Reported are results from two statewide surveys and additional interviews of teachers at all grade levels in elementary schools in New Hampshire. Data regarding time spent, methods, constraints, approaches, and services needed from colleges and universities indicate a shift away from science as a major part of the curriculum. (CS)

Reports study of ability of 300 first grade Honolulu, Hawaii students to describe properties of a physical object. Children were divided into experimentals who received instruction in the Material Objects Unit of the Science Curriculum Improvement Project (SCIS) and controls who received usual program. Experimentals were significantly higher in…

Reported is a study to verify the pattern of bias associated with the Model Identification Test and to determine its source. This instrument is a limited verbal science test designed to determine the knowledge possessed by elementary school children of selected concepts related to "the particle nature of matter." (PEB)

Interviews conducted with a group of Lebanese children showed that they give physical rather than animistic interpretations to natural phenomena such as rain, clouds, and falling bodies. (MLH)

This essay is the first of a series of papers about historically important innovators in elementary school science. It presents a brief survey of Wilbur Samuel Jackman's life and describes his ideas about elementary school science and how he put them into practice. (HM)

In this article, the Greek primary school teachers' understanding of three current environmental issues (acid rain, the ozone layer depletion, and the greenhouse effect) as well as the emerging images of nature were examined. The study revealed that teachers held several environmental knowledge gaps and misconceptions about the three phenomena.…

Reported is one part of a comprehensive research project studying the effects of two contrasting teaching strategies (teacher-structured learning in science vs. student-structured learning in science) on certain aspects of the behavior of students in grades 1-5 and grades 10-11. Focus was on the role of the teacher in an activity-centered…

The major objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the perceptual preferences of elementary school children and their performance on pictorial model-based tests of selected science concepts. Perceptual preferences for size and shape did not significantly influence performance. Preference for color did appear to be…

Describes the major topics and discussions presented at a bi-national (United States-Japanese) seminar. Concludes that the overriding problem in both countries is the fact that available in-service training is reaching only a very small percentage of the practicing teachers. (MLH)

The major purpose of this article is to elaborate on some of the philosophical, psychological, and evaluational questions that arise in an intentionally humanistic venture such as the preservice elementary program at the University of Florida, Gainesville. (PEB)

Describes the teaching of geodesic-dome concepts to students in grades 3-5 through the trial use of Energetic and Synergetic Geometry as well as the undertaking of a workshop designed to prepare elementary and secondary school teachers to conduct further experiments. (CC)

This study designed to use Piagetian logical operations and open-ended, clinical interviews to collect data amenable to a developmental analysis of children's levels of understanding of specific science topics: gravity, energy, and magnetism. Results indicated a correspondence between a child's overall cognitive development and the specific…

From observations of four Canadian elementary schoolteachers, this article describes teacher practice and teacher knowledge within the context of science education. Four assertions emerged from the study what teachers do depends of their biography and experience; teachers search for comfortable patterns of practice; teacher knowledge develops…

In this paper, we draw from a narrative life history approach to report in depth on the experiences of one teacher, Shagufta, in a high-poverty urban elementary school in Lahore, Pakistan. The purpose of reporting Shagufta's story is twofold. First, we want to make sense of her role as a science teacher--what should the children in her school…

This study examined urban elementary teachers' knowledge and practices in teaching science while supporting English language development of English language learning (ELL) students. As part of a larger 5-year research project in the United States, the study involved 38 third-grade teachers who participated in the first-year implementation of a…