The results of Romanian school students in Science PISA and TIMSS testings have been and continue to be systematically slack. In the present paper we intend to do a comparative analysis of Science curriculum TIMSS 2007 and Romanian Science school curricula of 4th and 8th grades. This analysis, based on Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive domain,…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of the Georgia Department of Education Science Specialist teacher-mentoring program on student achievement on science standardized tests. This study analyzed the impact this program has had on student achievement in participating high schools when compared with high schools across the state where…

This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of using traditional and integrated instructional strategies to increase student understanding of the core concepts of energy. There are mixed messages in the literature as to the success of using an integrated approach to teach science content, despite suggestions its use improves student…

As the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) enters its seventh year of implementation, the need to expand upon the current research is essential. In an effort to gather information about implementing technology within various educational contexts, the Center for Education Policy, Applied Research, and Evaluation (CEPARE) at the University…

The current study aims at investigating the impact of homogeneous versus heterogeneous collaborative learning grouping in multicultural classes on the students' achievements and attitudes towards learning science. In the present study, heterogeneity was unpacked through two dimensions: the cultural background, represented by the different…

In 2006, the National Science Foundation (NSF) began funding the Model Replication Institutions (MRI) program, which sought to improve the quality, availability, and diversity of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Faced with pressing national priorities in the STEM fields and chronic gaps in postsecondary…

Effective science teachers use curriculum materials as a guide in their planning, critiquing and adapting them to promote inquiry-oriented, standards-based teaching and address specific contextual needs. Unfortunately, many preservice teachers encounter difficulties with these design tasks, making changes that are inconsistent with science…

The current study, which is an interface between Chinese linguistics and Japanese linguistics, will inquire into the sounds of Chinese characters in Japanese from the viewpoint of historical linguistics. After Chapters 2 and 3 prepare the readers, Chapter 4 will review how scholars of Japan have studied Sino-Japanese. So far, Tsukishima (1993) is…

Educative curriculum materials--materials designed to promote both teacher and student learning--may help novice teachers learn how to engage in productive curricular planning. However, little is known about how educative supports within these materials should be written to best support teachers. This quasi-experimental study examines the…

Data-driven instructional decision making (or D-DIDM) is a "process by which educators examine [data] in order to identify student strengths and deficiencies" (Mertler, 2007). My view of the process of D-DIDM merges three critical educational practices: classroom-based (or site-based) action research, assessment of student learning, and…

The plasma membrane is the membrane that serves as a boundary between the interior of a cell and its extracellular environment. Lipid rafts are microdomains within a cellular membrane that possess decreased fluidity due to the presence of cholesterol, glycolipids, and phospholipids containing longer fatty acids. These domains are involved in many…

Several teaching approaches with a focus on active learning have been developed in the past, with the aim to encourage the learner to take responsibility for their own learning progress. Most of these approaches augment the learning of material after it was introduced in conventional lectures. The aim of this project was to develop a teaching…

The current article represents a methodological proposal. It seeks to address the question of how one might recognize a discovery as a discovery without knowing in advance what is available to be discovered. We propose a solution and demonstrate it using data from a study previously reported by J. Roschelle (1992). Roschelle investigated 2…

The aim of this study was to investigate whether, in the Hong Kong context, self- and peer-assessment promote students' self-reflection and enable students to understand their own strengths and weaknesses better. A three-stage assessment strategy was employed in three Science courses at The Chinese University of Hong Kong: (1) students developing…

To achieve sufficient pedagogical content knowledge on nature of chemistry related issues, teachers need structured opportunities for reflection and discussion. One way to provide those opportunities is through teacher-scientist interaction. This study is based on reflective essays of thirty prospective teachers who participated in a new course…