Previous research of classroom teaching and learning revealed that students have critical misconceptions about how plants get their food and that these misconceptions remain unchanged despite instruction using activities in the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIIS) unit on producers. Because the experimental sequence described in SCIIS is…

A comparison between achievement test scores in a life science course for students in audiotutorial sections and those in conventional lecture-laboratory sections was made during the fall of 1973. The comparison indicated that student achievement, as measured by percentage scores on unit tests plus a final examination, was almost identical between…

Presents a rationale for the new Soviet biology curriculum. Explains guidelines for teaching methodology. Describes in some detail the goals and tasks for students in the new Soviet biology curriculum for grades six through eleven. (RKM)

Reviews some of the more important components in the curriculum development process that have evolved over 30 years at the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. Outlines the process involved in the revision and restructuring of the tenth-grade biology curriculum. Includes references. (MD)

A report on the development and use of self-instruction materials within a project which attempted to consider new methods of education in terms of cost-effectiveness, teacher accountability and learner-based self-instruction. (Author)

The act of attributing human emotions to nonhuman animals (personification) may lead to misconceptions by young students who may not be able to distinguish fact from fiction. Three major types of personification (animism, anthropomorphism, and teleology) are briefly reviewed with related examples. (DS)

Presents a method which organizes concepts and relates different phenomena to a single model of ecology. Describes how this model is used to explain the overall significance of biological and ecological cycles and its usefulness in helping students to understand the various dangers to and remedies available for an ecosystem. (CS)

Provides a set of plans for constructing a plant incubator for the classroom. Illustrations are provided as well as lists of materials and tips for rearing the plants. (SA)

Describes a course that uses student-designed laboratory experiments for a one-semester, junior-level physiology course. Discusses advantages and pitfalls of using this methodology. (Author/KHR)

Describes a science activity on skin, its structure, function, and variety, which can be used as a multicultural lesson on racial sensitivity. Includes an activity worksheet. (YDS)

Discussed is an activity designed to teach small mammal ecology and the scientific method using fluorescent dyes and pigments. Procedures for analyzing home ranges and social organizations are described. A list of 16 references is included. (CW)

Describes a learning game in which students will find about 40 different ways they can help animals, learn more about animal needs and people's responsibilities for animal welfare. Provides directions, suggested activities, and two copyable pages of game cards. (Author/RT)

Described is the construction and use of an osmometer that is low in cost, easy to make, and durable. Materials needed and procedures are outlined. Diagrams show an assembled instrument and individual parts. (RT)

Describes principals of physics that are manifested in simple biological systems of heat conservation structures. Outlines materials needed, data collection, analysis, and discussion questions for construction and operation of two models, one that is a countercurrent heat exchange model and one that is not. (RT)

Describes a high school biology course that utilizes the science-technology-society approach. The course developed from research findings that high school students are interested in learning about themselves--mainly their bodies. Evaluation of the program revealed that it was successful in accomplishing learning objectives. (PR)