In 1752, the American polymath Benjamin Franklin supposedly flew a kite near the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to confirm that lightning had the same properties of common electricity that electrical machines produced and Leyden jars served to store. Illustrations, vignettes and paintings frequently portray the famous experiment, showing…

Plastination, a permanent preservation method for human tissues and organs, is increasingly being used in anatomy education. However, there is a paucity of systematic reviews and meta-analyses summarizing the educational efficacy of plastinated specimens. This meta-analysis compared the assessment scores of students exposed to plastinated…

More students with disabilities (SWDs) are being educated in the general education classroom than ever before. This means that SWDs are spending more time in middle school science classrooms. SWDs may struggle to access information from science textbooks and lessons for multiple reasons, including reading difficulties. In this article, the authors…

Researchers have raised concerns about teachers' ability to embed nature of science (NOS) in their science instruction, a complicated situation that is certainly impacted by the availability of adequate resources to assist K-12 science teachers. In light of the implementation of the ideas from the "Framework for K-12 Science Education"…

The purpose of this study was to analyze seven widely used high school biology textbooks in order to assess the nature of science knowledge (NOS) and scientific inquiry (SI) aspects they, explicitly or implicitly, conveyed in the Mendelian genetics sections. Textbook excerpts that directly and/or fully matched our statements about NOS and SI were…

Curriculum materials serve as a key conceptual tool for science teachers, and better understanding how science teachers use these tools could help to improve both curriculum design and theory related to teacher learning and decision-making. The authors review the literature on teachers and science curriculum materials. The review is organised…

Over the past 10?years an increasing number of articles have been published in leading science education journals that report on research about teacher identity and describe interventions that support teacher identity development. My purpose in this review paper is to examine how the construct of science teacher identity has been conceptualised…

This literature review provides an overview of recent studies on the introduction of nanosciences and nanotechnologies in secondary education. Four salient research topics have emerged: questions and reflections preceding curriculum development on nanosciences and nanotechnologies lessons; research on students' conceptualisations of nano-related…

Two leading science educators provide a comprehensive, state-of-the-field analysis of current trends in the research, policy, and practice of science education. This book offers valuable insights into why gaps in science achievement among racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic groups persist, and points toward practical means of…

Presents an annotated bibliography of books in favor of evolution and opposed to creationism. (MM)

Discusses how early notions about celestial mechanics were restructured, one by one, involving the following concepts: the celestial sphere and its rotation; the spherical earth; planetary motion; and models for the solar system initiated by Eudoxus, Hipparchus, Ptolemy, and Copernicus. (JJK)

Provides an annotated bibliography of text resources for the study and teaching of organic chemistry. (Author/MM)

Highlights information contained in the research base on effective practice along with implications for teaching students with disabilities. Discusses research about learning and teaching, current promising practices, and improving effectiveness through collaboration. Contains 27 references. (JRH)

Discussed are methods which can be used to stimulate creative thinking in geology students by focusing on what is not known about sandstone petrology. The impact of recent advances on graduate geology teaching are highlighted. (CW)

Stressed is the interrelationship among the three major groups of sedimentary rocks and the potential benefits in understanding of sedimentary processes to be gained by a petrosynthesis. Listed are 59 references. (CW)