The addition of the arts to STEM education, now known as STEAM, adds a new dimension to problem-solving within those fields, offering students tools such as imagination and resourcefulness to incorporate into their designs. However, the shift from STEM to STEAM has changed what it means for students to learn within and across these disciplines.…

This resource is part of a series of reports about challenges facing statewide science assessments and innovative solutions states are enacting to meet those challenges. Deciding to implement a system of assessments is a critical step toward ensuring that all students are getting the high-quality science education they need--but it is also…

The Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) commissioned Inverness Research to undertake a study about what it takes for elementary teachers to strengthen their teaching of science. This report documents the perspectives and experiences of a selected pool of K-5 teachers, representing 67 districts, who are committed to improving…

This paper presents the results of a case study involving 282 Taiwanese elementary science teachers at the elementary level. These teachers provided responses to the science efficacy instrument (STEBI-A) and also provided personal data regarding how their years of general (YTE) and science (YTS) teaching experience may have influenced student…

This book shares the lessons learned by a large community of educational researchers and science teachers as they designed, developed, and investigated a new technology-enhanced learning environment known as WISE: The Web-Based Inquiry Science Environment. WISE offers a collection of free, customizable curriculum projects on topics central to the…

Reviewed are interpretations of the term scientific literacy. Implications of these interpretations for science education are examined. Assessment and practical concerns for meeting these goals are discussed. (CW)

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two instructional approaches on mildly handicapped and nonhandicapped students' science achievement. Students were assigned at random to one of two conditions: (1) direct instruction; and (2) discovery teaching. The content of the lessons remained constant across conditions and focused…

This report is a policy statement for science curriculum and instruction in elementary schools. It describes a set of organizing principles that incorporate what science ought to be taught, and a learning sequence that illustrates how more "hand-on, minds-on" science can become more prevalent in our schools. Chapters included are: (1)…

This workshop is based upon work and findings of the Learning in Science Project, a research project which investigated problems and difficulties in the teaching and learning of science. The workshop program, including activities which have been shown to impact on teacher thinking, is designed to focus attention on learning problems in classrooms,…

The "Habitat" learning system was designed by TVOntario's Children's Programming department for junior-level students. It consists of 20 programs (each 15 minutes long), a teacher's guide, and a magazine for students. Three major objectives of the series were to (1) instruct children in scientific principles relating to habitats; (2)…

An analysis and comparison of science education in Japan and the United States is presented. Studies in comparative science education, including the first and second International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and the Japan and United States Cooperative Science Project, provide an empirical base for some of the…

The Learning in Science Project has adopted the view that science teaching might be improved if teachers can be given some appreciation of students' views of the world and the beliefs, expectations, and language that learners bring to new learning situations. This investigation compares and contrasts views that children and scientists have on…

The Learning in Science Project has adopted the view that science teaching might be improved if teachers can be given some appreciation of students' views of the world and the beliefs, expectations, and language that learners bring to new learning situations. This investigation compares and contrasts views that children and scientists have on…

Children come to school with a foundation for formal learning from their early experiences with interactions of the natural and technological world. Failure of elementary schools to build on this experience can discourage children, especially those who do not identify readily with the science establishment (girls, blacks, Hispanics, and the…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on the concept of "light" held by 36 students. Data were obtained…