This research effort sought to identify pathways and blockages to flow (the having of optimal experiences) in the daily activities of teachers and students and to develop a critically reflective pedagogy to enhance the probability of flow for teachers and students alike. The critically reflective approach contained elements such as an…

To increase the representation of African Americans in science fields, potential candidates must have positive personal science experiences. Even with recent reforms, most students in the United States have a limited exposure to science experiences, especially African American students. One approach to addressing this problem has been to offer…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the moral voices of care and justice, as described by C. Gilligan (1982), would be expressed in the solutions to environmental dilemmas selected by 7th grade students. A further goal was to determine if those voices were differentially expressed by girls and boys, and if that difference was related to…

This study is an evaluation one phase of the Biology Critical Thinking (BCT) project. Seven skills were selected as goals of the BCT project (for example, isolating variables) and learning activities for these skills were developed. The study compared two groups using the same textbook (n=678 Israeli seventh grade students). The following…

This assessment sample provides information on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) for grade 7 science. The sample consists of seven items taken from the test booklet and scoring guides for the seven items. The items assess heat, minerals, graphing, and plant growth. (MM)

Discusses seventh-grade weather activities, including comparison of barometric pressure and temperature charts and launching of postcards attached to three helium-filled balloons. (JN)

Tested model of middle school science and mathematics achievement with national probability sample of 3,116 seventh grade students. Collected data from students and parents over three time periods in seventh and eighth grades. Concluded that, although prior achievement had dominant influence in schooling process, other variables including parental…

Finds positive correlations between metacognition (awareness and self-management) and success on reading comprehension tasks for a group of seventh-grade students (n=27). Also finds that 22 weeks of schooling with explicit reading strategy instruction significantly enhances students' metacognition and their abilities to comprehend science text…

This activity guide, developed to provide hands-on environmental education activities geared to New River State Park in North Carolina, is targeted for grades 7 and 8 and meets curriculum objectives of the standard course of study established by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Three types of activities are included: pre-visit,…

A ten-day minicourse is described in which seventh graders build, install, and observe a bird house. (BB)

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY WAS THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF TWO VERSIONS OF A SEVENTH-GRADE SCIENCE FILM. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES WERE (1) TO PRODUCE TWO VERSIONS OF A FILM, ONE OF WHICH CONTAINED INSERTED QUESTIONS, AND (2) TO COMPARE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE QUESTIONS IN DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING OF CONTROLLED EXPERIMENTATION. ALL OF THE…

Describes a seventh-grade science process skills test entitled, "In Hot Water." Students respond in writing to a hypothetical problem and then are provided with a model response. Students apply this model response in their performance of subsequent skills. The assessment can be used for individual or group work. (PR)

Introduces an activity on arthropod genetics that involves phenotype and genotype identification of the creature and the construction process. Includes a list of required materials and directions to build a model arthropod. (YDS)

Describes a study of students' (n=106) written questions about topics they considered extremely interesting and not very interesting. Finds that there were significant positive relationships for questions written for high and low interest levels, and also significant positive relationships between question level and achievement in reading,…

This guide is designed as a tool to help teachers provide a variety of activities to meet the needs of students taking seventh grade life science. The guide is written to correlate with the textbook "Exploring Living Things" (Laidlaw publishers) and the related laboratory manual. As a guide, the curriculum may be used according to each…