Gives an overview of Science-Technology-Society (STS) education, which views scientific and technological progress as social processes. An STS course called Social Organic Chemistry is described as a replacement for Application of Organic Chemistry in a teachers' college. The course addresses the application of the principles and fundamentals of…

Discussed are the intentions and strategies needed for developing a national technology policy. A critical technologies list prepared for the U.S. is compared to Japan's priority list. The history of technology legislation is presented. (KR)

Presents guidelines from the National Council for the Social Studies' Science and Society Committee, focusing on topics with interrelationships among science, technology, and the social context in which they occur. Covers eight areas: (1) choosing topics; (2) content knowledge; (3) values; (4) thinking processes; (5) civic action; (6)…

Summarized are the comments of four chemists who spoke at a conference on chemistry in March 1989. Presenters included Frank H. Westheimer of Harvard University, John L. Burmeister of the University of Delaware, Henry A. Bent of the University of Pittsburgh, and Miles Pickering of Princeton University. (CW)

Discusses the importance of implementing new approaches in science teaching which will elevate citizen concerns to science-related issues confronting society. Outlines a biology application course designed to counteract current problems in this area. (RT)

Described is a unit of study on nuclear weapons from a course on nuclear technology. Provided are the elements of first strike attack designed for invoking students' interest and an explanation of each. (YP)

Explores the sources of beliefs about science-technology-society topics and investigates the degree of ambiguity harbored by four different response modes, such as Likert-type, written paragraph, semistructured interview, and empirically developed multiple choice. Finds that mass media have a greater impact than science classes. (Author/YP)

Discussed is why one of the main concerns of scientists and educators should be making the public aware of the nature of science and its role in society. Presented are ways in which science can be communicated with and without the classroom. (KR)

Advocated is a participatory, problem-solving-oriented science education with a strong emphasis on the impacts of technology. Some of the insights and ideas that emerged through a Project 2061 Technology Panel Report are discussed. (KR)

Described are lay-ideas which may exist about ionizing radiation, the importance of these ideas for risk management, and the relationships between various lay-ideas. Lay-ideas were used to gain a better insight into the problems of learning about ionizing radiation and to construct appropriate teaching materials and strategies. (KR)

Investigated were students' beliefs about the tentativeness of scientific knowledge, various sources of students' beliefs as well as those factors that have altered students' beliefs about science, and the implications of students' beliefs for daily personal and societal decisions. The research methodology and instructional implications are…

Identified are potential dichotomies that must be confronted by the would-be popularizer of science--science and technology, the applications and misapplications of science, simplification and complication, certainty and speculation. The importance of writing scientifically is urged. (KR)

Describes a three-week environmental minicourse in a general chemistry class. The minicourse consisted of two distinct phases, a one-week introduction to environmental chemistry and a two-week project involving a particular environmental problem. (PR)

Describes two parallel studies conducted shortly before the Kyoto conference on climate change: (1) an examination of media portrayals of global warming and the certainty with which information was reported; and (2) a telephone survey to assess public knowledge and attitudes about global climate change. Findings do not support a hypothesis that…

Reports the results of an analysis of science-related writing tasks of boys and girls. Indicates there were gendered differences in writing style and content, but similarities in quality. Reveals a narrower gender gap than that found when observing science and writing separately. Discusses practices for minimizing gendered differences in the…