sao Paulo. The infra-structure and experimental benches in…

This study sought to connect the science activity educational approach to the higher cognitive development of students using a relatively new learning model, the Cultural Historical theory, based upon the work of Vygotsky. The theory advances the concept that children's intellectual development occurs in interactions with an adult or more capable…

The purpose of this paper is to present an ethnographic study (Cardoso, 1999) involving six primary school pupils and doing simple experiments with everyday home equipment in the context of learning science. The hands-on science activities were carried out by children with the help of their parents. Results showed that children learnt at home and…

Reported is a study to investigate the effects of a free-choice program on children's ability to interpret experiments, design simple investigations, and recognize variables that could affect the outcome of observed events. (Author/SA)

Described are four demonstration/participation laboratories in which students analytically and experimentally evaluated various catheter-transducer blood pressure measurement systems. The activities were included in a graduate level course entitled "Theory and Techniques of Bioinstrumentation," taught by the Department of Electrical Engineering…

Science programs, such as the ones described in this publication, advance the goals of public library service to children. Throughout the programs, boys and girls are introduced to an array of literature exploring science topics. Librarians present subjects of great interest to children creatively using local experts, realia, child-conducted…

This paper reports a study designed to examine the types of behaviors students exhibit while conducting laboratory activities and assess the effectiveness of strategies students employ. The sample was 42 students enrolled in a physics lab section at a single university. Three types of data were collected: (1) observational data during the lab…

The study reported in the paper attempted to compare the science laboratory teaching practices and the learning environments of secondary schools in some developing and developed South Pacific countries. This study combined qualitative (observation, interview, and case study techniques) with quantitative methods. Analysis of data found similar…