SYMBIOSIS: development, implementation, and assessment of a model curriculum across biology and mathematics at the introductory level.

Science.gov (United States)

Depelteau, Audrey M; Joplin, Karl H; Govett, Aimee; Miller, Hugh A; Seier, Edith

2010-01-01

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." Alan Cohen (Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on Alan Cohen's books and programs, see (www.alancohen.com.) With the support of the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) administration and a grant from Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the departments of Biological Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, and Curriculum and Instruction have developed a biology-math integrated curriculum. An interdisciplinary faculty team, charged with teaching the 18 curriculum modules, designed this three-semester curriculum, known as SYMBIOSIS. This curriculum was piloted to two student cohorts during the developmental stage. The positive feedback and assessment results of this project have given us the foundation to implement the SYMBIOSIS curriculum as a replacement for the standard biology majors curriculum at the introductory level. This article addresses the history and development of the curriculum, previous assessment results and current assessment protocol, and the future of ETSU's approach to implementing the SYMBIOSIS curriculum.

Student teachers' views: what is an interesting life sciences curriculum?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rian de Villiers

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In South Africa, the Grade 12 'classes of 2008 and 2009' were the first to write examinations under the revised Life Sciences (Biology curriculum which focuses on outcomes-based education (OBE. This paper presents an exploration of what students (as learners considered to be difficult and interesting in Grades 10-12 Life Sciences curricula in the Further Education and Training (FET phase. A sample of 125 first year, pre-service Life Sciences and Natural Sciences teachers from a university responded to a questionnaire in regard to their experiences with the newly implemented FET Life Sciences curricula. The responses to the questions were analysed qualitatively and/or quantitatively. Friedman tests were used to compare the mean rankings of the four different content knowledge areas within each curriculum, and to make cross-curricular comparisons of the mean rankings of the same content knowledge area for all three curricula. All four content areas of Grade 12 were considered as being more interesting than the other two grades. In terms of difficulty, the students found the Grade 10 curriculum themes the most difficult, followed by the Grade 12 and the Grade 11 curricula. Most of the students found the themes under the content area Diversity, change and continuity (Grades 10-12 more difficult to learn than the other three content areas. It is recommended that more emphasis needs to be placed on what learners are interested in, and on having this incorporated into Life Sciences curricula.

Water Pollution, Environmental Science Curriculum Guide Supplement.

Science.gov (United States)

McKenna, Harold J.

This curriculum guide is a 40-day unit plan on water pollution developed, in part, from the National Science Foundation Environmental Science Institutes' Ninth Grade Environmental Science Curriculum Guide. This unit contains teacher lesson plans, suggested teacher and student modules, case studies, and activities to be developed by teachers…

Science teachers designing context-based curriculum materials : developing context-based teaching competence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Putter - Smits, de L.G.A.

2012-01-01

The intended new context-based curriculum for four science subjects (AS-MaT1, biology, chemistry, and physics) in senior general secondary education and pre-university education has been the subject of numerous research and teacher professionalisation efforts in the Netherlands for the last seven

Teaching Grade Eight Science with Reference to the Science Curriculum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rasel Babu

2016-08-01

Full Text Available A mixed methodological approach was used to explore to what extent the science curriculum was being reflected in science teaching-learning of grade VIII students in Bangladesh. 160 students were randomly selected and 10 science teachers were purposively selected as study respondents. Fifteen science lessons were observed. Data were collected via student questionnaires, teacher interviews, and classroom observation checklists. Grade VIII science teaching-learning activities were not conducted according to the instructions of the science curriculum. Most teachers did not adhere to the curriculum and teacher's guide. Teachers mainly depended on lecture methods for delivering lessons. Learning by doing, demonstrating experiments, scientific inquiry, rational thinking, and analysing cause-effect relationships were noticeably absent. Teachers reported huge workloads and a lack of ingredients as reasons for not practising these activities. Teachers did not use teaching aids properly. Science teaching-learning was fully classroom centred, and students were never involved in any creative activities. 

New Approaches in Cancer Biology Can Inform the Biology Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Lynda; Gordon, Diana; Zelinski, Mary

2018-03-01

Students tend to be very interested in medical issues that affect them and their friends and family. Using cancer as a hook, the ART of Reproductive Medicine: Oncofertility curriculum (free, online, and NIH sponsored) has been developed to supplement the teaching of basic biological concepts and to connect biology and biomedical research. This approach allows integration of up-to-date information on cancer and cancer treatment, cell division, male and female reproductive anatomy and physiology, cryopreservation, fertility preservation, stem cells, ethics, and epigenetics into an existing biology curriculum. Many of the topics covered in the curriculum relate to other scientific disciplines, such as the latest developments in stem cell research including tissue bioengineering and gene therapy for inherited mitochondrial disease, how epigenetics occurs chemically to affect gene expression or suppression and how it can be passed down through the generations, and the variety of biomedical careers students could pursue. The labs are designed to be open-ended and inquiry-based, and extensions to the experiments are provided so that students can explore questions further. Case studies and ethical dilemmas are provided to encourage thoughtful discussion. In addition, each chapter of the curriculum includes links to scientific papers, additional resources on each topic, and NGSS alignment.

Living in Water: An Aquatic Science Curriculum for Grades 5-7.

Science.gov (United States)

National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD. Dept. of Education.

"Living in Water" is a classroom-based, scientific study of water, aquatic environments, and the plants and animals that live in water. The lessons in this curriculum integrate basic physical, biological, and earth sciences, and mathematics. The integration of language arts is also considered essential to its success. These lessons do not require…

The Impact of Agricultural Science Education on Performance in a Biology Course

Science.gov (United States)

Ernest, Byron L.

The lack of student achievement in science is often cited in U.S. educational reports. At the study site, low student achievement in science has been an ongoing concern for administrators. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate the impact of agricultural science education on student performance in a Biology course. Vygotsky's constructivist theory and Gardner's multiple intelligences theory provided the framework for the study. The quantitative research question examined the relationship between the completion of Fundamentals of Agriculture Science and Business course and student performance in Biology I. Teacher perceptions and experiences regarding the integration of science and agricultural curriculum and traditional science curriculum were examined qualitatively. A sequential explanatory design was employed using 3 years of data collected from 486 high school students and interviews with 10 teachers. Point-biserial correlation and chi square tests revealed statistically significant relationships between whether or not students completed Fundamentals of Agriculture Science and Business and Biology I course performance, as measured by the end of course assessment and the course grade. In the qualitative sequence, typological and inductive data analyses were applied to the interview data, and themes of student impact and teacher experience emerged. Social change implications may be possible through improved science education for students in this program. Agriculture science courses may be used to facilitate learning of complex science concepts, designing teacher collaboration and professional development for teaching science in a relevant context, and resultant improved student performance in science.

Inquiry in early years science teaching and learning: Curriculum design and the scientific story

Science.gov (United States)

McMillan, Barbara Alexander

2001-07-01

Inquiry in school science, as conceived by the authors of the Common Framework of Science Learning Outcomes K--12, is dependent upon four areas of skills. These are the skills of initiating and planning, performing and recording, analysing and interpreting, and communication and teamwork that map onto what Hodson calls the five phases of scientific inquiry in school science: initiation, design and planning, performance, interpretation, and reporting and communicating. This study looked at initiation in a multiage (Grades 1--3) classroom, and the curriculum, design tools, and inquiry acts believed to be necessary precursors of design and planning phases whether the inquiry in which young children engage is archival or laboratory investigation. The curriculum was designed to build upon children's everyday biological knowledge and through a series of carefully organized lessons to help them to begin to build scientifically valid conceptual models in the area of animal life cycles. The lessons began with what is called benchmark-invention after the historical work of Robert Karplus and the contemporary work of Earl Hunt and Jim Minstrell. The introduction of a biological concept was followed by a series of exploration activities in which children were encouraged to apply the concept invented in the benchmark lesson. Enlargement followed. This was the instructional phase in which children were helped to establish scientifically valid relationships between the invented concept and other biological concepts. The pre-instruction and post-instruction interview data suggest that the enacted curriculum and sequence in which the biological knowledge was presented helped the nineteen children in the study to recognize the connections and regularities within the life cycles of the major groupings of animals, and to begin to build scientific biological conceptual models. It is, however, argued that everyday biology, in the form of the person analogy, acts as an obstacle to

Sex Education, A Way Forward towards Biology Curriculum Delivery ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study examined the need for the inclusion of sex education in the secondary school biology curriculum in Anambra State since the noninclusion was viewed as an inadequacy in the biology curriculum. The study was a survey design. Three research questions and one null hypothesis were formulated to guide the study.

Curriculum-Dependent and Curriculum-Independent Factors in Preservice Elementary Teachers' Adaptation of Science Curriculum Materials for Inquiry-Based Science

Science.gov (United States)

Forbes, Cory T.

2013-01-01

In this nested mixed methods study I investigate factors influencing preservice elementary teachers' adaptation of science curriculum materials to better support students' engagement in science as inquiry. Analyses focus on two "reflective teaching assignments" completed by 46 preservice elementary teachers in an undergraduate elementary science…

K-6 Science Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Blueford, J. R.; And Others

A unified science approach is incorporated in this K-6 curriculum mode. The program is organized into six major cycles. These include: (1) science, math, and technology cycle; (2) universe cycle; (3) life cycle; (4) water cycle; (5) plate tectonics cycle; and (6) rock cycle. An overview is provided of each cycle's major concepts. The topic…

The influence of secondary science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, educational beliefs and perceptions of the curriculum on implementation and science reform

Science.gov (United States)

Bonner, Portia Selene

2001-07-01

Science education reform is one of the focal points of restructuring the educational system in the United States. However, research indicates a slow change in progression towards science literacy among secondary students. One of the factors contributing to slow change is how teachers implement the curriculum in the classroom. Three constructs are believed to be influential in curriculum implementation: educational beliefs, pedagogical knowledge and perception of the curriculum. Earlier research suggests that there is a strong correlation between teachers' educational beliefs and instructional practices. These beliefs can be predictors of preferred strategies employed in the classroom. Secondly, teachers' pedagogical knowledge, that is the ability to apply theory and appropriate strategies associated with implementing and evaluating a curriculum, contributes to implementation. Thirdly, perception or how the curriculum itself is perceived also effects implementation. Each of these constructs has been examined independently, but never the interplay of the three. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the interplay of teachers' educational beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge and perceptions of a science curriculum with respect to how these influence curriculum implementation. This was accomplished by investigating the emerging themes that evolved from classroom observations, transcripts from interview and supplementary data. Five high school biology teachers in an urban school system were observed for ten months for correspondence of teaching strategies to the curriculum. Teachers were interviewed formally and informally about their perceptions of science teaching, learning and the curriculum. Supplementary material such as lesson plans, course syllabus and notes from classroom observations were collected and analyzed. Data were transcribed and analyzed for recurring themes using a thematic matrix. A theoretical model was developed from the emerging

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Adaptation of Science Curriculum Materials for Inquiry-Based Elementary Science

Science.gov (United States)

Forbes, Cory T.

2011-01-01

Curriculum materials are important resources with which teachers make pedagogical decisions about the design of science learning environments. To become well-started beginning elementary teachers capable of engaging their students in inquiry-based science, preservice elementary teachers need to learn to use science curriculum materials…

On track for success: an innovative behavioral science curriculum model.

Science.gov (United States)

Freedy, John R; Carek, Peter J; Dickerson, Lori M; Mallin, Robert M

2013-01-01

This article describes the behavioral science curriculum currently in place at the Trident/MUSC Family Medicine Residency Program. The Trident/MUSC Program is a 10-10-10 community-based, university-affiliated program in Charleston, South Carolina. Over the years, the Trident/MUSC residency program has graduated over 400 Family Medicine physicians. The current behavioral science curriculum consists of both required core elements (didactic lectures, clinical observation, Balint groups, and Resident Grand Rounds) as well as optional elements (longitudinal patient care experiences, elective rotations, behavioral science editorial experience, and scholars project with a behavioral science focus). All Trident/MUSC residents complete core behavioral science curriculum elements and are free to participate in none, some, or all of the optional behavioral science curriculum elements. This flexibility allows resident physicians to tailor the educational program in a manner to meet individual educational needs. The behavioral science curriculum is based upon faculty interpretation of existing "best practice" guidelines (Residency Review Committee-Family Medicine and AAFP). This article provides sufficient curriculum detail to allow the interested reader the opportunity to adapt elements of the behavioral science curriculum to other residency training programs. While this behavioral science track system is currently in an early stage of implementation, the article discusses track advantages as well as future plans to evaluate various aspects of this innovative educational approach.

Improvement on a science curriculum including experimental demonstration of environmental radioactivity for secondary school students

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Kenji; Matsubara, Shizuo; Aiba, Yoshio; Eriguchi, Hiroshi; Kiyota, Saburo; Takeyama, Tetsuji.

1988-01-01

A science curriculum previously prepared for teaching environmental radioactivity was modified on the basis of the results of trial instructions in secondary schools. The main subject of the revised curriculum is an understanding of the natural radioactivity through the experimental demonstration about air-borne β and γ ray emitters. The other subjects included are the radioactive decay, the biological effects of radiation, the concept of risk-benefit balance (acceptable level) and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and radiation. The work sheets and reference data prepared as learning materials are in two levels corresponding to the ability of students for this curriculum. (author)

Making evolutionary biology a basic science for medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Nesse, Randolph M.; Bergstrom, Carl T.; Ellison, Peter T.; Flier, Jeffrey S.; Gluckman, Peter; Govindaraju, Diddahally R.; Niethammer, Dietrich; Omenn, Gilbert S.; Perlman, Robert L.; Schwartz, Mark D.; Thomas, Mark G.; Stearns, Stephen C.; Valle, David

2010-01-01

New applications of evolutionary biology in medicine are being discovered at an accelerating rate, but few physicians have sufficient educational background to use them fully. This article summarizes suggestions from several groups that have considered how evolutionary biology can be useful in medicine, what physicians should learn about it, and when and how they should learn it. Our general conclusion is that evolutionary biology is a crucial basic science for medicine. In addition to looking at established evolutionary methods and topics, such as population genetics and pathogen evolution, we highlight questions about why natural selection leaves bodies vulnerable to disease. Knowledge about evolution provides physicians with an integrative framework that links otherwise disparate bits of knowledge. It replaces the prevalent view of bodies as machines with a biological view of bodies shaped by evolutionary processes. Like other basic sciences, evolutionary biology needs to be taught both before and during medical school. Most introductory biology courses are insufficient to establish competency in evolutionary biology. Premedical students need evolution courses, possibly ones that emphasize medically relevant aspects. In medical school, evolutionary biology should be taught as one of the basic medical sciences. This will require a course that reviews basic principles and specific medical applications, followed by an integrated presentation of evolutionary aspects that apply to each disease and organ system. Evolutionary biology is not just another topic vying for inclusion in the curriculum; it is an essential foundation for a biological understanding of health and disease. PMID:19918069

Reclaiming Race as a Topic of the U.S. Biology Textbook Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Donovan, Brian M.

2015-01-01

Even though human racial difference has been a longstanding topic of the school biology curriculum, there is little evidence that contemporary biology textbooks challenge stereotypical racial beliefs that are based in biological thinking. Rather, the modern biology curriculum may be a place where such beliefs about race are perpetuated…

Improving the Science Curriculum with Bioethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lundmark, Cathy

2002-01-01

Explains the importance of integrating bioethics into the science curriculum for student learning. Introduces a workshop designed for middle and high school science teachers teaching bioethics, its application to case studies, and how teachers can fit bioethics into their classroom. (YDS)

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as a Means for School-Based Science Curriculum Change

Science.gov (United States)

Browne, Christi L.

The challenge of school-based science curriculum change and educational reform is often presented to science teachers and departments who are not necessarily prepared for the complexity of considerations that change movements require. The development of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) focused on a science department's curriculum change efforts, may provide the necessary tools to foster sustainable school-based curriculum science changes. This research presents a case study of an evolving science department PLC consisting of 10 middle school science teachers from the same middle school and their efforts of school-based science curriculum change. A transformative mixed model case study with qualitative data and deepened by quantitative analysis, was chosen to guide the investigation. Collected data worked to document the essential developmental steps, the occurrence and frequency of the five essential dimensions of successful PLCs, and the influences the science department PLC had on the middle school science department's progression through school-based science curriculum change, and the barriers, struggles and inhibiting actions of the science department PLC. Findings indicated that a science department PLC was unique in that it allowed for a focal science departmental lens of science curriculum change to be applied to the structure and function of the PLC and therefore the process, proceedings, and results were directly aligned to and driven by the science department. The science PLC, while logically difficult to set-up and maintain, became a professional science forum where the middle school science teachers were exposed to new science teaching and learning knowledge, explored new science standards, discussed effects on student science learning, designed and critically analyzed science curriculum change application. Conclusions resulted in the science department PLC as an identified tool providing the ability for science departmental actions to lead to

Using Evolution as a Context for Teaching the Nature of Science to Diverse Student Populations: A High School Unit of Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Metcalfe, Angela C.

Teaching evolution provides teachers with the opportunity to educate students on how science aims to understand the natural world. Rooted in research, the purpose of this project was to create NGSS-aligned curriculum focused on teaching the nature of science (NOS) within the context of biological evolution. Field testing and review of the unit resulted in revisions aimed at creating more comprehensive teacher resource materials and explicit inclusion of NOS. Emphasizing NOS in curriculum development and teaching scientific qualities through an evolutionary context has taken the focus off belief or disbelief, keeping the attention on the scientific concept at hand. Designing curriculum around compelling subject matter and embracing student-led learning increased and maintained student interest in the classroom. Implementation of this curriculum not only requires the teacher to be knowledgeable in conventional educational pedagogy, but also the subjects of NGSS and NOS. Additional training and support centered around NGSS is recommended for science educators interested in integrating NOS into their curriculum and instruction.

Measuring Science Curriculum Improvement Study Teachers' Attitudinal Changes Toward Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Hovey, Larry Michael

Investigated were three questions related to the relationship between a science teacher's attitude regarding the use of a newer science program, in this instance the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS): (1) Could the Projective Tests of Attitudes, originally designed for fifth-grade students, be modified for use with adults? (2) Is there a…

Reproductive Science for High School Students: A Shared Curriculum Model to Enhance Student Success.

Science.gov (United States)

Castle, Megan; Cleveland, Charlotte; Gordon, Diana; Jones, Lynda; Zelinski, Mary; Winter, Patricia; Chang, Jeffrey; Senegar-Mitchell, Ericka; Coutifaris, Christos; Shuda, Jamie; Mainigi, Monica; Bartolomei, Marisa; Woodruff, Teresa K

2016-07-01

The lack of a national reproductive biology curriculum leads to critical knowledge gaps in today's high school students' comprehensive understanding of human biology. The Oncofertility Consortium developed curricula that address the basic and clinical aspects of reproductive biology. Launching this academy and creating easy-to-disseminate learning modules allowed other universities to implement similar programs across the country. The expansion of this informal, extracurricular academy on reproductive health from Northwestern University to the University of California, San Diego, Oregon Health & Science University, and the University of Pennsylvania magnifies the scope of scientific learning to students who might not otherwise be exposed to this important information. To assess the experience gained from this curriculum, we polled alumni from the four centers. Data were collected anonymously from de-identified users who elected to self-report on their experiences in their respective reproductive science academy. The alumni survey asked participants to report on their current academic standing, past experiences in the academy, and future academic and career goals. The results of this national survey suggest the national oncofertility academies had a lasting impact on participants and may have contributed to student persistence in scientific learning. © 2016 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc.

Teachers' sense-making of curriculum structures and its impact on the implementation of an innovative reform-based science curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Beckford-Smart, Meredith

This study discusses the social interactions involved in teachers' enactment and use of new science curricula. The teachers studied participated in the LiFE program, a university-school partnership, which is an inquiry based science and nutrition education program. In this program fifth and sixth grade students learned science through the study of food. The program used the study of food and food systems to teach life sciences and nutrition through inquiry based studies. Through the partnership teachers received professional development which aimed to deepen their conceptual understandings of life science and develop skills in implementing inquiry-base teaching. Using qualitative research methods of ethnography and narrative inquiry to study teachers' sense-making of messages from curriculum structures, the intention was to explore how teachers' sense-making of these structures guided their classroom practices. Two research questions were addressed: (a) How do teachers make sense of curriculum given their perceptions, their school context and their curricular context; (b) What influence do their identities as science teachers/learners have on their enactment of an innovative science curriculum. I used comparative analysis to examine teacher's beliefs and identities as teachers/learners. In the process of studying these teachers an understanding of how teachers' stories and identities shape their use and enactment of science curriculum came to light. The initial analysis revealed four distinct teacher identities: (a) social responsibility teacher/learner; (b) experiential teacher/learner; (c) supportive institution teacher/learner; and (d) turning point teacher. Besides these distinct teacher identities three cross cutting themes emerged: (a) creating environments conducive to their teaching visions; (b) empowering student through science teaching; and (c) dealing with the uncertainty of teaching. The information gathered from this study will illuminate how these

Learning Achievement Packages in Sciences-Biology: Cell Theory, Mitosis, Magnification, Wounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Solis, Juan D.

This publication presents four science curriculum units designed to meet the learning problems of students with special language handicaps. The materials are written in both English and Spanish, and deal with topics in biology suitable for students in grades 7 through 11. All four units were classroom tested during 1970-1972 in the Calexico…

Grade 6 Science Curriculum Specifications.

Science.gov (United States)

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Branch.

This material describes curriculum specifications for grade 6 science in Alberta. Emphases recommended are: (1) process skills (50%); (2) psychomotor skills (10%); (3) attitudes (10%); and (4) subject matter (30%). Priorities within each category are identified. (YP)

Shifts in funding for science curriculum design and their (unintended) consequences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pareja Roblin, Natalie; Schunn, Christian; Bernstein, Debra; McKenney, Susan

2016-01-01

Federal agencies in the Unites States invest heavily in the development of science curriculum materials, which can significantly facilitate science education reform. The current study describes the characteristics of K-12 science curriculum materials produced by federally funded projects between

Future of Chemical Engineering: Integrating Biology into the Undergraduate ChE Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Mosto, Patricia; Savelski, Mariano; Farrell, Stephanie H.; Hecht, Gregory B.

2007-01-01

Integrating biology in the chemical engineering curriculum seems to be the future for chemical engineering programs nation and worldwide. Rowan University's efforts to address this need include a unique chemical engineering curriculum with an intensive biology component integrated throughout from freshman to senior years. Freshman and Sophomore…

A statistical analysis of the characteristics of the intended curriculum for Japanese primary science and its relationship to the attained curriculum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenji Matsubara

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract This study statistically investigates the characteristics of the intended curriculum for Japanese primary science, focusing on the learning content. The study used the TIMSS 2011 Grade 4 Curriculum Questionnaire data as a major source for the learning content prescribed at the national level. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the extent to which a topic area was covered, as compared to the average among the 59 TIMSS 2011 participating countries. The study revealed that the topic areas of “Human Health” and “Changes in Environments,” both in the life science domain, showed statistically less coverage in the Japanese primary science curriculum when compared to the international average. Furthermore, in discussion, the study relates the characteristics found in the intended curriculum to those in the attained curriculum, examining the percent correct statistics for relevant items from the science assessment. Based on these findings, the study proposes two recommendations for revision of the Japanese primary science curriculum.

chemistry syllabus of the nigeria science curriculum

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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The senior secondary two chemistry course content of the Nigerian science curriculum was assessed ... of the students. In Nigeria, the need to re-examine both what to teach in science and how to teach it led ..... primary school. Our industries ...

Horizontal integration of the basic sciences in the chiropractic curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Kevin P

2010-01-01

Basic science curricula at most chiropractic colleges consist of courses (eg, general anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, etc) that are taught as stand-alone content domains. The lack of integration between basic science disciplines causes difficulties for students who need to understand how the parts function together as an integrated whole and apply this understanding to solving clinical problems. More horizontally integrated basic science curricula could be achieved by several means: integrated Part I National Board of Chiropractic Examiners questions, a broader education for future professors, an increased emphasis on integration within the current model, linked courses, and an integrated, thematic basic science curriculum. Horizontally integrating basic science curricula would require significant efforts from administrators, curriculum committees, and instructional faculty. Once in place this curriculum would promote more clinically relevant learning, improved learning outcomes, and superior vertical integration.

Horizontal Integration of the Basic Sciences in the Chiropractic Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Kevin P.

2010-01-01

Basic science curricula at most chiropractic colleges consist of courses (eg, general anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, etc) that are taught as stand-alone content domains. The lack of integration between basic science disciplines causes difficulties for students who need to understand how the parts function together as an integrated whole and apply this understanding to solving clinical problems. More horizontally integrated basic science curricula could be achieved by several means: integrated Part I National Board of Chiropractic Examiners questions, a broader education for future professors, an increased emphasis on integration within the current model, linked courses, and an integrated, thematic basic science curriculum. Horizontally integrating basic science curricula would require significant efforts from administrators, curriculum committees, and instructional faculty. Once in place this curriculum would promote more clinically relevant learning, improved learning outcomes, and superior vertical integration. PMID:21048882

Language games: Christian fundamentalism and the science curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Freund, Cheryl J.

Eighty years after the Scope's Trial, the debate over evolution in the public school curriculum is alive and well. Historically, Christian fundamentalists, the chief opponents of evolution in the public schools, have used the court system to force policymakers, to adopt their ideology regarding evolution in the science curriculum. However, in recent decades their strategy has shifted from the courts to the local level, where they pressure teachers and school boards to include "alternate theories" and the alleged "flaws" and "inconsistencies" of evolution in the science curriculum. The purpose of this content analysis study was to answer the question: How do Christian fundamentalists employ rhetorical strategies to influence the science curriculum? The rhetorical content of several public legal and media documents resulting from a lawsuit filed against the Athens Public Schools by the American Center of Law and Justice were analyzed for the types of rhetorical strategies employed by the participants engaged in the scientific, legal, and public discourse communities. The study employed an analytical schema based on Ludwig Wittgenstein's theory of language games, Lawrence Prelli's theory of discourse communities, and Michael Apple's notion of constitutive and preference rules. Ultimately, this study revealed that adroit use of the constitutive and preference rules of the legal and public discourse communities allowed the school district to reframe the creation-evolution debate, thereby avoiding a public spectacle and ameliorating the power of creationist language to affect change in the science curriculum. In addition, the study reinforced the assertion that speakers enjoy the most persuasive power when they attend to the preference rules of the public discourse community.

An overview of conceptual understanding in science education curriculum in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Widiyatmoko, A.; Shimizu, K.

2018-03-01

The purpose of this article is to discuss the term of “conceptual understanding” in science education curriculum in Indonesia. The implementation of 2013 Curriculum focuses on the acquisition of contextual knowledge in respective areas and environments. The curriculum seeks to develop students' evaluation skills in three areas: attitude, technical skills, and scientific knowledge. It is based on two layers of competencies: core and basic competencies. The core competencies in the curriculum 2013 represent the ability level to achieve the gradute competency standards of a students at each grade level. There are four mandatory core competencies for all educational levels and all subjects including science, which are spiritual, social, knowledge and skills competencies. In terms of knowledge competencies, conceptual understanding is an inseparable part of science concept since conceptual understanding is one of the basic competencies in science learning. This competency is a part of science graduation standard indicated in MoEC article number 20 in 2016. Therefore, conceptual understanding is needed by students for learning science successfully.

Georgia science curriculum alignment and accountability: A blueprint for student success

Science.gov (United States)

Reining-Gray, Kimberly M.

Current trends and legislation in education indicate an increased dependency on standardized test results as a measure for learner success. This study analyzed test data in an effort to assess the impact of curriculum alignment on learner success as well as teacher perceptions of the changes in classroom instruction due to curriculum alignment. Qualitative and quantitative design methods were used to determine the impact of science curriculum alignment in grades 9-12. To determine the impact of science curriculum alignment from the Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) to the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) test data and teacher opinion surveys from one Georgia School system were examined. Standardized test scores before and after curriculum alignment were analyzed as well as teacher perception survey data regarding the impact of curriculum change. A quantitative teacher perception survey was administered to science teachers in the school system to identify significant changes in teacher perceptions or teaching strategies following curriculum realignment. Responses to the survey were assigned Likert scale values for analysis purposes. Selected teachers were also interviewed using panel-approved questions to further determine teacher opinions of curriculum realignment and the impact on student success and teaching strategies. Results of this study indicate significant changes related to curriculum alignment. Teachers reported a positive change in teaching strategies and instructional delivery as a result of curriculum alignment and implementation. Student scores also showed improvement, but more research is recommended in this area.

The Use of Ethical Frameworks for Implementing Science as a Human Endeavour in Year 10 Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Yap, Siew Fong; Dawson, Vaille

2014-01-01

This research focuses on the use of ethical frameworks as a pedagogical model for socio-scientific education in implementing the "Science as a Human Endeavour" (SHE) strand of the Australian Curriculum: Science in a Year 10 biology class in a Christian college in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. Using a case study approach, a mixed…

Science and Technology Teachers' Views of Primary School Science and Technology Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Yildiz-Duban, Nil

2013-01-01

This phenomenographic study attempts to explicit science and technology teachers' views of primary school science and technology curriculum. Participants of the study were selected through opportunistic sampling and consisted of 30 science and technology teachers teaching in primary schools in Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. Data were collected through an…

Curriculum optimization of College of Optical Science and Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaoping; Zheng, Zhenrong; Wang, Kaiwei; Zheng, Xiaodong; Ye, Song; Zhu, Yuhui

2017-08-01

The optimized curriculum of College of Optical Science and Engineering is accomplished at Zhejiang University, based on new trends from both research and industry. The curriculum includes general courses, foundation courses such as mathematics and physics, major core courses, laboratory courses and several module courses. Module courses include optical system designing, optical telecommunication, imaging and vision, electronics and computer science, optoelectronic sensing and metrology, optical mechanics and materials, basics and extension. These curricula reflect the direction of latest researches and relates closely with optoelectronics. Therefore, students may combine flexibly compulsory courses with elective courses, and establish the personalized curriculum of "optoelectronics + X", according to their individual strengths and preferences.

Curriculum Design for Inquiry: Preservice Elementary Teachers' Mobilization and Adaptation of Science Curriculum Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Forbes, Cory T.; Davis, Elizabeth A.

2010-01-01

Curriculum materials are crucial tools with which teachers engage students in science as inquiry. In order to use curriculum materials effectively, however, teachers must develop a robust capacity for pedagogical design, or the ability to mobilize a variety of personal and curricular resources to promote student learning. The purpose of this study…

Forensic Science Curriculum for High School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Burgess, Christiana J.

Over the last several decades, forensic science---the application of science to civil and criminal legal matters---has become of increasing popularity with the public. The range of disciplines within the field is immense, offering individuals the potential for a unique career, regardless of their specific interests or expertise. In response to this growth, many organizations, both public and private, have recognized the need to create forensic science programs that strive to maintain and enhance the quality of forensic science education. Unfortunately, most of the emphasis placed on developing these materials relates to post-secondary education, and creates a significant lack of forensic science educational materials available in the U.S., especially in Oklahoma. The purpose of this project was to create a high school curriculum that provides the foundation for building a broad, yet comprehensive, overview of the field of forensic science and its associated disciplines. The overall goal was to create and provide course materials to high school teachers in order to increase their knowledge of forensic science such that they are able to teach its disciplines effectively and with accuracy. The Forensic Science Curriculum for High School Students includes sample lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, and lab activities with step-by-step instructions.

Elements of Contemporary Integrated Science Curriculum: Impacts ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper acknowledged the vital roles played by integration of ideas and established the progress brought about when science is taught as a unified whole through knowledge integration which birthed integrated science as a subject in Nigerian school curriculum. The efforts of interest groups at regional, national and ...

Mentoring BUGS: An Integrated Science and Technology Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Harrell, Pamela Esprivalo; Walker, Michelle; Hildreth, Bertina; Tyler-Wood, Tandra

2004-01-01

The current study describes an authentic learning experience designed to develop technology and science process skills through a carefully scaffolded curriculum using mealworms as a content focus. An individual mentor assigned to each 4th and 5th grade girl participating in the program delivered the curriculum. Results indicate mastery of science…

Bringing Data Science, Xinformatics and Semantic eScience into the Graduate Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, P.

2012-04-01

Committee on Information and Data (SCCID), features this excerpt from section 4.2.4 Data scientists and professionals: "An unfortunate state in the recognition of data science, is that there is a lack of appreciation of the need for a set of professional knowledge in skill in key areas, many of which have not been emphasized to date, e.g. professional approaches to the management of data over its lifecycle. As such, the effort required to be a data scientists is not valued sufficiently by the remainder of the scientific community." SCCID Recommendation 6 reads: "We recommend the development of education at university level in the new and vital field of data science. The curriculum included in appendix D can be used as a starting point for curriculum development. Appendix D. is entitled "Example curriculum for data science" and explicitly uses the "Curriculum for Data Science taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA" . This contribution will present relevant curriculum offerings at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. http://tw.rpi.edu/web/Courses

Exploring Connections Between Earth Science and Biology - Interdisciplinary Science Activities for Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Vd Flier-Keller, E.; Carolsfeld, C.; Bullard, T.

2009-05-01

To increase teaching of Earth science in schools, and to reflect the interdisciplinary nature and interrelatedness of science disciplines in today's world, we are exploring opportunities for linking Earth science and Biology through engaging and innovative hands-on science activities for the classroom. Through the NSERC-funded Pacific CRYSTAL project based at the University of Victoria, scientists, science educators, and teachers at all levels in the school system are collaborating to research ways of enriching the preparation of students in math and science, and improving the quality of science education from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Our primary foci are building authentic, engaging science experiences for students, and fostering teacher leadership through teacher professional development and training. Interdisciplinary science activities represent an important way of making student science experiences real, engaging and relevant, and provide opportunities to highlight Earth science related topics within other disciplines, and to expand the Earth science taught in schools. The Earth science and Biology interdisciplinary project builds on results and experiences of existing Earth science education activities, and the Seaquaria project. We are developing curriculum-linked activities and resource materials, and hosting teacher workshops, around two initial areas; soils, and marine life and the fossil record. An example activity for the latter is the hands-on examination of organisms occupying the nearshore marine environment using a saltwater aquarium and touch tank or beach fieldtrip, and relating this to a suite of marine fossils to facilitate student thinking about representation of life in the fossil record e.g. which life forms are typically preserved, and how are they preserved? Literacy activities such as fossil obituaries encourage exploration of paleoenvironments and life habits of fossil organisms. Activities and resources are being tested with teachers

The Study of Literacy Reinforcement of Science Teachers in Implementing 2013 Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Dewi, W. S.; Festiyed, F.; Hamdi, H.; Sari, S. Y.

2018-04-01

This research aims to study and collect data comprehensively, new and actual about science literacy to improve the ability of educators in implementing the 2013 Curriculum at Junior High School Padang Pariaman District. The specific benefit of this research is to give description and to know the problem of science literacy problem in interaction among teacher, curriculum, facilities and infrastructure, evaluation, learning technology and students. This study uses explorative in deep study approach, studying and collecting data comprehensively from the interaction of education process components (curriculum, educator, learner, facilities and infrastructure, learning media technology, and evaluation) that influence the science literacy. This research was conducted in the districts of Padang Pariaman consisting of 17 subdistricts and 84 junior high schools managed by the government and private. The sample of this research is science teachers of Padang Pariaman District with sampling technique is stratified random sampling. The instrument used in this study is a questionnaire to the respondents. Research questionnaire data are processed by percentage techniques (quantitative). The results of this study explain that the understanding of science teachers in Padang Pariaman District towards the implementation of 2013 Curriculum is still lacking. The science teachers of Padang Pariaman District have not understood the scientific approach and the effectiveness of 2013 Curriculum in shaping the character of the students. To improve the understanding of the implementation of Curriculum 2013, it is necessary to strengthen the literacy toward science teachers at the Junior High School level in Padang Pariaman District.

Designing a Science Curriculum Fit for Purpose

Science.gov (United States)

Millar, Robin

2014-01-01

The science curriculum to age 16 should be judged on how well it meets the needs of students who progress to A-level science courses and those (a larger number) who do not. To address the diversity of students' interests and aspirations, we need a clear view of the purposes of science education rooted in a view of the purposes of education itself.…

Surviving the Implementation of a New Science Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Lowe, Beverly; Appleton, Ken

2015-01-01

Queensland schools are currently teaching with the first National Curriculum for Australia. This new curriculum was one of a number of political responses to address the recurring low scores in literacy, mathematics, and science that continue to hold Australia in poor international rankings. Teachers have spent 2 years getting to know the new…

Changing Curriculum: A Critical Inquiry into the Revision of the British Columbia Science Curriculum For Grades K-9

Science.gov (United States)

Searchfield, Mary A.

In 2010 British Columbia's Ministry of Education started the process of redesigning the provincial school curriculum, Kindergarten to Grade 12. Mandatory implementation of the new curriculum was set for the 2016/17 school year for Grades K-9, and 2017/18 for Grades 10-12. With a concerted emphasis on personalized learning and through the frame of a Know-Do-Understand curriculum model, the new curriculum aims to meet the needs of today's learners, described as living in a technology-rich, fast-paced and ever-changing world, through a concept-based and competency-driven emphasis. This thesis is a critical analysis of the BC K-9 Science curriculum as written and published, looking specifically at how science is treated as a form of knowledge, its claimed presentation as a story, and on whether the intentions claimed by the designers are matched in the curriculum's final form.

Teachers and Science Curriculum Materials: Where We Are and Where We Need to Go

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Elizabeth A.; Janssen, Fred J. J. M.; Van Driel, Jan H.

2016-01-01

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…

Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher Needs Assessment of a STEM-Enhanced Food and Nutrition Sciences Curriculum

OpenAIRE

Merrill, Cathy A.

2016-01-01

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education concepts are naturally contextualized in the study of food and nutrition. In 2014 a pilot group of Utah high school Career and Technical Education Family and Consumer Sciences teachers rewrote the Food and Nutrition Sciences curriculum to add and enhance the STEM-related content. This study is an online needs assessment by Utah Food and Nutrition 1 teachers on the implementation of the STEM-enhanced curriculum after its first y...

Changes in school biology in South Africa after ‘apartheid’

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lesley le Grange

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The national curriculum frameworks for school biology (Life Sciences have undergone several changes since the dismantling of apartheid. These changes have been characterised by pendulum swings between traditional academic biology and humanistic biology. In this article I discuss these pendulum swings and the reasons for them. I point out that even though we have witnessed these pendulum swings, the different curriculum frameworks for Life Sciences can be seen as iterations of the same curriculum paradigm – all according to the Tylerian mould. I also argue that productive learning of both academic and humanistic biology depends on what teachers do and think, rather than the content of a particular curriculum framework.

Study of graduate curriculum in the radiological science: problems and suggestions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ko, Seong Jin; Kim, Hwa Gon; Kang, Se Sik; Park, Byeong Rae; Kim, Chang Soo

2006-01-01

Currently, Educational program of radiological science is developed in enormous growth, our educational environments leading allied health science education program in the number of super high speed medical industry. Radiological science may be the fastest growing technologies in our medical department today. In this way, Medical industry fields converged in the daily quick, the fact that department of radiological science didn't discharged ones duties on current educational environments. The curriculum of radiological technologists that play an important part between skill and occupation's education as major and personality didn't performed one's part most effectively on current medical environments and digital radiological equipment interface. We expect improvement and suggestion to grow natural disposition as studies in the graduate of radiological science. Therefore, in this paper, current curriculum of radiological science are catched hold of trend and problems on digital radiology environments, on fact the present state of problems, for Graduate program of radiological science, graduate courses of MS and ph.D. are suggested a reform measure of major education curriculum introduction

Rad World -- computer-animated video radiation and hazardous waste-management science curriculum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, B.

1996-01-01

The Rad World computer-animated video and curriculum materials were developed through a grant from the Waste-management Education and Research Consortium. The package, which includes a computer-animated video, hands-on activities, and multidisciplinary lessons concerning radiation and hazardous-waste management, was created to approach these subjects in an informative, yet entertaining, manner. The lessons and video, designed to supplement studies of energy and physical science at the middle school and high school level, also implement quality and consistent science education as outlined by the New Mexico Science Standards and Benchmarks (1995). Consistent with the curriculum standards and benchmarks, the curriculum includes library research, collaborative learning, hands-on-science, and discovery learning. Pre- and post-tests are included

Science-based occupations and the science curriculum: Concepts of evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Aikenhead, Glen S.

2005-03-01

What science-related knowledge is actually used by nurses in their day-to-day clinical reasoning when attending patients? The study investigated the knowledge-in-use of six acute-care nurses in a hospital surgical unit. It was found that the nurses mainly drew upon their professional knowledge of nursing and upon their procedural understanding that included a common core of concepts of evidence (concepts implicitly applied to the evaluation of data and the evaluation of evidence - the focus of this research). This core included validity triangulation, normalcy range, accuracy, and a general predilection for direct sensual access to a phenomenon over indirect machine-managed access. A cluster of emotion-related concepts of evidence (e.g. cultural sensitivity) was also discovered. These results add to a compendium of concepts of evidence published in the literature. Only a small proportion of nurses (one of the six nurses in the study) used canonical science content in their clinical reasoning, a result consistent with other research. This study also confirms earlier research on employees in science-rich workplaces in general, and on professional development programs for nurses specifically: canonical science content found in a typical science curriculum (e.g. high school physics) does not appear relevant to many nurses' knowledge-in-use. These findings support a curriculum policy that gives emphasis to students learning how to learn science content as required by an authentic everyday or workplace context, and to students learning concepts of evidence.

The Social Science Curriculum of the Two-Year College.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedlander, Jack

1980-01-01

Describes a nationwide study to identify: (1) the representation of different areas within the social sciences (i.e. anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology, social/ethnic studies, sociology, and interdisciplinary social sciences) in the two-year college curriculum, and (2) which courses were offered for transfer,…

Design of the Information Science and Systems (IS Curriculum in a Computer and Information Sciences Department

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Behrooz Seyed-Abbassi

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Continuous technological changes have resulted in a rapid turnover of knowledge in the computing field. The impact of these changes directly affects the computer-related curriculum offered by educational institutions and dictates that curriculum must evolve to keep pace with technology and to provide students with the skills required by businesses. At the same time, accreditations of curricula from reviewing organizations provide additional guidelines and standardization for computing science as well as information science programs. One of the areas significantly affected by these changes is the field of information systems. This paper describes the evaluation and course structure for the undergraduate information science and systems program in the Computer and Information Sciences Department at the University of North Florida. A list of the major required and elective courses as well as an overview of the challenges encountered during the revision of the curriculum is given.

Specifying a curriculum for biopolitical critical literacy in science teacher education: exploring roles for science fiction

Science.gov (United States)

Gough, Noel

2017-12-01

In this essay I suggest some ways in which science teacher educators in Western neoliberal economies might facilitate learners' development of a critical literacy concerning the social and cultural changes signified by the concept of biopolitics. I consider how such a biopolitically inflected critical literacy might find expression in a science teacher education curriculum and suggest a number of ways of materializing such a curriculum in specific literatures, media, procedures, and assessment tasks, with particular reference to the contributions of science fiction in popular media.

A behavioral science/behavioral medicine core curriculum proposal for Japanese undergraduate medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsutsumi, Akizumi

2015-01-01

Behavioral science and behavioral medicine have not been systematically taught to Japanese undergraduate medical students. A working group under the auspices of Japanese Society of Behavioral Medicine developed an outcome-oriented curriculum of behavioral science/behavioral medicine through three processes: identifying the curriculum contents, holding a joint symposium with related societies, and defining outcomes and proposing a learning module. The behavioral science/behavioral medicine core curriculum consists of 11 units of lectures and four units of practical study. The working group plans to improve the current core curriculum by devising formative assessment methods so that students can learn and acquire attitude as well as the skills and knowledge necessary for student-centered clinical practice.

Addressing Health Literacy Challenges With a Cutting-Edge Infectious Disease Curriculum for the High School Biology Classroom.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacque, Berri; Koch-Weser, Susan; Faux, Russell; Meiri, Karina

2016-02-01

This study reports the secondary analysis of evaluation data from an innovative high school biology curriculum focused on infectious disease (ID) to examine the health literacy implications of teaching claims evaluation, data interpretation, and risk assessment skills in the context of 21st-Century health science. The curriculum was implemented between 2010 and 2013 in Biology II classes held in four public high schools (three in Massachusetts and one in Ohio), plus a private school in Virginia. A quasi-experimental design was used in which student participants (n = 273) were compared to an age-matched, nonparticipant, peer group (N = 125). Participants in each school setting demonstrated increases in conceptual content knowledge (Cohen's d > 1.89) as well as in understanding how to apply scientific principles to health claims evaluation and risk assessment (Cohen's d > 1.76) and in self-efficacy toward learning about ID (Cohen's d > 2.27). Participants also displayed enhanced communication about ID within their social networks relative to the comparison group (p biology classrooms is effective at fostering both the skills and self-efficacy pertinent to health literacy learning in diverse populations. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

Computer Science (CS) in the Compulsory Education Curriculum: Implications for Future Research

Science.gov (United States)

Passey, Don

2017-01-01

The subject of computer science (CS) and computer science education (CSE) has relatively recently arisen as a subject for inclusion within the compulsory school curriculum. Up to this present time, a major focus of technologies in the school curriculum has in many countries been on applications of existing technologies into subject practice (both…

Rock Cycle. K-6 Science Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Blueford, J. R.; And Others

Rock Cycle is one of the units of a K-6 unified science curriculum program. The unit consists of four organizing sub-themes: (1) chemistry (introducing the topics of matter, elements, compounds, and chemical bonding); (2) characteristics (presenting hands-on activities with rocks and minerals); (3) minerals (emphasizing the aesthetic and economic…

Arguing for Computer Science in the School Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Fluck, Andrew; Webb, Mary; Cox, Margaret; Angeli, Charoula; Malyn-Smith, Joyce; Voogt, Joke; Zagami, Jason

2016-01-01

Computer science has been a discipline for some years, and its position in the school curriculum has been contested differently in several countries. This paper looks at its role in three countries to illustrate these differences. A reconsideration of computer science as a separate subject both in primary and secondary education is suggested. At…

Chemistry and Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Wigston, David L.

1970-01-01

Discusses the relationship between chemisty and biology in the science curriculum. Points out the differences in perception of the disciplines, which the physical scientists favoring reductionism. Suggests that biology departments offer a special course for chemistry students, just as the chemistry departments have done for biology students.…

Using the AGsploration: the Science of Maryland Agriculture Curriculum as a Tool to Increase Youth Appreciation and Understanding of Agriculture and Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

April Hall Barczewski

2017-01-01

Full Text Available AGsploration: The Science of Maryland Agriculture is a 24-lesson, peer-reviewed curriculum that includes experiential hands-on activities and built-in pre-/post-evaluation tools. Lesson topics include production agriculture, the environment and nutrition with emphasis on how science relates to each topic. Student pre-/post- evaluation data reflects participation in AGsploration positively affects students’ attitudes about agriculture and science. Separate evaluations were developed to survey two groups of trained teen teachers about the curriculum immediately following their training, 1-2 years after using the curriculum and another 3-4 years post involvement. The results demonstrated that teen teachers were an effective way to disseminate the curriculum and these same teens increased their agriculture knowledge, life skills and interest in agriculture science education and careers. A similar evaluation was conducted with adult educators following a training session and another 1-2 years after actively using the curriculum. This data suggests that the curriculum is well received and valued.

The Innovative Immersion of Mobile Learning into a Science Curriculum in Singapore: an Exploratory Study

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Daner; Looi, Chee-Kit; Wu, Longkai; Xie, Wenting

2016-08-01

With advancements made in mobile technology, increasing emphasis has been paid to how to leverage the affordances of mobile technology to improve science learning and instruction. This paper reports on a science curriculum supported by an inquiry-based framework and mobile technologies. It was developed by teachers and researchers in a multiyear program of school-based research. The foci of this paper is on the design principles of the curriculum and its enactment, and the establishment of a teacher learning community. Through elucidating the design features of the innovative curriculum and evaluating teacher and student involvement in science instruction and learning, we introduce the science curriculum, called Mobilized 5E Science Curriculum (M5ESC), and present a representative case study of how one experienced teacher and her class adopted the curriculum. The findings indicate the intervention promoted this teacher's questioning competency, enabled her to interact with students frequently and flexibly in class, and supported her technology use for promoting different levels of cognition. Student learning was also improved in terms of test achievement and activity performance in and out of the classroom. We propose that the study can be used to guide the learning design of mobile technology-supported curricula, as well as teacher professional development for curriculum enactment.

Curriculum Assessment in Social Sciences at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris

Science.gov (United States)

Saleh, Hanifah Mahat Yazid; Hashim, Mohmadisa; Yaacob, Norazlan Hadi; Kasim, Adnan Jusoh Ahmad Yunus

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effectiveness of the curriculum implementation for undergraduate programme in the Faculty of Human Sciences, UPSI producing quality and competitive educators. Curriculum implementation has to go through an assessment process that aims to determine the problem, select relevant information and collect and…

A behavioral science/behavioral medicine core curriculum proposal for Japanese undergraduate medical education

OpenAIRE

Tsutsumi, Akizumi

2015-01-01

Behavioral science and behavioral medicine have not been systematically taught to Japanese undergraduate medical students. A working group under the auspices of Japanese Society of Behavioral Medicine developed an outcome-oriented curriculum of behavioral science/behavioral medicine through three processes: identifying the curriculum contents, holding a joint symposium with related societies, and defining outcomes and proposing a learning module. The behavioral science/behavioral medicine cor...

New curriculum at Nuclear Science Department, National University of Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahidan bin Radiman; Ismail bin Bahari

1995-01-01

A new undergraduate curriculum at the Department of Nuclear Science, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia is discussed. It includes the rational and objective of the new curriculum, course content and expectations due to a rapidly changing job market. The major change was a move to implement only on one Nuclear Science module rather than the present three modules of Radiobiology, Radiochemistry and Nuclear Physics. This will optimise not only laboratory use of facilities but also effectiveness of co-supervision. Other related aspects like industrial training and research exposures for the undergraduates are also discussed

Controversy in Biology Classrooms—Citizen Science Approaches to Evolution and Applications to Climate Change Discussions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel A. Yoho

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The biological sciences encompass topics considered controversial by the American public, such as evolution and climate change. We believe that the development of climate change education in the biology classroom is better informed by an understanding of the history of the teaching of evolution. A common goal for science educators should be to engender a greater respect for and appreciation of science among students while teaching specific content knowledge. Citizen science has emerged as a viable yet underdeveloped method for engaging students of all ages in key scientific issues that impact society through authentic data-driven scientific research. Where successful, citizen science may open avenues of communication and engagement with the scientific process that would otherwise be more difficult to achieve. Citizen science projects demonstrate versatility in education and the ability to test hypotheses by collecting large amounts of often publishable data. We find a great possibility for science education research in the incorporation of citizen science projects in curriculum, especially with respect to “hot topics” of socioscientific debate based on our review of the findings of other authors.

Environmental Science for All? Considering Environmental Science for Inclusion in the High School Core Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Edelson, Daniel C.

2007-01-01

With the dramatic growth of environmental science as an elective in high schools over the last decade, educators have the opportunity to realistically consider the possibility of incorporating environmental science into the core high school curriculum. Environmental science has several characteristics that make it a candidate for the core…

Integration of the primary health care approach into a community nursing science curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Vilakazi, S S; Chabeli, M M; Roos, S D

2000-12-01

The purpose of this article is to explore and describe guidelines for integration of the primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum in a Nursing College in Gauteng. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was utilized. The focus group interviews were conducted with community nurses and nurse educators as respondents. Data were analysed by a qualitative descriptive method of analysis as described in Creswell (1994: 155). Respondents in both groups held similar perceptions regarding integration of primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum. Five categories, which are in line with the curriculum cycle, were identified as follows: situation analysis, selection and organisation of objectives/goals, content, teaching methods and evaluation. Guidelines and recommendations for the integration of the primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum were described.

Integration of the primary health care approach into a community nursing science curriculum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SS Vilakazi

2000-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to explore and describe guidelines for integration of the primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum in a Nursing College in Gauteng. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was utilized. The focus group interviews were conducted with community nurses and nurse educators as respondents. Data were analysed by a qualitative descriptive method of analysis as described in Creswell (1994:155. Respondents in both groups held similar perceptions regarding integration of primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum. Five categories, which are in line with the curriculum cycle, were identified as follows: situation analysis, selection and organisation of objectives/ goals, content, teaching methods and evaluation. Guidelines and recommendations for the integration of the primary health care approach into a Community Nursing Science Curriculum were described.

Effect of an environmental science curriculum on students' leisure time activities

Science.gov (United States)

Blum, Abraham

Cooley and Reed's active interest measurement approach was combined with Guttman's Facet Design to construct a systematic instrument for the assessment of the impact of an environmental science course on students' behavior outside school. A quasimatched design of teacher allocation to the experimental and control groups according to their preferred teaching style was used. A kind of dummy control curriculum was devised to enable valid comparative evaluation of a new course which differs from the traditional one in both content and goal. This made it possible to control most of the differing factors inherent in the old and new curriculum. The research instrument was given to 1000 students who were taught by 28 teachers. Students who learned according to the experimental curriculum increased their leisure time activities related to the environmental science curriculum significantly. There were no significant differences between boys and girls and between students with different achievement levels.

Story - Science - Solutions: A new middle school science curriculum that promotes climate-stewardship

Science.gov (United States)

Cordero, E.; Centeno Delgado, D. C.

2017-12-01

Over the last five years, Green Ninja has been developing educational media to help motivate student interest and engagement around climate science and solutions. The adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) offers a unique opportunity where schools are changing both what they teach in a science class and how they teach. Inspired by the new emphasis in NGSS on climate change, human impact and engineering design, Green Ninja developed a technology focused, integrative, and yearlong science curriculum (6th, 7th and 8th grade) focused broadly around solutions to environmental problems. The use of technology supports the development of skills valuable for students, while also offering real-time metrics to help measure both student learning and environmental impact of student actions. During the presentation, we will describe the design philosophy around our middle school curriculum and share data from a series of classes that have created environmental benefits that transcend the traditional classroom. The notion that formal education, if done correctly, can be leveraged as a viable climate mitigation strategy will be discussed.

Bridging the Gap: Embedding Communication Courses in the Science Undergraduate Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Jandciu, Eric; Stewart, Jaclyn J.; Stoodley, Robin; Birol, Gülnur; Han, Andrea; Fox, Joanne A.

2015-01-01

The authors describe a model for embedding science communication into the science curriculum without displacing science content. They describe the rationale, development, design, and implementation of two courses taught by science faculty addressing these criteria. They also outline the evaluation plan for these courses, which emphasize broad…

Social Science Disciplines. Fundamental for Curriculum Development.

Science.gov (United States)

McLendon, Johathan C., Ed.

This guide is written for the social studies curriculum developer interested in developing a structured multidisciplinary program based on the concepts, methodology, and structure of social science disciplines and history. Seven 15-29 page chapters are included on each discipline: Anthropology and Psychology, by Charles R. Berryman; Economics, by…

The curriculum ideology of the South African secondary school Biology

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Department of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, University of Pretoria, ... taught, the instructional process, the roles of teachers and students, as well ..... The perceived curriculum is what teachers, students, parents and various ...

Electromagnetic Spectrum. 7th and 8th Grade Agriculture Science Curriculum. Teacher Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale. Dept. of Agricultural Education and Mechanization.

This curriculum guide, the second in a set of six, contains teacher and student materials for a unit on the electromagnetic spectrum prepared as part of a seventh- and eighth-grade agricultural science curriculum that is integrated with science instruction. The guide contains the state goals and sample learning objectives for each goal for…

Theme: The Role of Science in the Agricultural Education Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Agricultural Education Magazine, 2002

2002-01-01

Thirteen theme articles discuss integration of science and agriculture, the role of science in agricultural education, biotechnology, agriscience in Tennessee and West Virginia, agriscience and program survival, modernization of agricultural education curriculum, agriscience and service learning, and biotechnology websites. (SK)

Science curriculum formation in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chaiklin, Seth

Cultural-historical theory is primarily a psychological theory about and human action and development within meaningful contexts. As a psychologically-oriented theory, it can be relevant to science education research, even if it was not been developed or elaborated specifically in relation...... to problems within science education. STEM education research can be reduced (roughly) to four major problem areas: curriculum, empirical evaluation of existing practices and conditions, didactics, and professional development, where each of these categories can be concretised further according to grade...... between research and practice, (b) the idea of developmental teaching, and (c) the idea of theoretical thinking. This paper will present an example of subject-matter analysis for food production and food chemistry to illustrate practical consequences that follow from these three points....

Taiwanese Science and Life Technology Curriculum Standards and Earth Systems Education

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chun-Yen

2005-01-01

In the past several years, curriculum reform has received increasing attention from educators in many countries around the world. Recently, Taiwan has developed new Science and Life Technology Curriculum Standards (SaLTS) for grades 1-9. SaLTS features a systematic way for developing students' understanding and appreciation of…

Noise Pollution--An Overlooked Issue in the Science Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Treagust, David F.; Kam, Goh Ah

1985-01-01

Discusses the need for including noise pollution in the science curriculum and describes 10 activities for improving students' awareness and understanding of and concern for noise and its effects. (Author/JN)

The Origin and Evolution of Life in Pakistani High School Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Asghar, Anila; Wiles, Jason R.; Alters, Brian

2010-01-01

This study seeks to inform science education practitioners and researchers in the West about apparent attempts to reconcile science and religion in Pakistan's public school curriculum. We analysed the national high school science curriculum and biology textbooks (English) used in the Government schools in Pakistan, where Islamic faith is the…

History of Science in the Physics Curriculum: A Directed Content Analysis of Historical Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Seker, Hayati; Guney, Burcu G.

2012-01-01

Although history of science is a potential resource for instructional materials, teachers do not have a tendency to use historical materials in their lessons. Studies showed that instructional materials should be adaptable and consistent with curriculum. This study purports to examine the alignment between history of science and the curriculum in…

The Implementation of the New Lower Secondary Science Curriculum in Three Schools in Rwanda

Science.gov (United States)

Nsengimana, Théophile; Ozawa, Hiroaki; Chikamori, Kensuke

2014-01-01

In 2006, Rwanda began implementing an Outcomes Based Education (OBE) lower secondary science curriculum that emphasises a student-centred approach. The new curriculum was designed to transform Rwandan society from an agricultural to a knowledge-based economy, with special attention to science and technology education. Up until this point in time…

From FRA to RFN, or How the Family Resemblance Approach Can Be Transformed for Science Curriculum Analysis on Nature of Science

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Kaya, Ebru; Erduran, Sibel

2016-12-01

The inclusion of Nature of Science (NOS) in the science curriculum has been advocated around the world for several decades. One way of defining NOS is related to the family resemblance approach (FRA). The family resemblance idea was originally described by Wittgenstein. Subsequently, philosophers and educators have applied Wittgenstein's idea to problems of their own disciplines. For example, Irzik and Nola adapted Wittgenstein's generic definition of the family resemblance idea to NOS, while Erduran and Dagher reconceptualized Irzik and Nola's FRA-to-NOS by synthesizing educational applications by drawing on perspectives from science education research. In this article, we use the terminology of "Reconceptualized FRA-to-NOS (RFN)" to refer to Erduran and Dagher's FRA version which offers an educational account inclusive of knowledge about pedagogical, instructional, curricular and assessment issues in science education. Our motivation for making this distinction is rooted in the need to clarify the various accounts of the family resemblance idea.The key components of the RFN include the aims and values of science, methods and methodological rules, scientific practices, scientific knowledge as well as the social-institutional dimensions of science including the social ethos, certification, and power relations. We investigate the potential of RFN in facilitating curriculum analysis and in determining the gaps related to NOS in the curriculum. We analyze two Turkish science curricula published 7 years apart and illustrate how RFN can contribute not only to the analysis of science curriculum itself but also to trends in science curriculum development. Furthermore, we present an analysis of documents from USA and Ireland and contrast them to the Turkish curricula thereby illustrating some trends in the coverage of RFN categories. The results indicate that while both Turkish curricula contain statements that identify science as a cognitive-epistemic system, they

Mentoring and Argumentation in a Game-Infused Science Curriculum

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Gould, Deena L.; Parekh, Priyanka

2018-04-01

Engaging in argumentation from evidence is challenging for most middle school students. We report the design of a media-based mentoring system to support middle school students in engaging in argumentation in the context of a game-infused science curriculum. Our design emphasizes learners apprenticing with college student mentors around the socio-scientific inquiry of a designed video game. We report the results of a mixed-methods study examining the use of this media-based mentoring system with students ages 11 through 14. We observed that the discourse of groups of students that engaged with the game-infused science curriculum while interacting with college student mentors via a social media platform demonstrated statistically significant higher ratings of cognitive, epistemic, and social aspects of argumentation than groups of students that engaged with the social media platform and game-infused science curriculum without mentors. We further explored the differences between the Discourses of the mentored and non-mentored groups. This analysis showed that students in the mentored groups were invited, guided, and socialized into roles of greater agency than students in the non-mentored groups. This increased agency might explain why mentored groups demonstrated higher levels of scientific argumentation than non-mentored groups. Based on our analyses, we argue that media-based mentoring may be designed around a video game to support middle school students in engaging in argumentation from evidence.

The biological sciences in nursing: a developing country perspective.

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Kyriacos, Una; Jordan, Sue; van den Heever, Jean

2005-10-01

This paper reports a study to inform curriculum development by exploring the contribution of bioscience education programmes to nurses' clinical practice, their understanding of the rationale for practice, and their perceptions of their continuing professional development needs. The future of the health services worldwide depends on nurse education programmes equipping practitioners to deliver safe and effective patient care. In the developed world, the structure and indicative content of nursing curricula have been debated extensively. However, despite the rapid expansion in nursing roles brought about by social change, there is little information on the educational needs of nurses in developing countries. This study was undertaken in government teaching hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa in 2003. A purposive sample of 54 nurses from a range of clinical settings completed questionnaires and described critical incidents where bioscience knowledge had directed practice. Questionnaires were analysed descriptively, in the main. Analysis of critical incident reports was based on Akinsanya's bionursing model. Most nurses felt that their understanding of the biological, but not the physical sciences, was adequate or better: all felt confident with their knowledge of anatomy, compared with 57.4% (31/54) for microbiology. Respondents attributed the successes and failures of their education programmes to their teachers' delivery of content, ability to relate to practice and management of the process of learning. The biological, but not the physical, sciences were universally (96-100%) regarded as relevant to nursing. However, the critical incidents and nurses' own reports indicated a need for further education in pharmacology (40/54, 74.1%) and microbiology (29/54, 53.7%). To meet the needs of nurses in developing countries, and empower them to meet the increasingly complex demands of their expanding roles, nurse educators need to consider increasing the curriculum

Evolution in health and medicine Sackler colloquium: Making evolutionary biology a basic science for medicine.

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Nesse, Randolph M; Bergstrom, Carl T; Ellison, Peter T; Flier, Jeffrey S; Gluckman, Peter; Govindaraju, Diddahally R; Niethammer, Dietrich; Omenn, Gilbert S; Perlman, Robert L; Schwartz, Mark D; Thomas, Mark G; Stearns, Stephen C; Valle, David

2010-01-26

New applications of evolutionary biology in medicine are being discovered at an accelerating rate, but few physicians have sufficient educational background to use them fully. This article summarizes suggestions from several groups that have considered how evolutionary biology can be useful in medicine, what physicians should learn about it, and when and how they should learn it. Our general conclusion is that evolutionary biology is a crucial basic science for medicine. In addition to looking at established evolutionary methods and topics, such as population genetics and pathogen evolution, we highlight questions about why natural selection leaves bodies vulnerable to disease. Knowledge about evolution provides physicians with an integrative framework that links otherwise disparate bits of knowledge. It replaces the prevalent view of bodies as machines with a biological view of bodies shaped by evolutionary processes. Like other basic sciences, evolutionary biology needs to be taught both before and during medical school. Most introductory biology courses are insufficient to establish competency in evolutionary biology. Premedical students need evolution courses, possibly ones that emphasize medically relevant aspects. In medical school, evolutionary biology should be taught as one of the basic medical sciences. This will require a course that reviews basic principles and specific medical applications, followed by an integrated presentation of evolutionary aspects that apply to each disease and organ system. Evolutionary biology is not just another topic vying for inclusion in the curriculum; it is an essential foundation for a biological understanding of health and disease.

PENGEMBANGAN KURIKULUM JURUSAN TADRIS IPA BIOLOGI IAIN SYEKH NURJATI CIREBON DALAM MENGANTISIPASI PENERAPAN KURIKULUM 2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kartimi -

2014-04-01

menekankan pendekatan scientific approach (mengamati, menanyakan, menalar, mencoba, mengkomunikasikan / membuat jejaring. Plan for the implementation of Curriculum 2013 is the right moment for science courses - biology Tadris IAIN Sheikh Nurjati Cirebon to conduct a review and evaluation of curriculum continuity majors in force , and at the same time to develop , repair and modification of the curriculum , in order to adapt to the practices of change Biology education in secondary school . The purpose of this study were: 1 determine the characteristics of curriculum - science majors Biology Tadris current , 2 determine the characteristics of the curriculum in 2013 relating to the teaching of biology in high school , 3 formulate and develop a curriculum design - science courses Tadris Biology as a result adaptations to the curriculum in 2013 . study design using the Design and Development research Tools research & Product category ( Richey & Klein , 2007 . Subjects were Tadris science courses - biology IAIN Sheikh Nurjati Cirebon . The instruments used were : 1 Protocol Analysis Program Curriculum Document , 2 Protocol Analysis Curriculum Document 2013 for high school Biology , 3 Material of validation for the theoretical framework of the course curriculum design , 4 Material of validation for the instrument design course curriculum . Data analysis techniques performed descriptively and analyzed using descriptive statistics . The results showed that the course curriculum Tadris IPA - Sheikh Biology IAIN Nurjati Cirebon has been arranged as a competence -based curriculum that integrates academic with a charge to Islamization . Completeness of course curriculum documents still need improvement . 2013 Curriculum for teaching high school Biology / MA packaged as specialization subjects of Mathematics and Natural Science that includes the core competencies of spiritual attitudes , social attitudes , knowledge and skills . Each core competency has been translated into a variety of

A first attempt to bring computational biology into advanced high school biology classrooms.

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Gallagher, Suzanne Renick; Coon, William; Donley, Kristin; Scott, Abby; Goldberg, Debra S

2011-10-01

Computer science has become ubiquitous in many areas of biological research, yet most high school and even college students are unaware of this. As a result, many college biology majors graduate without adequate computational skills for contemporary fields of biology. The absence of a computational element in secondary school biology classrooms is of growing concern to the computational biology community and biology teachers who would like to acquaint their students with updated approaches in the discipline. We present a first attempt to correct this absence by introducing a computational biology element to teach genetic evolution into advanced biology classes in two local high schools. Our primary goal was to show students how computation is used in biology and why a basic understanding of computation is necessary for research in many fields of biology. This curriculum is intended to be taught by a computational biologist who has worked with a high school advanced biology teacher to adapt the unit for his/her classroom, but a motivated high school teacher comfortable with mathematics and computing may be able to teach this alone. In this paper, we present our curriculum, which takes into consideration the constraints of the required curriculum, and discuss our experiences teaching it. We describe the successes and challenges we encountered while bringing this unit to high school students, discuss how we addressed these challenges, and make suggestions for future versions of this curriculum.We believe that our curriculum can be a valuable seed for further development of computational activities aimed at high school biology students. Further, our experiences may be of value to others teaching computational biology at this level. Our curriculum can be obtained at http://ecsite.cs.colorado.edu/?page_id=149#biology or by contacting the authors.

Revising and Updating the Plant Science Components of the Connecticut Vocational Agriculture Curriculum.

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Connecticut Univ., Storrs. Dept. of Educational Leadership.

This curriculum guide provides the plant science components of the vocational agriculture curriculum for Regional Vocational Agriculture Centers. The curriculum is divided into exploratory units for students in the 9th and 10th grades and specialized units for students in grades 11 and 12. The five exploratory units are: agricultural pest control;…

Fostering Student Sense Making in Elementary Science Learning Environments: Elementary Teachers' Use of Science Curriculum Materials to Promote Explanation Construction

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Zangori, Laura; Forbes, Cory T.; Biggers, Mandy

2013-01-01

While research has shown that elementary (K-5) students are capable of engaging in the scientific practice of explanation construction, commonly-used elementary science curriculum materials may not always afford them opportunities to do so. As a result, elementary teachers must often adapt their science curriculum materials to better support…

Engaging a middle school teacher and students in formal-informal science education: Contexts of science standards-based curriculum and an urban science center

Science.gov (United States)

Grace, Shamarion Gladys

This is a three-article five chapter doctoral dissertation. The overall purpose of this three-pronged study is to engage a middle school science teacher and students in formal-informal science education within the context of a science standards-based curriculum and Urban Science Center. The goals of the study were: (1) to characterize the conversations of formal and informal science educators as they attempted to implement a standards-based curriculum augmented with science center exhibits; (2) to study the classroom discourse between the teacher and students that foster the development of common knowledge in science and student understanding of the concept of energy before observing science center exhibits on energy; (3) to investigate whether or not a standards-driven, project-based Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology (IQWST) curriculum unit on forms and transformation of energy augmented with science center exhibits had a significant effect on urban African-American seventh grade students' achievement and learning. Overall, the study consisted of a mixed-method approach. Article one consists of a case study featuring semi-structured interviews and field notes. Article two consists of documenting and interpreting teacher-students' classroom discourse. Article three consists of qualitative methods (classroom discussion, focus group interviews, student video creation) and quantitative methods (multiple choice and open-ended questions). Oral discourses in all three studies were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. In article one, the community of educators' conversations were critically analyzed to discern the challenges educators encountered when they attempted to connect school curriculum to energy exhibits at the Urban Science Center. The five challenges that characterize the emergence of a third space were as follows: (a) science terminology for lesson focus, (b) "dumb-down" of science exhibits, (c) exploration distracts

A Case-Based Scenario with Interdisciplinary Guided-Inquiry in Chemistry and Biology: Experiences of First Year Forensic Science Students

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Cresswell, Sarah L.; Loughlin, Wendy A.

2017-01-01

In this paper, insight into forensic science students' experiences of a case-based scenario with an interdisciplinary guided-inquiry experience in chemistry and biology is presented. Evaluation of student experiences and interest showed that the students were engaged with all aspects of the case-based scenario, including the curriculum theory…

SU-F-E-08: Medical Physics as a Teaching Tool for High School Science Curriculum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buckley, L [The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Ctr., Ottawa, ON (Canada)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Delivering high school science curriculum in a timely manner and in way that is accessible to all students is a challenge for teachers. Although many high schools offer career workshops, these are typically directed at senior students and do not relate directly to details of the curriculum. The objective of this initiative was to create a series of lectures that use medical physics to relate many aspects of the high school science curriculum to tangible clinical applications and to introduce students to alternate pathways into a career in health sciences. Methods: A series of lectures has been developed based on the Ontario High School Science Curriculum. Each lecture uses a career in radiotherapy medical physics as the framework for discussion of topics specific to the high school course being addressed. Results: At present, these lectures have been delivered in five area high schools to students ranging from sophomores to seniors. Survey documents are given to the students before and after the lecture to assess their awareness of careers in health care, applications of physics and their general interest in the subject areas. As expected, students have limited up front awareness of the wide variety of health related career paths. The idea of combining a career lecture with topics specific to the classroom curriculum has been well-received by teachers and students alike. Conclusion: Career talks for high school students are useful for students contemplating their post- secondary career path. Relating career discussion with direct course curriculum makes their studies more relevant and engaging. Students aspiring to a career in health sciences often focus their studies on life sciences due to limited knowledge of potential careers. An early introduction to medical physics presents them with an alternate path through the physical sciences into health care.

SU-F-E-08: Medical Physics as a Teaching Tool for High School Science Curriculum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buckley, L

2016-01-01

Purpose: Delivering high school science curriculum in a timely manner and in way that is accessible to all students is a challenge for teachers. Although many high schools offer career workshops, these are typically directed at senior students and do not relate directly to details of the curriculum. The objective of this initiative was to create a series of lectures that use medical physics to relate many aspects of the high school science curriculum to tangible clinical applications and to introduce students to alternate pathways into a career in health sciences. Methods: A series of lectures has been developed based on the Ontario High School Science Curriculum. Each lecture uses a career in radiotherapy medical physics as the framework for discussion of topics specific to the high school course being addressed. Results: At present, these lectures have been delivered in five area high schools to students ranging from sophomores to seniors. Survey documents are given to the students before and after the lecture to assess their awareness of careers in health care, applications of physics and their general interest in the subject areas. As expected, students have limited up front awareness of the wide variety of health related career paths. The idea of combining a career lecture with topics specific to the classroom curriculum has been well-received by teachers and students alike. Conclusion: Career talks for high school students are useful for students contemplating their post- secondary career path. Relating career discussion with direct course curriculum makes their studies more relevant and engaging. Students aspiring to a career in health sciences often focus their studies on life sciences due to limited knowledge of potential careers. An early introduction to medical physics presents them with an alternate path through the physical sciences into health care.

Customization of Curriculum Materials in Science: Motives, Challenges, and Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Romine, William L.; Banerjee, Tanvi

2012-01-01

Exemplary science instructors use inquiry to tailor content to student's learning needs; traditional textbooks treat science as a set of facts and a rigid curriculum. Publishers now allow instructors to compile pieces of published and/or self-authored text to make custom textbooks. This brings numerous advantages, including the ability to produce…

What Are Critical Features of Science Curriculum Materials That Impact Student and Teacher Outcomes?

Science.gov (United States)

Roblin, Natalie Pareja; Schunn, Christian; McKenney, Susan

2018-01-01

Large investments are made in curriculum materials with the goal of supporting science education reform. However, relatively little evidence is available about what features of curriculum materials really matter to impact student and teacher learning. To address this need, the current study examined curriculum features associated with student and…

A comparative analysis of South African Life Sciences and Biology ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Hennie

curriculum and the new Life Sciences textbooks that are in accord with the National Curriculum Statement. The analysis .... lems and generate new ideas for improvement. (Castells, 2005). ... Accordingly, the following research questions were.

Hydromania II: Journey of the Oncorhynchus. Summer Science Camp Curriculum 1994.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moura, Joan; Swerin, Rod

1995-01-01

The Hydromania II curriculum was written for the third in a series of summer science camp experiences targeting students in grades 4--6 who generally have difficulty accessing supplementary academic programs. The summer science camp in Portland is a collaborative effort between Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the US Department of Energy (DOE), and the Portland Parks and Recreation Community Schools Program along with various other cooperating businesses and organizations. The curriculum has also been incorporated into other summer programs and has been used by teachers to supplement classroom activities. Camps are designed to make available, affordable learning experiences that are fun and motivating to students for the study of science and math. Inner-city, under-represented minorities, rural, and low-income families are particularly encouraged to enroll their children in the program.

The botanical content in the South African curriculum: A barren desert or a thriving forest?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amelia L. Abrie

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Botanists who are interested in education have often expressed their dismay at how plant sciences are neglected in Biology curricula, despite the important roles that plants play. While botanists in several overseas countries have studied the ways in which plant sciences are represented in curricula, no research has been done on how botany is neglected in the South African curriculum. Currently, the South African curriculum is known as the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS for Grades R–12. In this study, a comparison was made among the content that is generally taught in introductory plant sciences courses, the American Society of Plant Biologists’ principles for plant biology education and the relevant CAPS documents. The time spent on plant, animal or human-focused content was established and compared at both phase and grade level. It was found that while the curriculum addresses all the major concepts in the plant sciences, very little time was being allocated to exclusively plant-focused content as compared to animal and human-focused content. This neglect was particularly prevalent in the Foundation Phase. The way in which the content is structured and presented in the curriculum may in all likelihood not be sufficient to provide a strong knowledge and skills foundation in the plant sciences, nor will it encourage the development of positive values towards plants. While consensus regarding the content of a curriculum will be difficult to achieve, awareness of potential gaps in the curriculum should be brought to the attention of the botanical and educational communities.

Factors Affecting Student Success with a Google Earth-Based Earth Science Curriculum

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Blank, Lisa M.; Almquist, Heather; Estrada, Jen; Crews, Jeff

2016-01-01

This study investigated to what extent the implementation of a Google Earth (GE)-based earth science curriculum increased students' understanding of volcanoes, earthquakes, plate tectonics, scientific reasoning abilities, and science identity. Nine science classrooms participated in the study. In eight of the classrooms, pre- and post-assessments…

Science Identity's Influence on Community College Students' Engagement, Persistence, and Performance in Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Riccitelli, Melinda

, that community college curriculum workers in biology consider student's science identity in terms of improving engagement and final grade, but not persistence. Additionally, as results were mixed, it is recommended that this study be repeated to examine these relationships further.

American Institute of Biological Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

... Staff Issues AIBS Position Statements Funding for the Biological Sciences Supporting Scientific Collections Advocating for Research Policy ... Public Policy Leadership Award Graduate students in the biological sciences who have demonstrated initiative and leadership in ...

Cascade-sea : Computer Assisted Curriculum Analysis, Design & Evaluation for Science Education in Africa.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McKenney, Susan; van den Akker, Jan; Maribe, Robert; Gustafson, Kent; Nieveen, Nienke; Plomp, Tjeerd

1999-01-01

The CASCADE-SEA program aims to support curriculum development within the context of secondary level science and mathematics education in sub-Saharan Africa. This project focuses on the iterative design of a computer-based curriculum development support system for the creation of classroom

Teaching Chemistry in a Spiral Progression Approach: Lessons from Science Teachers in the Philippines

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Orbe, Joymie R.; Espinosa, Allen A.; Datukan, Janir T.

2018-01-01

As the Philippines moves towards implementing the K-12 curriculum, there has been a mismatch in teacher preparation in science. The present teacher education curriculum prepares science teachers to specialise in a specific field (e.g. integrated science, biology, chemistry, and physics). However, in the K-12 curriculum, they are required to teach…

The quest for balanced curriculum: The perceptions of secondary students and teachers who experienced an integrated art and science curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Schramm, Susan Lynn

The purpose of this study was to describe how an integrated high school curriculum unit connecting the different subject areas of art and science could be used to give students a voice in the decisions about learning. Through the data generated I examined the obstacles of integrating curriculum in a traditionally subject-centered high school. Forty-one students, nineteen biology students in the ninth grade, and twenty-two art students ranging from the tenth grade through the twelfth grade, along with their two teachers and a student teacher, were the subjects of the research. An integrated curricular unit, "Genetic Robotics," was designed specifically for this research to enable students to integrate scientific and artistic processes such as communication skills, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and responsiveness to the aesthetic; thus empowering them for future learning. Semi-structured interviews, surveys, questionnaires, informal conversations, reaction journals, field observations, video tapes, and official documents from the school, provided the data for this research. Data were collected using a strategy of participant-observation. The constant comparative analysis method was employed to explore emerging themes. Oak Park students' adaptability to an integrated art and science unit was found to be limited because of their inability to conceptualize curricular structures that are different from the traditional ones to which they are accustomed. Students typically scored high on standardized proficiency tests and college entrance exams. Therefore, for them to experience an innovation that is not based on the memorize-and-recall mode of learning is to risk failure and many are unwilling to do so, especially the high achieving students.

Work-Based Curriculum to Broaden Learners' Participation in Science: Insights for Designers

Science.gov (United States)

Bopardikar, Anushree; Bernstein, Debra; Drayton, Brian; McKenney, Susan

2018-05-01

Around the globe, science education during compulsory schooling is envisioned for all learners regardless of their educational and career aspirations, including learners bound to the workforce upon secondary school completion. Yet, a major barrier in attaining this vision is low learner participation in secondary school science. Because curricula play a major role in shaping enacted learning, this study investigated how designers developed a high school physics curriculum with positive learning outcomes in learners with varied inclinations. Qualitative analysis of documents and semistructured interviews with the designers focused on the curriculum in different stages—from designers' ideas about learning goals to their vision for enactment to the printed materials—and on the design processes that brought them to fruition. This revealed designers' emphases on fostering workplace connections via learning goals and activities, and printed supports. The curriculum supported workplace-inspired, hands-on design-and-build projects, developed to address deeply a limited set of standards aligned learning goals. The curriculum also supported learners' interactions with relevant workplace professionals. To create these features, the designers reviewed other curricula to develop vision and printed supports, tested activities internally to assess content coverage, surveyed states in the USA receiving federal school-to-work grants and reviewed occupational information to choose unit topics and career contexts, and visited actual workplaces to learn about authentic praxis. Based on the worked example, this paper offers guidelines for designing work-based science curriculum products and processes that can serve the work of other designers, as well as recommendations for research serving designers and policymakers.

Biomedical Engineering and Cognitive Science Secondary Science Curriculum Development: A Three Year Study

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Stacy S.; Sherwood, Robert D.

2005-01-01

This study reports on a multi-year effort to create and evaluate cognitive-based curricular materials for secondary school science classrooms. A team of secondary teachers, educational researchers, and academic biomedical engineers developed a series of curriculum units that are based in biomedical engineering for secondary level students in…

Re-visioning Curriculum and Pedagogy in a University Science and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Re-visioning Curriculum and Pedagogy in a University Science and Technology Education Setting: Case Studies Interrogating Socio-Scientific Issues. Overson Shumba, George Kasali, Yaki Namiluko, Beauty Choobe, Gezile Mbewe, Moola Mutondo, Kenneth Maseka ...

Support of a Problem-Based Learning Curriculum by Basic Science Faculty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William L. Anderson

2002-11-01

Full Text Available Although published reports describe benefits to students of learning in a problem-based, student-centered environment, questions have persisted about the excessive faculty time commitments associated with the implementation of PBL pedagogy. The argument has been put forward that the excessive faculty costs of such a curriculum cannot be justified based upon the potential benefits to students. However, the magnitude of the faculty time commitment to a PBL curriculum to support the aforementioned argument is not clear to us and we suspect that it is also equally unclear to individuals charged with making resource decisions supporting the educational efforts of the institution. Therefore, to evaluate this cost - benefit question, we analyzed the actual basic science faculty time commitment in a hybrid PBL curriculum during the first phase 18 months of undergraduate medical education. The results of this analysis do demonstrate an increase in faculty time commitments but do not support the argument that PBL pedagogy is excessively costly in terms of faculty time. For the year analyzed in this report, basic science faculty members contributed on average of 27.4 hours to the instruction of medical students. The results of the analysis did show significant contributions (57% of instructional time by the clinical faculty during the initial 18 months of medical school. In addition, the data revealed a four-fold difference between time commitments of the four basic science departments. We conclude that a PBL curriculum does not place unreasonable demands on the time of basic science faculty. The demands on clinical faculty, in the context of their other commitments, could not be evaluated. Moreover, this type of analysis provides a tool that can be used to make faculty resource allocation decisions fairly.

The Impact of a Geospatial Technology-Supported Energy Curriculum on Middle School Students' Science Achievement

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Kulo, Violet; Bodzin, Alec

2013-02-01

Geospatial technologies are increasingly being integrated in science classrooms to foster learning. This study examined whether a Web-enhanced science inquiry curriculum supported by geospatial technologies promoted urban middle school students' understanding of energy concepts. The participants included one science teacher and 108 eighth-grade students classified in three ability level tracks. Data were gathered through pre/posttest content knowledge assessments, daily classroom observations, and daily reflective meetings with the teacher. Findings indicated a significant increase in the energy content knowledge for all the students. Effect sizes were large for all three ability level tracks, with the middle and low track classes having larger effect sizes than the upper track class. Learners in all three tracks were highly engaged with the curriculum. Curriculum effectiveness and practical issues involved with using geospatial technologies to support science learning are discussed.

From Prescribed Curriculum to Classroom Practice: An Examination of the Implementation of the New York State Earth Science Standards

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Contino, Julie; Anderson, O. Roger

2013-01-01

In New York State (NYS), Earth science teachers use the "National Science Education Standards" (NSES), the NYS "Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology" (NYS Standards), and the "Physical Setting/Earth Science Core Curriculum" (Core Curriculum) to create local curricula and daily lessons. In this…

Preparation Model of Student Teacher Candidate in Developing Integrative Science Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Wiyanto; Widiyatmoko, Arif

2016-01-01

According to 2013 Curriculum in Indonesia, science learning process in Junior High School is integrally held between physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science. To successfully implementing the 2013 Curriculum in school, the education institution which generates science teacher should prepare the student, so that they can develop integrative…

The Analysis of Curriculum Development Studies Which are Applied For Effective Science Teaching at Primary Level in Turkey and Suggestions to Problems Encountered

OpenAIRE

Rahmi YAĞBASAN; Murat DEMİRBAŞ

2005-01-01

In this study, curriculum development studies for effective science teaching were analyzed in Turkey, solution suggestions were made by determining the confronted problems. The studies for curriculum analysis toward science teaching were done by covering applications of modern science teaching started in 1970s, curriculum of science teaching made in 1990s and applications of science teaching curriculum put into practice in 2000. It was determined that new science teaching studies that will be...

A Reexamination of Ontario's Science Curriculum: Toward a More Inclusive Multicultural Science Education?

Science.gov (United States)

Mujawamariya, Donatille; Hujaleh, Filsan; Lima-Kerckhoff, Ashley

2014-01-01

The rapid diversification of communities in Ontario has necessitated the provincial government to reevaluate public school curriculums and policies to make schools more inclusive and reflective of its diverse population. This article critically analyzes the content of the latest revised science curricula for Grades 1 to 10 and assesses the degree…

The Impact of Science Integrated Curriculum Supplements on Early Childhood Teachers' Attitudes and Beliefs towards Science while In-Service: A Multiple Case

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Kellian L.

Science at the early childhood level has been rarely taught as a single subject or integrated into the curriculum. One reason why early childhood educators avoid teaching science are their attitudes, beliefs, and lack of understanding scientific concepts as presented in traditional science curriculums. The intervention used by researchers for improving beliefs and attitudes in K-6 pre-service teachers towards teaching science in early childhood has been science method courses. For in service teachers, the intervention has been professional development workshops, seminars, and symposiums. Though these interventions have had a positive impact on teachers' attitudes and beliefs toward teaching science, the interventions have not necessarily guaranteed more science being taught in the preschool classroom. The specific problem investigated for this study was how to improve the interventions designed to improve preschool teachers' attitudes and beliefs so that they would feel more confident in teaching science to young children. The purpose of this study was to examine how implementing a one-week science integrated curriculum supplement could be an effective tool for improving preschool teachers' attitudes and beliefs toward teaching science. This study utilized the qualitative multiple case study research method. A logical model was created based on negative teacher attitudes and beliefs attributes that were the core components of the Preschool Teachers' Attitudes and Beliefs toward Science teaching (P-TABS) questionnaire. The negative attributes were paired with positive interventions and encapsulated in a one-week science integrated curriculum supplement based on the factors of teacher comfort, child benefit and challenges. The primary source of evidence for this study was the semi-structured interview. The researcher contacted 24 early childhood facilities, 44 emails were sent to preschool teachers, four teachers agreed to participate in the study. The results of the

The Impact of a Curriculum Course on Pre-Service Primary Teachers' Science Content Knowledge and Attitudes towards Teaching Science

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Cliona; Smith, Greg

2012-01-01

Many primary school teachers have insufficient content and pedagogical knowledge of science. This lack of knowledge can often lead to a lack of confidence and competence in teaching science. This article explores the impact of a year-long science methodology (curriculum science) course on second year Bachelor of Education (BEd) students'…

Student attitudes to UNDP Social Science curriculum in Fiji — Personal and environmental influences

Science.gov (United States)

Baba, Tupeni L.; Fraser, Barry J.

1983-12-01

A sample of 834 seventh grade students in Fiji participated in an evaluation of the UNDP Social Science curriculum by responding to questionnaires measuring attitudes to or perceptions of three important curriculum process criteria (Interest, Ease and Adequacy of Time). The three major purposes of the evaluation were to provide formative information to guide curriculum revision, to provide summative information about the overall efficacy of the curriculum, and to explore the differential suitability of the curriculum for students varying in personal and environmental characteristics. Examination of means on individual questionnaire items led to the identification of certain curriculum activities requiring modification to improve their level of Interest, Ease, or Adequacy of Time. The finding that the mean score was relatively high for most questionnaire items suggested that the majority of activities in the curriculum were perceived by students as interesting and easy and having sufficient time for completion. Multiple regression analyses revealed that a block of personal variables and a block of environmental variables, but not a block of person-environment interactions, accounted for a significant amount of variance in the three process criteria. In particular, it was found that student attitudes to the curriculum varied systematically with certain personal variables (e.g., student general interest in social science, student ethnicity) and environmental variables (e.g., school location, teacher training).

Exploring the Alignment of the Intended and Implemented Curriculum through Teachers' Interpretation: A Case Study of A-Level Biology Practical Work

Science.gov (United States)

Phaeton, Mukaro Joe; Stears, Michèle

2017-01-01

The research reported on here is part of a larger study exploring the alignment of the intended, implemented and attained curriculum with regard to practical work in the Zimbabwean A-level Biology curriculum. In this paper we focus on the alignment between the intended and implemented A-Level Biology curriculum through the lens of teachers'…

The Digestive System and Alcohol Use. Science of Alcohol Curriculum for American Indians. Training Unit [and] Participant Booklet.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Cecelia; And Others

The Science of Alcohol Curriculum for American Indians uses the Medicine Circle and the "new science paradigm" to study the science of alcohol through a culturally relevant holistic approach. Intended for teachers and other educational personnel involved with American Indians, this curriculum presents a framework for alcohol education…

Marine molecular biology: an emerging field of biological sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Thakur, Narsinh L; Jain, Roopesh; Natalio, Filipe; Hamer, Bojan; Thakur, Archana N; Müller, Werner E G

2008-01-01

An appreciation of the potential applications of molecular biology is of growing importance in many areas of life sciences, including marine biology. During the past two decades, the development of sophisticated molecular technologies and instruments for biomedical research has resulted in significant advances in the biological sciences. However, the value of molecular techniques for addressing problems in marine biology has only recently begun to be cherished. It has been proven that the exploitation of molecular biological techniques will allow difficult research questions about marine organisms and ocean processes to be addressed. Marine molecular biology is a discipline, which strives to define and solve the problems regarding the sustainable exploration of marine life for human health and welfare, through the cooperation between scientists working in marine biology, molecular biology, microbiology and chemistry disciplines. Several success stories of the applications of molecular techniques in the field of marine biology are guiding further research in this area. In this review different molecular techniques are discussed, which have application in marine microbiology, marine invertebrate biology, marine ecology, marine natural products, material sciences, fisheries, conservation and bio-invasion etc. In summary, if marine biologists and molecular biologists continue to work towards strong partnership during the next decade and recognize intellectual and technological advantages and benefits of such partnership, an exciting new frontier of marine molecular biology will emerge in the future.

An analysis of teaching competence in science teachers involved in the design of context-based curriculum materials

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Putter - Smits, de L.G.A.; Taconis, R.; Driel, van J.H.; Jochems, W.M.G.

2012-01-01

The committees for the current Dutch context-based innovation in secondary science education employed teachers to design context-based curriculum materials. A study on the learning of science teachers in design teams for context-based curriculum materials is presented in this paper. In a correlation

Teacher enactment of an inquiry-based science curriculum and its relationship to student interest and achievement in science

Science.gov (United States)

Dimichino, Daniela C.

This mixed-methods case study, influenced by aspects of grounded theory, aims to explore the relationships among a teacher's attitude toward inquiry-based middle school reform, their enactment of such a curriculum, and student interest and achievement in science. A solid theoretical basis was constructed from the literature on the benefits of inquiry-based science over traditional science education, the benefits of using constructivist learning techniques in the classroom, the importance of motivating teachers to change their teaching practices to be more constructive, and the importance of motivating and exciting students in order to boost achievement in science. Data was collected using qualitative documents such as teacher and student interviews, classroom observations, and curriculum development meetings, in addition to quantitative documents such as student science interest surveys and science skills tests. The qualitative analysis focused on examining teacher attitudes toward curricular reform efforts, and the enactments of three science teachers during the initial year of an inquiry-based middle school curriculum adoption using a fidelity of implementation tool constructed from themes that emerged from the data documents utilized in this study. In addition, both qualitative and quantitative tools were used to measure an increase or decrease in student interest and student achievement over the study year, and their resulting relationships to their teachers' attitudes and enactments of the curriculum. Results from data analysis revealed a positive relationship between the teachers' attitude toward curricular change and their fidelity of implementation to the developers' intentions, or curricular enactment. In addition, strong positive relationships were also discovered among teacher attitude, student interest, and student achievement. Variations in teacher enactment also related to variations in student interest and achievement, with considerable positive

Systematic Testing should not be a Topic in the Computer Science Curriculum!

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Henrik Bærbak

2003-01-01

In this paper we argue that treating "testing" as an isolated topic is a wrong approach in computer science and software engineering teaching. Instead testing should pervade practical topics and exercises in the computer science curriculum to teach students the importance of producing software...

An Ecological System Curriculum: An Integrated MST Approach to Environmental Science Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Leonhardt, Nina A.

This paper describes an inquiry-based, student-centered mathematics, science, and technology curriculum guide. It features activities addressing such environmental science topics as groundwater modeling, water filtration, soil permeability and porosity, water temperature and salinity, and quadrant studies. Activities are organized so that the…

Investigating the Role of the Teacher in Science Curriculum: New Evidence for an Old Debate

Science.gov (United States)

Penuel, W.; McAuliffe, C.; McWilliams, H.

2007-12-01

It is widely believed that teachers need high-quality curriculum materials to improve teaching and learning. Professional development designs differ, however, in whether they emphasize preparing teachers to use expert- designed curricula or preparing teachers with the tools needed to design and implement high-quality science units themselves. Evidence exists for the effectiveness of providing teachers with training in how to implement expert-designed curricula (Bredderman, 1983; Shymansky, Hedges, & Woodworth, 1990; Weinstein, Boulanger, & Walberg, 1982) and for providing teachers with professional development aimed at preparing teachers to design instruction and assessments (Black & Harrison, 2001; Shepard, 1997; Sneider, Adams, Ibanez, Templeton, & Porter, 1996). However, no studies, however, have compared explicitly these different approaches to preparing teachers to plan and enact instruction in science. The Transforming Instruction by Design in Earth Science (TIDES) project is an experimental study comparing the efficacy of three different approaches to professional development. The approaches differ with respect to the role that teachers are expected to play in curriculum. In one condition (Earth Science by Design), teachers learn how to design curriculum units in Earth science. In a second condition (Investigating Earth Systems), teachers learn how to adopt and implement curriculum materials developed by experts. In the third condition (Hybrid), teachers learn a principled approach to adapt expert-developed curriculum materials. The TIDES study is examining the impacts of each of the approaches to professional development on instructional planning and on the quality of assignments and assessments they give to students. We measured impacts on instructional planning using an end-of-unit questionnaire that focused on changes to teachers" overall approach to planning units of instruction, their strategies for organizing assignment, and materials they use in

COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE IN IN THE EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Manuel Cabrera Delgado

2017-06-01

Full Text Available How to incorporate Computer Science (CS into the basic education curriculum continues to be subject of controversy at the European level. Without there being a defined strategy on behalf of the European Union in this respect, several countries have begun their incorporation showing us the advantages and difficulties of such action. Main elements of CS, such as computational thinking and coding, are already being taught in schools, establishing the need for a curriculum adapted to the ages of the students, training for teachers and enough resources. The purpose of this article, from the knowledge of the experience of these countries, is to respond, or at least to reflect, on the answers to the following questions: what is CS?, what are their main elements?, why is it necessary?, at what age should CS be taught?, what requirements are needed for their incorporation?

What are critical features of science curriculum materials that impact student and teacher outcomes?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roblin, Natalie Pareja; Schunn, Christian; McKenney, Susan

2018-01-01

Large investments are made in curriculum materials with the goal of supporting science education reform. However, relatively little evidence is available about what features of curriculum materials really matter to impact student and teacher learning. To address this need, the current study examined

Implementing Curriculum-Embedded Formative Assessment in Primary School Science Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Hondrich, Annika Lena; Hertel, Silke; Adl-Amini, Katja; Klieme, Eckhard

2016-01-01

The implementation of formative assessment strategies is challenging for teachers. We evaluated teachers' implementation fidelity of a curriculum-embedded formative assessment programme for primary school science education, investigating both material-supported, direct application and subsequent transfer. Furthermore, the relationship between…

A web-based resource for the nuclear science/technology high school curriculum - a summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ripley, C.

2009-01-01

On November 15, 2008, the CNA launched a new Nuclear Science Technology High School Curriculum Website. Located at www.cna.ca the site was developed over a decade, first with funding from AECL and finally by the CNA, as a tool to explain concepts and issues related to energy and in particular nuclear energy targeting the public, teachers and students in grades 9-12. It draws upon the expertise of leading nuclear scientists and science educators. Full lesson plans for the teacher, videos for discussion, animations, games, electronic publications, laboratory exercises and quick question and answer sheets will give the student greater knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to solve problems and to critically examine issues in making decisions. Eight modules focus on key areas: Canada's Nuclear History, Atomic Theory, What is Radiation?, Biological Effects of Radiation, World Energy Sources, Nuclear Technology at Work, Safety (includes Waste Disposal) in the Nuclear Industry and Careers. (author)

Go Ask Alice: Uncovering the Role of a University Partner in an Informal Science Curriculum Support Network

Science.gov (United States)

Baker-Doyle, Kira J.

2013-01-01

This article describes a study from the Linking Instructors Networks of Knowledge in Science Education project, which aims to examine the informal science curriculum support networks of teachers in a school-university curriculum reform partnership. We used social network analysis and qualitative methods to reveal characteristics of the informal…

Dissemination of an innovative mastery learning curriculum grounded in implementation science principles: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

McGaghie, William C; Barsuk, Jeffrey H; Cohen, Elaine R; Kristopaitis, Theresa; Wayne, Diane B

2015-11-01

Dissemination of a medical education innovation, such as mastery learning, from a setting where it has been used successfully to a new and different medical education environment is not easy. This article describes the uneven yet successful dissemination of a simulation-based mastery learning (SBML) curriculum on central venous catheter (CVC) insertion for internal medicine and emergency medicine residents across medical education settings. The dissemination program was grounded in implementation science principles. The article begins by describing implementation science which addresses the mechanisms of medical education and health care delivery. The authors then present a mastery learning case study in two phases: (1) the development, implementation, and evaluation of the SBML CVC curriculum at a tertiary care academic medical center; and (2) the dissemination of the SBML CVC curriculum to an academic community hospital setting. Contextual information about the drivers and barriers that affected the SBML CVC curriculum dissemination is presented. This work demonstrates that dissemination of mastery learning curricula, like all other medical education innovations, will fail without active educational leadership, personal contacts, dedication, hard work, rigorous measurement, and attention to implementation science principles. The article concludes by presenting a set of lessons learned about disseminating an SBML CVC curriculum across different medical education settings.

AIAA Educator Academy - Mars Rover Curriculum: A 6 week multidisciplinary space science based curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Henriquez, E.; Bering, E. A.; Slagle, E.; Nieser, K.; Carlson, C.; Kapral, A.

2013-12-01

The Curiosity mission has captured the imagination of children, as NASA missions have done for decades. The AIAA and the University of Houston have developed a flexible curriculum program that offers children in-depth science and language arts learning culminating in the design and construction of their own model rover. The program is called the Mars Rover Model Celebration. It focuses on students, teachers and parents in grades 3-8. Students learn to research Mars in order to pick a science question about Mars that is of interest to them. They learn principles of spacecraft design in order to build a model of a Mars rover to carry out their mission on the surface of Mars. The model is a mock-up, constructed at a minimal cost from art supplies. This project may be used either informally as an after school club or youth group activity or formally as part of a class studying general science, earth science, solar system astronomy or robotics, or as a multi-disciplinary unit for a gifted and talented program. The project's unique strength lies in engaging students in the process of spacecraft design and interesting them in aerospace engineering careers. The project is aimed at elementary and secondary education. Not only will these students learn about scientific fields relevant to the mission (space science, physics, geology, robotics, and more), they will gain an appreciation for how this knowledge is used to tackle complex problems. The low cost of the event makes it an ideal enrichment vehicle for low income schools. It provides activities that provide professional development to educators, curricular support resources using NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) content, and provides family opportunities for involvement in K-12 student learning. This paper will describe the structure and organization of the 6 week curriculum. A set of 30 new 5E lesson plans have been written to support this project as a classroom activity. The challenge of developing interactive

The Central Nervous System and Alcohol Use. Science of Alcohol Curriculum for American Indians. Training Unit [and] Participant Booklet.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Cecelia; And Others

The Science of Alcohol Curriculum for American Indians uses the Medicine Circle and the "new science paradigm" to study the science of alcohol through a culturally relevant holistic approach. Intended for teachers and other educational personnel involved with American Indians, this curriculum aims to present a framework for alcohol…

The impact of a curriculum course on pre-service primary teachers' science content knowledge and attitudes towards teaching science

OpenAIRE

Murphy, Clíona; Smith, Greg

2012-01-01

Many primary school teachers have insufficient content and pedagogical knowledge of science. This lack of knowledge can often lead to a lack of confidence and competence in teaching science. This article explores the impact of a year-long science methodology (curriculum science) course on second year Bachelor of Education (BEd) students' conceptual and pedagogical knowledge of science and on their attitudes towards teaching science in the primary classroom. A questionnaire, containing closed ...

Application of the Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Science Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Stegelin, Dolores A.

2003-01-01

This article focuses on the relevance of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education for science knowledge and content standards for the preK-12 student population. The article includes: (1) a summary of key concepts; (2) a description of the science curriculum standards for K-3 in the United States; and (3) an example of an in-depth…

Implementing an Affordable High-Performance Computing for Teaching-Oriented Computer Science Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Abuzaghleh, Omar; Goldschmidt, Kathleen; Elleithy, Yasser; Lee, Jeongkyu

2013-01-01

With the advances in computing power, high-performance computing (HPC) platforms have had an impact on not only scientific research in advanced organizations but also computer science curriculum in the educational community. For example, multicore programming and parallel systems are highly desired courses in the computer science major. However,…

Effects Of Advance Organizers On Students\\' Achievement In Biology ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Science Education is emphasized in school curriculum in order to meet the country\\'s socioeconomic needs by producing a scientifically literate populace and professionals in science and technology based careers. Biology as a science subject is expected to make a contribution towards these objective. However, the ...

The Politics of Developing and Maintaining Mathematics and Science Curriculum Content Standards. Research Monograph.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirst, Michael W.; Bird, Robin L.

The movement toward math and science curriculum standards is inextricably linked with high-stakes politics. There are two major types of politics discussed in this paper: the allocation of curriculum content, and the political issues involved in systemic change. Political strategies for gaining assent to national, state, and local content…

The Future Curriculum for School Science: What Can Be Learnt from the Past?

Science.gov (United States)

Fensham, Peter J.

2016-01-01

In the 1960s, major reforms of the curriculum for school science education occurred that set a future for school science education that has been astonishingly robust at seeing off alternatives. This is not to say that there are not a number of good reasons for such alternative futures. The sciences, their relation to the socio-scientific context,…

Practicing the triad teaching-research- extension in supervised internship of licentiateship in biological sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lilliane Miranda Freitas

2012-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper we report an educational experience based on the triad teaching-research-extension occurred in the supervised internship in licentiateship in Biological Sciences. In this experiment, the students made a transposition of the scientific knowledge produced in their course conclusion work to the knowledge of basic education curriculum. We analyze in this article the impressions of undergraduates after completion of pedagogical actions. We discuss, based on the reports, how the knowledge that is constructed and reconstructed in academic research can contribute directly to the improvement of the science education quality through science literacy and also in teacher training of undergraduates, through the reflection on their own practice. Therefore, we consider that, with the practice of the inseparability of teaching-research-extension, there will be more return for academic research and also for the school community, generating significant changes in educational practices in schools

The Efficacy of Educative Curriculum Materials to Support Geospatial Science Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Bodzin, Alec; Peffer, Tamara; Kulo, Violet

2012-01-01

Teaching and learning about geospatial aspects of energy resource issues requires that science teachers apply effective science pedagogical approaches to implement geospatial technologies into classroom instruction. To address this need, we designed educative curriculum materials as an integral part of a comprehensive middle school energy…

Introductory Biology Labs... They Just Aren't Sexy Enough!

Science.gov (United States)

Cotner, Sehoya; Gallup, Gordon G., Jr.

2011-01-01

The typical introductory biology curriculum includes the nature of science, evolution and genetics. Laboratory activities are designed to engage students in typical subject areas ranging from cell biology and physiology, to ecology and evolution. There are few, if any, laboratory classes exploring the biology and evolution of human sexual…

Education science and biological anthropology.

Science.gov (United States)

Krebs, Uwe

2014-01-01

This contribution states deficits and makes proposals in order to overcome them. First there is the question as to why the Biological Anthropology--despite all its diversifications--hardly ever deals with educational aspects of its subject. Second it is the question as to why Educational Science neglects or even ignores data of Biological Anthropology which are recognizably important for its subject. It is postulated that the stated deficits are caused by several adverse influences such as, the individual identity of each of the involved single sciences; aspects of the recent history of the German Anthropology; a lack of conceptual understanding of each other; methodological differences and, last but not least, the structure of the universities. The necessity to remedy this situation was deduced from two groups of facts. First, more recent data of the Biological Anthropology (e.g. brain functions and learning, sex specificity and education) are of substantial relevance for the Educational Science. Second, the epistemological requirements of complex subjects like education need interdisciplinary approaches. Finally, a few suggestions of concrete topics are given which are related to both, Educational Science and Biological Anthropology.

The Content Analysis, Material Presentation, and Readability of Curriculum 2013 Science Textbook for 1st Semester of Junior High School 7th Grade

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Endik Deni Nugroho

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Based on the early observation by researchers of the two Science textbooks 7thGrade about biological material, 1stand 2ndsemester of curriculum 2013, there were errors in the material presentation and legibility. This study aimed to compare and find the contents suitability of the book based on standard of competence and basic competences, readability, materials presentation and supporting material in the science textbook VII grade, 1st and 2nd semester and measured student legibility. This study used a qualitative descriptive approach by using document analysis. The data resources were obtained by using purposive, the data collection was triangulation, data analysis was inductive/qualitative and the results emphasized the meaning. This research results showed that the Integrated Sciences and Sciences textbook 1st and 2nd semester meet the standards of the core competencies and basic competence on the syllabus curriculum 2013 and also meet the books standart. The results of the analysis conducted in misstatement concept and principles and material llustration in the Integrated Science textbook 1st semester were found 5 misstatement concept, for the presentation of the principles and material illustration was found no error. In the book Integrated Sciences there was no delivery errors concept, principle, and material illustration. Science textbook 1st semester found 8 concepts misstatements and 8 illustration material misstatements. In general, Integrated Sciences and Sciences textbooks 1st and 2nd semester are illegibility so not appropriate for students.

Consumer Citizenship Curriculum Guides for Social Studies, English, Science, Mathematics.

Science.gov (United States)

MacKenzie, Louise; Smith, Alice

These four consumer citizenship curriculum guides for social studies, English, science, and mathematics incorporate consumer education into these subject matter areas in grades 8-12. Each guide is organized around 10 main component/goals. They are basic economics in the marketplace, credit, consumer law/protection, banking skills, comparison…

Boundary Interaction: Towards Developing a Mobile Technology-Enabled Science Curriculum to Integrate Learning in the Informal Spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Daner; Looi, Chee-Kit

2018-01-01

This paper explores the crossover between formal learning and learning in informal spaces supported by mobile technology, and proposes design principles for educators to carry out a science curriculum, namely Boundary Activity-based Science Curriculum (BAbSC). The conceptualization of the boundary object, and the principles of boundary activity as…

Microsoft Excel Software Usage for Teaching Science and Engineering Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Gurmukh; Siddiqui, Khalid

2009-01-01

In this article, our main objective is to present the use of Microsoft Software Excel 2007/2003 for teaching college and university level curriculum in science and engineering. In particular, we discuss two interesting and fascinating examples of interactive applications of Microsoft Excel targeted for undergraduate students in: 1) computational…

Models and Materials: Bridging Art and Science in the Secondary Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Pak, D.; Cavazos, L.

2006-12-01

Creating and sustaining student engagement in science is one challenge facing secondary teachers. The visual arts provide an alternative means of communicating scientific concepts to students who may not respond to traditional formats or identify themselves as interested in science. We have initiated a three-year teacher professional development program at U C Santa Barbara focused on bridging art and science in secondary curricula, to engage students underrepresented in science majors, including girls, English language learners and non-traditional learners. The three-year format provides the teams of teachers with the time and resources necessary to create innovative learning experiences for students that will enhance their understanding of both art and science content. Models and Materials brings together ten secondary art and science teachers from six Santa Barbara County schools. Of the five participating science teachers, three teach Earth Science and two teach Life Science. Art and science teachers from each school are teamed and challenged with the task of creating integrated curriculum projects that bring visual art concepts to the science classroom and science concepts to the art classroom. Models and Materials were selected as unifying themes; understanding the concept of models, their development and limitations, is a prominent goal in the California State Science and Art Standards. Similarly, the relationship between composition, structure and properties of materials is important to both art and science learning. The program began with a 2-week institute designed to highlight the natural links between art and science through presentations and activities by both artists and scientists, to inspire teachers to develop new ways to present models in their classrooms, and for the teacher teams to brainstorm ideas for curriculum projects. During the current school year, teachers will begin to integrate science and art and the themes of modeling and materials

Reaching Consensus on Essential Biomedical Science Learning Objectives in a Dental Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Best, Leandra; Walton, Joanne N; Walker, Judith; von Bergmann, HsingChi

2016-04-01

This article describes how the University of British Columbia Faculty of Dentistry reached consensus on essential basic biomedical science objectives for DMD students and applied the information to the renewal of its DMD curriculum. The Delphi Method was used to build consensus among dental faculty members and students regarding the relevance of over 1,500 existing biomedical science objectives. Volunteer panels of at least three faculty members (a basic scientist, a general dentist, and a dental specialist) and a fourth-year dental student were formed for each of 13 biomedical courses in the first two years of the program. Panel members worked independently and anonymously, rating each course objective as "need to know," "nice to know," "irrelevant," or "don't know." Panel members were advised after each round which objectives had not yet achieved a 75% consensus and were asked to reconsider their ratings. After a maximum of three rounds to reach consensus, a second group of faculty experts reviewed and refined the results to establish the biomedical science objectives for the renewed curriculum. There was consensus on 46% of the learning objectives after round one, 80% after round two, and 95% after round three. The second expert group addressed any remaining objectives as part of its review process. Only 47% of previous biomedical science course objectives were judged to be essential or "need to know" for the general dentist. The consensus reached by participants in the Delphi Method panels and a second group of faculty experts led to a streamlined, better integrated DMD curriculum to prepare graduates for future practice.

Prospects and challenges in teachers’ adoption of a new modeling orientated science curriculum in lower secondary school in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Sanne Schnell

A new science curriculum with a significant emphasis on modeling has recently been enacted in the Danish compulsory school. This design based study aims to investigate science teachers’ beliefs, practice and reflections in response to the new curriculum. The data sources include teacher...... towards the modeling emphasis in the new curriculum, but nevertheless use a restricted range of modeling practices and pay limited attention to the purpose and utility of models. Teachers raised concerns in enacting the new curriculum due to: (i) Lack of time for preparations and teamwork, (ii) Shortage...... of clarifications and examples in the curriculum materials and teacher education on how to enact modeling in practice, (iii) Overcrowded curriculum, and (iv) Lack of alignment with a national test. In addition, the results indicate an inconsistence between teachers’ intentions and their classroom practice...

Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8: Climate Change Curriculum Developed Through a Collaboration Between Scientists and Educators

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, E.; Skene, J.; Tran, L.

2011-12-01

Today's youth have been tasked with the overwhelming job of addressing the world's climate future. The students who will become the scientists, policy makers, and citizens of tomorrow must gain a robust understanding of the causes and effects of climate change, as well as possible adaptation strategies. Currently, there are few high quality curricula available to teachers that address these topics in a developmentally appropriate manner. The NOAA-funded Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8 aims to address this gap by providing teachers with scientifically accurate climate change curriculum that hits on some of the most salient points in climate science, while simultaneously developing students' science process skills. The Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8 is developed through a collaboration between some of the nation's leading ocean and climate scientists and the Lawrence Hall of Science's highly qualified GEMS (Great Explorations in Math & Science) curriculum development team. Scientists are active partners throughout the whole development process, from initial brainstorming of key concepts and creating the conceptual storyline for the curriculum to final review of the content and activities. As with all GEMS Sequences, the Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8 is designed to provide significant scientific and educational depth, systematic assessments and informational readings, and incorporate new learning technologies. The goal is to focus strategically and effectively on the core concepts within ocean and climate sciences that students need to understand. This curriculum is designed in accordance with the latest research from the learning sciences, and provides numerous opportunities for students to develop inquiry skills and abilities as they learn about the practice of science through hands-on activities. The Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8 addresses in depth a significant number of national, state, and district standards and benchmarks. It

Revision of Primary I-III Science Curriculum in Somalia. African Studies in Curriculum Development & Evaluation No. 83.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdi, Ahmed Ali

This study was designed to evaluate: (1) the content of the primary I-III science curriculum in Somalia; (2) the instructional materials that back up the content and methodologies; and (3) the professional competence of the teachers in charge of teaching this subject. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire, observations, and unstructured…

The effects of an integrated Algebra 1/physical science curriculum on student achievement in Algebra 1, proportional reasoning and graphing abilities

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, Lettie Carol

1997-08-01

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if an integrated curriculum in algebra 1/physical science facilitates acquisition of proportional reasoning and graphing abilities better than a non-integrated, traditional, algebra 1 curriculum. Also, this study was to ascertain if the integrated algebra 1/physical science curriculum resulted in greater student achievement in algebra 1. The curriculum used in the experimental class was SAM 9 (Science and Mathematics 9), an investigation-based curriculum that was written to integrate physical science and basic algebra content. The experiment was conducted over one school year. The subjects in the study were 61 ninth grade students. The experimental group consisted of one class taught concurrently by a mathematics teacher and a physical science teacher. The control group consisted of three classes of algebra 1 students taught by one mathematics teacher and taking physical science with other teachers in the school who were not participating in the SAM 9 program. This study utilized a quasi-experimental non-randomized control group pretest-posttest design. The investigator obtained end-of-algebra 1 scores from student records. The written open-ended graphing instruments and the proportional reasoning instrument were administered to both groups as pretests and posttests. The graphing instruments were also administered as a midtest. A two sample t-test for independent means was used to determine significant differences in achievement on the end-of-course algebra 1 test. Quantitative data from the proportional reasoning and graphing instruments were analyzed using a repeated measures analysis of variance to determine differences in scores over time for the experimental and control groups. The findings indicate no significant difference between the experimental and control groups on the end-of-course algebra 1 test. Results also indicate no significant differences in proportional reasoning and graphing abilities between

Nuclear Science Curriculum and Curriculum para la Ciencia Nuclear.

Science.gov (United States)

American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, IL.

This document presents a course in the science of nuclear energy, units of which may be included in high school physics, chemistry, and biology classes. It is intended for the use of teachers whose students have already completed algebra and chemistry or physics. Included in this paper are the objectives of this course, a course outline, a…

Marine molecular biology: An emerging field of biological sciences

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Thakur, N.L.; Jain, R.; Natalio, F.; Hamer, B.; Thakur, A.N.; Muller, W.E.G.

An appreciation of the potential applications of molecular biology is of growing importance in many areas of life sciences, including marine biology. During the past two decades, the development of sophisticated molecular technologies...

Mathematical Biology Modules Based on Modern Molecular Biology and Modern Discrete Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Robeva, Raina; Davies, Robin; Hodge, Terrell; Enyedi, Alexander

2010-01-01

We describe an ongoing collaborative curriculum materials development project between Sweet Briar College and Western Michigan University, with support from the National Science Foundation. We present a collection of modules under development that can be used in existing mathematics and biology courses, and we address a critical national need to…

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: Advanced Search. Journal Home > International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: Advanced Search. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

The "Curriculum for Excellence": A Major Change for Scottish Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Sally

2014-01-01

The Curriculum for Excellence and new National Qualifications offer innovative reform, based on widely supported ideas and aims, for Scottish preschool, primary and secondary education levels. "Objectives and syllabuses" for science are replaced by "experiences and outcomes". Most strikingly, central prescription makes way for…

Teacher change and professional development: A case study of teachers engaged in an innovative constructivist science curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Akura, Okong'o. Gabriel

This study examined both the changes that elementary school teachers experienced when they implemented a reform-based science curriculum and the impact of professional development on this transformation. The research involved a case study of three purposefully selected teachers implementing the Linking Food and the Environment (LIFE) program during the 2002--2003 school year. The LIFE program is a curriculum designed to enhance science literacy among learners from high poverty urban environments. While the study was grounded in the tradition of critical theory (Carspecken, 1996), the theoretical perspective of hermeneutic phenomenology (van Manen, 1990) guided data collection and analysis. Extensive observations of the teachers were made in order to capture and record the teacher change phenomenon. Data were recorded by means of field notes, audio and videotapes, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and video Stimulated Recall (SR) interviews. Emerging themes relating to teacher change, knowledge interests, constructivist pedagogy, and professional development illustrated how teachers grapple with various aspects of implementing a reform-based science curriculum. The teachers in this study were similar to those in earlier investigations, which found that sustained professional development programs involving mentoring and constant reflection enable elementary science teachers to change their instructional strategies from the technical-realist orientation towards the practical-hermeneutic and emancipatory-liberatory orientations. The study has implications for science curriculum developers and designers of professional development programs.

Framing the Genetics Curriculum for Social Justice: An Experimental Exploration of How the Biology Curriculum Influences Beliefs about Racial Difference

Science.gov (United States)

Donovan, Brian M.

2016-01-01

This field experiment manipulated the racial framing of a reading on human genetic disease to explore whether racial terminology in the biology curriculum affects how adolescents explain and respond to the racial achievement gap in American education. Carried out in a public high school in the San Francisco Bay Area, students recruited for the…

An Exploratory Analysis of a Middle School Science Curriculum: Implications for Students with Learning Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Gregory S.; Hord, Casey

2016-01-01

An exploratory study of a middle school curriculum directly aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards was conducted with a focus on how the curriculum addresses the instructional needs of students with learning disabilities. A descriptive analysis of a lesson on speed and velocity was conducted and implications discussed for students with…

Scientists in the classroom: Curriculum reform and the Cold War, 1949--1963

Science.gov (United States)

Rudolph, John Laurence

This dissertation focuses on the origins of the National Science Foundation-supported curriculum reform movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Using the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) as exemplars of the curriculum projects that proliferated during this era, this work provides a historical analysis of the shift in school curriculum from the life adjustment, functional approach to schooling prevalent after World War II to the discipline-centered approach characteristic of the 1960s. Important factors in this shift include the rising technological threat posed by the Soviet Union along with the Red Scare in the United States, which aroused public suspicion of the ideological underpinnings of the life adjustment curricular program. The efforts of the scientific elite to develop new science curricula were welcomed as a means to combat both the technological threat of the Soviets and, through science's identification with free inquiry and democracy, the ideological threat of communism. This dissertation specifically illustrates how the key elements of the new science curriculum materials---the focus on inquiry, laboratory work, and instructional technology---were shaped by the social and political atmosphere of the Cold War and how those elements were designed to advance the interests of the American scientific community in the postwar period. This social and political atmosphere, this work argues, was not only responsible for moving science instruction away from an emphasis on the every-day applications of science toward the disciplinary structure of scientific knowledge, but also contributed to a fundamental restructuring of the substantive content of the scientific knowledge itself that made up the subject matter of the new curricula.

Increasing ocean sciences in K and 1st grade classrooms through ocean sciences curriculum aligned to A Framework for K-12 Science Education, and implementation support.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedemonte, S.; Weiss, E. L.

2016-02-01

Ocean and climate sciences are rarely introduced at the early elementary levels. Reasons for this vary, but include little direct attention at the national and state levels; lack of quality instructional materials; and, lack of teacher content knowledge. Recent recommendations by the National Research Council, "revise the Earth and Space sciences core ideas and grade band endpoints to include more attention to the ocean whenever possible" (NRC, 2012, p. 336) adopted in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), may increase the call for ocean and climate sciences to be addressed. In response to these recommendations' and the recognition that an understanding of some of the Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) would be incomplete without an understanding of processes or phenomena unique to the ocean and ocean organisms; the ocean Literacy community have created documents that show the alignment of NGSS with the Ocean Literacy Principles and Fundamental Concepts (Ocean Literacy, 2013) as well as the Ocean Literacy Scope and Sequence for Grades K-12 (Ocean Literacy, 2010), providing a solid argument for how and to what degree ocean sciences should be part of the curriculum. However, the percentage of science education curricula focused on the ocean remains very low. This session will describe a new project, that draws on the expertise of curriculum developers, ocean literacy advocates, and researchers to meet the challenges of aligning ocean sciences curriculum to NGSS, and supporting its implementation. The desired outcomes of the proposed project are to provide a rigorous standards aligned curricula that addresses all of the Life Sciences, and some Earth and Space Sciences and Engineering Design Core Ideas for Grades K and 1; and provides teachers with the support they need to understand the content and begin implementation. The process and lessons learned will be shared.

Experiencing Wireless Sensor Network Concepts in an Undergraduate Computer Science Curriculum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zwartjes, G.J.; van de Voort, M.; Dil, B.J.; Havinga, Paul J.M.

2009-01-01

Incorporating Embedded Systems courses in a general and broad Computer Science undergraduate curriculum can be a challenging task. The lack of experience with relevant tools and programming languages tends to limit the amount material that can be included in courses on this area. This, combined with

Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8: Climate Change Curriculum Developed Through a Collaboration Between Scientists and Educators

Science.gov (United States)

Halversen, C.; Weiss, E. L.; Pedemonte, S.

2016-02-01

Today's youth have been tasked with the overwhelming job of addressing the world's climate future. The students who will become the scientists, policy makers, and citizens of tomorrow must gain a robust understanding of the causes and effects of climate change, as well as possible adaptation strategies. Currently, few high quality curriculum materials exist that address climate change in a developmentally appropriate manner. The NOAA-funded Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8: The Ocean-Atmosphere Connection and Climate Change (OSS) addresses this gap by providing teachers with scientifically accurate climate change curriculum that hits on some of the most salient points in climate science, while simultaneously developing students' science process skills. OSS was developed through a collaboration between some of the nation's leading ocean and climate scientists and the Lawrence Hall of Science's highly qualified curriculum development team. Scientists were active partners throughout the entire development process, from initial brainstorming of key concepts and creating the conceptual storyline for the curriculum to final review of the content and activities. The goal was to focus strategically and effectively on core concepts within ocean and climate sciences that students should understand. OSS was designed in accordance with the latest research from the learning sciences and provides numerous opportunities for students to develop facility with science practices by "doing" science.Through hands-on activities, technology, informational readings, and embedded assessments, OSS deeply addresses a significant number of standards from the Next Generation Science Standards and is being used by many teachers as they explore the shifts required by NGSS. It also aligns with the Ocean Literacy and Climate Literacy Frameworks. OSS comprises 33 45-minute sessions organized into three thematic units, each driven by an exploratory question: (1) How do the ocean and atmosphere

Life Sciences Teachers Negotiating Professional Development Agency in Changing Curriculum Times

Science.gov (United States)

Singh-Pillay, Asheena; Samuel, Michael Anthony

2017-01-01

This article probes teacher responses to three curricular reform initiatives from a South African situated contextual perspective. It focuses on Life Sciences teachers who have initially reported feeling overwhelmed by this rapidly changing curriculum environment: adopting and re-adapting to the many expected shifts. The research question posed…

INNOVATIONS IN EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES FOR THE BIOLOGY TEACHING LABORATORY.

Science.gov (United States)

BARTHELEMY, RICHARD E.; AND OTHERS

LABORATORY TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENT APPROPRIATE FOR TEACHING BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE CURRICULUM STUDY BIOLOGY ARE EMPHASIZED. MAJOR CATEGORIES INCLUDE (1) LABORATORY FACILITIES, (2) EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES FOR CULTURE OF MICRO-ORGANISMS, (3) LABORATORY ANIMALS AND THEIR HOUSING, (4) TECHNIQUES FOR STUDYING PLANT GROWTH, (5) TECHNIQUES FOR STUDYING…

Biology as an Integrating Natural Science Domain

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 13; Issue 3. Biology as an Integrating Natural Science Domain: A Proposal for BSc (Hons) in Integrated Biology. Kambadur Muralidhar. Classroom Volume 13 Issue 3 March 2008 pp 272-276 ...

Teachers' Sensemaking about Implementation of an Innovative Science Curriculum Across the Settings of Professional Development and Classroom Enactment

Science.gov (United States)

de los Santos, Xeng

Designing professional development that effectively supports teachers in learning new and often challenging practices remains a dilemma for teacher educators. Within the context of current reform efforts in science education, such as the Next Generation Science Standards, teacher educators are faced with managing the dilemma of how to support a large number of teachers in learning new practices while also considering factors such as time, cost, and effectiveness. Implementation of educative, reform-aligned curricula is one way to reach many teachers at once. However, one question is whether large-scale curriculum implementation can effectively support teachers in learning and sustaining new teaching practices. To address this dilemma, this study used a comparative, multiple case study design to investigate how secondary science teachers engaged in sensemaking about implementation of an innovative science curriculum across the settings of professional development and classroom enactment. In using the concept of sensemaking from organizational theory, I focused specifically on how teachers' roles in social organizations influenced their decisions to implement the curriculum in particular ways, with differing outcomes for their own learning and students' engagement in three-dimensional learning. My research questions explored: (1) patterns in teachers' occasions of sensemaking, including critical noticing of interactions among themselves, the curriculum, and their students; (2) how teachers' social commitments to different communities influenced their sensemaking; and, (3) how sustained sensemaking over time could facilitate teacher learning of rigorous and responsive science teaching practices. In privileging teachers' experiences in the classroom using the curriculum with their students, I used data generated primarily from teacher interviews with their case study coaches about implementation over the course of one school year. Secondary sources of data included

Developing Oral and Written Communication Skills in Undergraduate Computer Science and Information Systems Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Kortsarts, Yana; Fischbach, Adam; Rufinus, Jeff; Utell, Janine M.; Yoon, Suk-Chung

2010-01-01

Developing and applying oral and written communication skills in the undergraduate computer science and computer information systems curriculum--one of the ABET accreditation requirements - is a very challenging and, at the same time, a rewarding task that provides various opportunities to enrich the undergraduate computer science and computer…

The Delphi Technique in Identifying Learning Objectives for the Development of Science, Technology and Society Modules for Palestinian Ninth Grade Science Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Abualrob, Marwan M. A.; Daniel, Esther Gnanamalar Sarojini

2013-01-01

This article outlines how learning objectives based upon science, technology and society (STS) elements for Palestinian ninth grade science textbooks were identified, which was part of a bigger study to establish an STS foundation in the ninth grade science curriculum in Palestine. First, an initial list of STS elements was determined. Second,…

Perspective of Lecturers in Implementing PISMP Science Curriculum in Malaysia's IPG

Science.gov (United States)

Yahya, Fauziah Hj; Bin Hamdan, Abdul Rahim; Jantan, Hafsah Binti; Saleh, Halimatussadiah Binti

2015-01-01

The article aims to identify lecturers' perspectives in implementing PISMP science curriculum in IPG Malaysia based on teaching experience with KIPP model. The respondents consisted of 105 lecturers from 20 IPG Malaysia. The study used a questionnaire consisting of 74 items covering the four dimensions (Context, Input, Process and Product). Data…

Designing a primary science curriculum in a globalizing world: How do social constructivism and Vietnamese culture meet?

Science.gov (United States)

Hằng, Ngô Vũ Thu; Meijer, Marijn Roland; Bulte, Astrid M. W.; Pilot, Albert

2017-09-01

The implementation of social constructivist approaches to learning science in primary education in Vietnamese culture as an example of Confucian heritage culture remains challenging and problematic. This theoretical paper focuses on the initial phase of a design-based research approach; that is, the description of the design of a formal, written curriculum for primary science education in which features of social constructivist approaches to learning are synthesized with essential aspects of Vietnamese culture. The written design comprises learning aims, a framework that is the synthesis of learning functions, learning settings and educational expectations for learning phases, and exemplary curriculum units. Learning aims are formulated to comprehensively develop scientific knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward science for primary students. Derived from these learning aims, the designed framework consists of four learning phases respectively labeled as Engagement, Experience, Exchange, and Follow-up. The designed framework refers to knowledge of the "nature of science" education and characteristics of Vietnamese culture as an example of Confucian heritage culture. The curriculum design aims to serve as an educational product that addresses previously analyzed problems of primary science education in the Vietnamese culture in a globalizing world.

Physics and Biology Collaborate to Color the World

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Dennis W. C.

2013-01-01

To understand how life works, it is essential to understand physics and chemistry. Most biologists have a clear notion of where chemistry fits into their life sciences research and teaching. Although we are physical beings, physics does not always find a place in the biology curriculum. Physics informs and enlightens biology in myriad dimensions,…

Biomolecular Sciences: uniting Biology and Chemistry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vrieling, Engel

2017-01-01

Biomolecular Sciences: uniting Biology and Chemistry www.rug.nl/research/gbb The scientific discoveries in biomolecular sciences have benefitted enormously from technological innovations. At the Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute (GBB) we now sequence a genome in days,

The Human Genome Project: Biology, Computers, and Privacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Cutter, Mary Ann G.; Drexler, Edward; Gottesman, Kay S.; Goulding, Philip G.; McCullough, Laurence B.; McInerney, Joseph D.; Micikas, Lynda B.; Mural, Richard J.; Murray, Jeffrey C.; Zola, John

This module, for high school teachers, is the second of two modules about the Human Genome Project (HGP) produced by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS). The first section of this module provides background information for teachers about the structure and objectives of the HGP, aspects of the science and technology that underlie the…

Advantages and challenges of using physics curricula as a model for reforming an undergraduate biology course.

Science.gov (United States)

Donovan, D A; Atkins, L J; Salter, I Y; Gallagher, D J; Kratz, R F; Rousseau, J V; Nelson, G D

2013-06-01

We report on the development of a life sciences curriculum, targeted to undergraduate students, which was modeled after a commercially available physics curriculum and based on aspects of how people learn. Our paper describes the collaborative development process and necessary modifications required to apply a physics pedagogical model in a life sciences context. While some approaches were easily adapted, others provided significant challenges. Among these challenges were: representations of energy, introducing definitions, the placement of Scientists' Ideas, and the replicability of data. In modifying the curriculum to address these challenges, we have come to see them as speaking to deeper differences between the disciplines, namely that introductory physics--for example, Newton's laws, magnetism, light--is a science of pairwise interaction, while introductory biology--for example, photosynthesis, evolution, cycling of matter in ecosystems--is a science of linked processes, and we suggest that this is how the two disciplines are presented in introductory classes. We illustrate this tension through an analysis of our adaptations of the physics curriculum for instruction on the cycling of matter and energy; we show that modifications of the physics curriculum to address the biological framework promotes strong gains in student understanding of these topics, as evidenced by analysis of student work.

Ka Hana `Imi Na`auao: A Science Curriculum Project

Science.gov (United States)

Napeahi, K.; Roberts, K. D.; Galloway, L. M.; Stodden, R. A.; Akuna, J.; Bruno, B.

2005-12-01

In antiquity, the first people to step foot on what are now known as the Hawaiian islands skillfully traversed the Pacific Ocean using celestial navigation and learned observations of scientific phenomena. Long before the Western world ventured beyond the horizon, Hawaiians had invented the chronometer, built aqueduct systems (awai) that continue to amaze modern engineers, and had preventive health systems as well as a comprehensive knowledge of medicinal plants (including antivirals) which only now are working their way through trials for use in modern pharmacopia. Yet, today, Native Hawaiians are severely underrepresented in science-related fields, reflecting (in part) a failure of the Western educational system to nurture the potential of these resourceful students, particularly the many "at-risk" students who are presently over-represented in special education. A curriculum which draws from and incorporates traditional Hawaiian values and knowledge is needed to reinforce links to the inquiry process which nurtured creative thinking during the renaissance of Polynesian history. The primary goal of the Ka Hana `Imi Na`auao Project (translation: `science` or `work in which you seek enlightenment, knowledge or wisdom`) is to increase the number of Native Hawaiian adults in science-related postsecondary education and employment fields. Working closely with Native Hawaiian cultural experts and our high school partners, we will develop and implement a culturally responsive 11th and 12th grade high school science curriculum, infused with math, literacy and technology readiness skills. Software and assistive technology will be used to adapt instruction to individual learners` reading levels, specific disabilities and learning styles. To ease the transition from secondary to post-secondary education, selected grade 12 students will participate in planned project activities that link high school experiences with college science-related programs of study. Ka Hana `Imi Na

Access, Astronomy and Science Fiction. A Case Study in Curriculum Design

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, Danny; Brake, Mark; Griffiths, Martin; Thornton, Rosi

2004-01-01

It is argued that a positive response to lifelong learning policies involves the use of imaginative curriculum design in order to attract learners from disadvantaged backgrounds who are otherwise alienated from higher education. In this article a case study is presented based on the popularity of science fiction within popular culture, beginning…

Science-Based Thematic Cultural Art Learning in Primary School (2013 Curriculum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Warih Handayaningrum

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study is aimed at discussing the development result of thematic cultural art subject’s learning material based on science for primary school (2013 curriculum. This study is expected to inspire teacher to develop learning material that may explore artworks exist in our living environment (based on the context of children’s environment. This study applies steps in developmental research collaboration by Borg & Gall (1989 and Puslitjaknov (2008 to create the product. The development stages comprise observation in several primary schools in Surabaya, Gresik, and Sidoarjo that has implemented 2013 curriculum that is followed up by stages of development. Furthermore, prototype of cultural and art thematic learning material development results are verified by learning material experts, material expert, primary school teacher, and revised afterwards. The result of this research development is a set of teacher and student books. Science-based cultural art here means cultural art learning as the main medium to introduce local culture products (music, drawing, dance, and drama by integrating mathematics, sciences, Bahasa Indonesia, and local language subjects. Cultural art products in the form of dance, music, drawing, dramas will help children to understand a simple mathematical concept, such as: two-dimensional figure, geometry, comparing or estimating longer-shorter, smaller-bigger, or more-less.

From FRA to RFN, or How the Family Resemblance Approach Can Be Transformed for Science Curriculum Analysis on Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Kaya, Ebru; Erduran, Sibel

2016-01-01

The inclusion of Nature of Science (NOS) in the science curriculum has been advocated around the world for several decades. One way of defining NOS is related to the family resemblance approach (FRA). The family resemblance idea was originally described by Wittgenstein. Subsequently, philosophers and educators have applied Wittgenstein's idea to…

The Value of Fidelity of Implementation Criteria to Evaluate School-Based Science Curriculum Innovations

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yew-Jin; Chue, Shien

2013-10-01

School-based curriculum innovations, including those in science education, are usually not adequately evaluated, if at all. Furthermore, current procedures and instruments for programme evaluations are often unable to support evidence-based decision-making. We suggest that adopting fidelity of implementation (FOI) criteria from healthcare research can both characterize and narrow the separation between programme intent and actual implementation, which is a mandatory stage of evaluation before determining overall programme value. We demonstrate how such a process could be applied by science educators using data from a secondary school in Singapore that had devised a new curriculum to promote interest, investigative processes, and knowledge in science. Results showed that there were ambivalent student responses to this programme, while there were high levels of science process skill instruction and close alignment with the intended lesson design. The implementation of this programme appeared to have a satisfactory overall level of FOI, but we also detected tensions between programme intent and everyday classroom teaching. If we want to advance science education, then our argument is that applying FOI criteria is necessary when evaluating all curricular innovations, not just those that originate from schools.

Into the Curriculum. Art: Whistler's Mother; Reading/Language Arts: Finding My Voice; Science: Where on My Tongue? Taste; Social Studies/Science: Volcanoes; Social Studies: Pompeii.

Science.gov (United States)

Reed-Mundell, Charlie

2001-01-01

Provides five fully developed library media activities that are designed for use with specific curriculum units in art, reading, language arts, science, and social studies. Describes library media skills, curriculum objectives, grade levels, resources, instructional roles, procedures, evaluation, and follow-up for each activity. (LRW)

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: Contact

African Journals Online (AJOL)

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: Contact. Journal Home > About the Journal > International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: Contact. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

Effects of a research-infused botanical curriculum on undergraduates' content knowledge, STEM competencies, and attitudes toward plant sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Jennifer Rhode; Clarke, H David; Horton, Jonathan L

2014-01-01

In response to the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education initiative, we infused authentic, plant-based research into majors' courses at a public liberal arts university. Faculty members designed a financially sustainable pedagogical approach, utilizing vertically integrated curricular modules based on undergraduate researchers' field and laboratory projects. Our goals were to 1) teach botanical concepts, from cells to ecosystems; 2) strengthen competencies in statistical analysis and scientific writing; 3) pique plant science interest; and 4) allow all undergraduates to contribute to genuine research. Our series of inquiry-centered exercises mitigated potential faculty barriers to adopting research-rich curricula, facilitating teaching/research balance by gathering publishable scholarly data during laboratory class periods. Student competencies were assessed with pre- and postcourse quizzes and rubric-graded papers, and attitudes were evaluated with pre- and postcourse surveys. Our revised curriculum increased students' knowledge and awareness of plant science topics, improved scientific writing, enhanced statistical knowledge, and boosted interest in conducting research. More than 300 classroom students have participated in our program, and data generated from these modules' assessment allowed faculty and students to present 28 contributed talks or posters and publish three papers in 4 yr. Future steps include analyzing the effects of repeated module exposure on student learning and creating a regional consortium to increase our project's pedagogical impact. © 2014 J. R. Ward et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http

Special series on "The meaning of behavioral medicine in the psychosomatic field" establishment of a core curriculum for behavioral science in Japan: The importance of such a curriculum from the perspective of psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimazu, Akihito; Nakao, Mutsuhiro

2016-01-01

This article discusses the core curriculum for behavioral science, from the perspective of psychology, recommended by the Japanese Society of Behavioral Medicine and seeks to explain how the curriculum can be effectively implemented in medical and health-related departments. First, the content of the core curriculum is reviewed from the perspective of psychology. We show that the curriculum features both basic and applied components and that the basic components are closely related to various aspects of psychology. Next, we emphasize two points to aid the effective delivery of the curriculum: 1) It is necessary to explain the purpose and significance of basic components of behavioral science to improve student motivation; and 2) it is important to encourage student self-efficacy to facilitate application of the acquired knowledge and skills in clinical practice.

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: About ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: About this journal. Journal Home > International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: About this journal. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

iBiology: communicating the process of science.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodwin, Sarah S

2014-08-01

The Internet hosts an abundance of science video resources aimed at communicating scientific knowledge, including webinars, massive open online courses, and TED talks. Although these videos are efficient at disseminating information for diverse types of users, they often do not demonstrate the process of doing science, the excitement of scientific discovery, or how new scientific knowledge is developed. iBiology (www.ibiology.org), a project that creates open-access science videos about biology research and science-related topics, seeks to fill this need by producing videos by science leaders that make their ideas, stories, and experiences available to anyone with an Internet connection. © 2014 Goodwin. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). Two months after publication it is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Archives: International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Items 1 - 50 of 61 ... Archives: International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences. Journal Home > Archives: International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

Challenging traditional assumptions of high school science through the physics and Everyday Thinking Curriculum(TM)

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Michael J.

Science education in the U.S. has failed for over a century to bring the experience of scientific induction to classrooms, from elementary science to undergraduate courses. The achievement of American students on international comparisons of science proficiency is unacceptable, and the disparities between groups underrepresented in STEM and others are large and resistant to reform efforts. This study investigated the enactment of a physics curriculum designed upon the inductive method in a high school serving mostly students from groups underrepresented in science. The Physics and Everyday Thinking curriculum was designed to model the central practices of science and to provide opportunities for students to both extract general principles of physics and to develop scientific models from laboratory evidence. The findings of this study suggest that scientific induction is not only a process that is well within the capacity of high school students, but they enjoy it as well. Students that engaged in the central practices of science through the inductive method reported a new sense of agency and control in their learning. These findings suggest that modeling the pedagogy of the science classroom upon the epistemology of science can result in a mode of learning that can lead to positive identification with physics and the development of scientific literacy.

Biology. CUNY Panel: Rethinking the Disciplines. Women in the Curriculum Series.

Science.gov (United States)

Spanier, Bonnie B.; Rosser, Sue V.; Muzio, Joseph N.; Tucker, Edward B.

This collection of four essays examines the ways in which biology, as a discipline, reflects ongoing scholarship on gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and sexual orientation. In "Natural Sciences: Molecular Biology," Bonnie B. Spanier examines common ideological distortions in biology, including superimposing stereotypical gender attributes…

Relativism, Values and Morals in the New Zealand Curriculum Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Jorgensen, Lone Morris; Ryan, Sueann

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework, 1993, is the official document for teaching, learning and assessment in New Zealand schools. It consists of a set of curriculum statements, which define the learning principles, achievement aims and essential skills for seven learning areas. It also indicates the place of attitudes and values in the school curriculum. This paper investigates the requirements for teaching attitudes, values and ethics in the curriculum statements for Science, Biology and Technology. The question is raised whether the teaching of skills for resolving moral and ethical dilemmas are required by the official education standards in New Zealand, and internationally. The paper reports on a survey done on pre-service teacher trainees of their understanding of these requirements. Implications for courses that might need to be provided in future pre-service teacher education programmes are briefly discussed.

The Proof of the Pudding?: A Case Study of an "At-Risk" Design-Based Inquiry Science Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Chue, Shien; Lee, Yew-Jin

2013-12-01

When students collaboratively design and build artifacts that require relevant understanding and application of science, many aspects of scientific literacy are developed. Design-based inquiry (DBI) is one such pedagogy that can serve these desired goals of science education well. Focusing on a Projectile Science curriculum previously found to be implemented with satisfactory fidelity, we investigate the many hidden challenges when using DBI with Grade 8 students from one school in Singapore. A case study method was used to analyze video recordings of DBI lessons conducted over 10 weeks, project presentations, and interviews to ascertain the opportunities for developing scientific literacy among participants. One critical factor that hindered learning was task selection by teachers, which emphasized generic scientific process skills over more important cognitive and epistemic learning goals. Teachers and students were also jointly engaged in forms of inquiry that underscored artifact completion over deeper conceptual and epistemic understanding of science. Our research surfaced two other confounding factors that undermined the curriculum; unanticipated teacher effects and the underestimation of the complexity of DBI and of inquiry science in general. Thus, even though motivated or experienced teachers can implement an inquiry science curriculum with good fidelity and enjoy school-wide support, these by themselves will not guarantee deep learning of scientific literacy in DBI. Recommendations are made for navigating the hands- and minds-on aspects of learning science that is an asset as well as inherent danger during DBI teaching.

Embedding responsible conduct in learning and research into an Australian undergraduate curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Lynette B

2017-01-02

Responsible conduct in learning and research (RCLR) was progressively introduced into the pharmacology curriculum for undergraduate science students at The University of Western Australia. In the second year of this undergraduate curriculum, a lecture introduces students to issues such as the use of animals in teaching and responsible conduct of research. Third year student groups deliver presentations on topics including scientific integrity and the use of human subjects in research. Academic and research staff attending these presentations provide feedback and participate in discussions. Students enrolled in an optional capstone Honours year complete an online course on the responsible conduct of research and participate in an interactive movie. Once RCLR became established in the curriculum, a survey of Likert-scaled and open-ended questions examined student and staff perceptions. Data were expressed as Approval (% of responses represented by Strongly Agree and Agree). RCLR was found to be relevant to the study of pharmacology (69-100% Approval), important for one's future career (62-100% Approval), and stimulated further interest in this area (32-75% Approval). Free entry comments demonstrated the value of RCLR and constructive suggestions for improvement have now been incorporated. RCLR modules were found to be a valuable addition to the pharmacology undergraduate curriculum. This approach may be used to incorporate ethics into any science undergraduate curriculum, with the use of discipline-specific topics. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(1):53-59, 2017. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Students' Evaluation of Classroom Interactions of Their Biology ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nekky Umera

teacher classroom interactions were positively correlated and uncertainty, ... implementation is that, if biology teachers were to display more leadership, helpful and ... Accepted methods to overcome poor academic achievement in science have ... activities and experiences through which teachers; curriculum, materials, and.

The Pedagogical Challenges of Teaching High School Bioethics: Insights from the Exploring Bioethics Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, Mildred Z; Vannier, David; Chowning, Jeanne Ting; Miller, Jacqueline S; Paget, Katherine F

2016-01-01

A belief that high school students have the cognitive ability to analyze and assess moral choices and should be encouraged to do so but have rarely been helped to do so was the motivation for developing Exploring Bioethics, a six-module curriculum and teacher guide for grades nine through twelve on ethical issues in the life sciences. A multidisciplinary team of bioethicists, science educators, curriculum designers, scientists, and high school biology teachers worked together on the curriculum under a contract between the National Institutes of Health and Education Development Center, a nonprofit research and development organization with a long history of innovation in science education. At the NIH, the Department of Bioethics within the Clinical Center and the Office of Science Education within the Office of the Director guided the project.Our overarching goal for Exploring Bioethics was to introduce students to bioethics as a field of inquiry and to enable them to develop ethical reasoning skills so they could move beyond "gut reactions" to more nuanced positions. © 2016 The Hastings Center.

Graduate Curriculum for Biological Information Specialists: A Key to Integration of Scale in Biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carole L. Palmer

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Scientific data problems do not stand in isolation. They are part of a larger set of challenges associated with the escalation of scientific information and changes in scholarly communication in the digital environment. Biologists in particular are generating enormous sets of data at a high rate, and new discoveries in the biological sciences will increasingly depend on the integration of data across multiple scales. This work will require new kinds of information expertise in key areas. To build this professional capacity we have developed two complementary educational programs: a Biological Information Specialist (BIS masters degree and a concentration in Data Curation (DC. We believe that BISs will be central in the development of cyberinfrastructure and information services needed to facilitate interdisciplinary and multi-scale science. Here we present three sample cases from our current research projects to illustrate areas in which we expect information specialists to make important contributions to biological research practice.

Examining the Features of Earth Science Logical Reasoning and Authentic Scientific Inquiry Demonstrated in a High School Earth Science Curriculum: A Case Study

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Park, Do-Yong; Park, Mira

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the inquiry features demonstrated in the inquiry tasks of a high school Earth Science curriculum. One of the most widely used curricula, Holt Earth Science, was chosen for this case study to examine how Earth Science logical reasoning and authentic scientific inquiry were related to one another and how…

A Curriculum Development for the Enhancement of Learning Management Performances Emphasizing Higher Order Thinking Skills for Lower Secondary Science Teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saksit Seeluangpetch

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study aimed at 1 investigating the problems and needs for the enhancement of learning management performances emphasizing the higher order thinking skills for lower secondary Science teachers, 2 developing an effective curriculum to enhance the learning management performances which emphasized the higher order thinking skills for lower secondary Science teachers, and 3 studying the effects of using the curriculum developed for the enhancement of learning management performances emphasizing the higher order thinking skills for lower secondary Science teachers. The research was conducted in 4 phases. Phase 1 of the research was the study of fundamental information regarding problems and needs for the enhancement of learning management performances emphasizing the higher order thinking skills for lower secondary Science teachers. It was carried out by studying the related literature and exploring the needs. The instrument used in Phase 1 study was the needs assessment. The statistics used for data analysis were mean ( , percentage (%, and standard deviation (S.D.. The result of the study revealed that the Science teachers’ prior knowledge was at low level and the need to enhance their performances was at high level. The development of the curriculum was carried out in Phase 2 of the study. The curriculum was constructed and developed in order to enhance the learning management performances which emphasized the higher order thinking skills. The instrument used was the appropriateness the assessment of the curriculum framework. Mean ( , percentage (%, and standard deviation (S.D. were used to analyze the data. The result of the assessment showed that the overall appropriateness of the curriculum was at high level. The main components of the curriculum comprised of curriculum’s problem and necessity, rationale, objective, structure, training activity, training media, training duration, and evaluation and assessment. The curriculum trial was

Water in the Solar System: The Development of Science Education Curriculum Focused on Planetary Exploration

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Edgar, L. A.; Anderson, R. B.; Gaither, T. A.; Milazzo, M. P.; Vaughan, R. G.; Rubino-Hare, L.; Clark, J.; Ryan, S.

2017-12-01

"Water in the Solar System" is an out-of-school time (OST) science education activity for middle school students that was developed as part of the Planetary Learning that Advances the Nexus of Engineering, Technology, and Science (PLANETS) project. The PLANETS project was selected in support of the NASA Science Mission Directorate's Science Education Cooperative Agreement Notice, with the goal of developing and disseminating OST curriculum and related professional development modules that integrate planetary science, technology, and engineering. "Water in the Solar System" is a science activity that addresses the abundance and availability of water in the solar system. The activity consists of three exercises based on the following guiding questions: 1) How much water is there on the Earth? 2) Where can you find water in the solar system? and 3) What properties affect whether or not water can be used by astronauts? The three exercises involve a scaling relationship demonstration about the abundance of useable water on Earth, a card game to explore where water is found in the solar system, and a hands-on exercise to investigate pH and salinity. Through these activities students learn that although there is a lot of water on Earth, most of it is not in a form that is accessible for humans to use. They also learn that most water in the solar system is actually farther from the sun, and that properties such as salinity and pH affect whether water can be used by humans. In addition to content for students, the activity includes background information for educators, and links to in-depth descriptions of the science content. "Water in the Solar System" was developed through collaboration between subject matter experts at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center, and curriculum and professional development experts in the Center for Science Teaching and Learning at Northern Arizona University. Here we describe our process of curriculum development, education objectives of

The Effects of Gender and Type of Inquiry Curriculum on Sixth Grade Students' Science Process Skills and Epistemological Beliefs in Science

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Zaleta, Kristy L.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of gender and type of inquiry curriculum (open or structured) on science process skills and epistemological beliefs in science of sixth grade students. The current study took place in an urban northeastern middle school. The researcher utilized a sample of convenience comprised of 303 sixth grade students taught by four science teachers on separate teams. The study employed mixed methods with a quasi-experimental design, pretest-posttest comparison group with 17 intact classrooms of students. Students' science process skills and epistemological beliefs in science (source, certainty, development, and justification) were measured before and after the intervention, which exposed different groups of students to different types of inquiry (structured or open). Differences between comparison and treatment groups and between male and female students were analyzed after the intervention, on science process skills, using a two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and, on epistemological beliefs in science, using a two-way multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Responses from two focus groups of open inquiry students were cycle coded and examined for themes and patterns. Quantitative measurements indicated that girls scored significantly higher on science process skills than boys, regardless of type of inquiry instruction. Neither gender nor type of inquiry instruction predicted students' epistemological beliefs in science after accounting for students' pretest scores. The dimension Development accounted for 10.6% of the variance in students' science process skills. Qualitative results indicated that students with sophisticated epistemological beliefs expressed engagement with the open-inquiry curriculum. Students in both the sophisticated and naive beliefs groups identified challenges with the curriculum and improvement in learning as major themes. The types of challenges identified differed between the groups

Designing and testing a classroom curriculum to teach preschoolers about the biology of physical activity: The respiration system as an underlying biological causal mechanism

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Ewing, Tracy S.

The present study examined young children's understanding of respiration and oxygen as a source of vital energy underlying physical activity. Specifically, the purpose of the study was to explore whether a coherent biological theory, characterized by an understanding that bodily parts (heart and lungs) and processes (oxygen in respiration) as part of a biological system, can be taught as a foundational concept to reason about physical activity. The effects of a biology-based intervention curriculum designed to teach preschool children about bodily functions as a part of the respiratory system, the role of oxygen as a vital substance and how physical activity acts an energy source were examined. Participants were recruited from three private preschool classrooms (two treatment; 1 control) in Southern California and included a total of 48 four-year-old children (30 treatment; 18 control). Findings from this study suggested that young children could be taught relevant biological concepts about the role of oxygen in respiratory processes. Children who received biology-based intervention curriculum made significant gains in their understanding of the biology of respiration, identification of physical and sedentary activities. In addition these children demonstrated that coherence of conceptual knowledge was correlated with improved accuracy at activity identification and reasoning about the inner workings of the body contributing to endurance. Findings from this study provided evidence to support the benefits of providing age appropriate but complex coherent biological instruction to children in early childhood settings.

The Innovative Immersion of Mobile Learning into a Science Curriculum in Singapore: An Exploratory Study

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Sun, Daner; Looi, Chee-Kit; Wu, Longkai; Xie, Wenting

2016-01-01

With advancements made in mobile technology, increasing emphasis has been paid to how to leverage the affordances of mobile technology to improve science learning and instruction. This paper reports on a science curriculum supported by an inquiry-based framework and mobile technologies. It was developed by teachers and researchers in a multiyear…

The fusion of biology, computer science, and engineering: towards efficient and successful synthetic biology.

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Linshiz, Gregory; Goldberg, Alex; Konry, Tania; Hillson, Nathan J

2012-01-01

Synthetic biology is a nascent field that emerged in earnest only around the turn of the millennium. It aims to engineer new biological systems and impart new biological functionality, often through genetic modifications. The design and construction of new biological systems is a complex, multistep process, requiring multidisciplinary collaborative efforts from "fusion" scientists who have formal training in computer science or engineering, as well as hands-on biological expertise. The public has high expectations for synthetic biology and eagerly anticipates the development of solutions to the major challenges facing humanity. This article discusses laboratory practices and the conduct of research in synthetic biology. It argues that the fusion science approach, which integrates biology with computer science and engineering best practices, including standardization, process optimization, computer-aided design and laboratory automation, miniaturization, and systematic management, will increase the predictability and reproducibility of experiments and lead to breakthroughs in the construction of new biological systems. The article also discusses several successful fusion projects, including the development of software tools for DNA construction design automation, recursive DNA construction, and the development of integrated microfluidics systems.

Use of a virtual human performance laboratory to improve integration of mathematics and biology in sports science curricula in Sweden and the United States.

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Garza, D; Besier, T; Johnston, T; Rolston, B; Schorsch, A; Matheson, G; Annerstedt, C; Lindh, J; Rydmark, M

2007-01-01

New fields such as bioengineering are exploring the role of the physical sciences in traditional biological approaches to problems, with exciting results in device innovation, medicine, and research biology. The integration of mathematics, biomechanics, and material sciences into the undergraduate biology curriculum will better prepare students for these opportunities and enhance cooperation among faculty and students at the university level. We propose the study of sports science as the basis for introduction of this interdisciplinary program. This novel integrated approach will require a virtual human performance laboratory dual-hosted in Sweden and the United States. We have designed a course model that involves cooperative learning between students at Göteborg University and Stanford University, utilizes new technologies, encourages development of original research and will rely on frequent self-assessment and reflective learning. We will compare outcomes between this course and a more traditional didactic format as well as assess the effectiveness of multiple web-hosted virtual environments. We anticipate the grant will result in a network of original faculty and student research in exercise science and pedagogy as well as provide the opportunity for implementation of the model in more advance training levels and K-12 programs.

Towards a Philosophically and a Pedagogically Reasonable Nature of Science Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Yacoubian, Hagop Azad

This study, primarily theoretical in nature, explores a philosophically and pedagogically reasonable way of addressing nature of science (NOS) in school science. NOS encompasses what science is and how scientific knowledge develops. I critically evaluate consensus frameworks of NOS in school science, which converge contentious philosophical viewpoints into general NOS-related ideas. I argue that they (1) lack clarity in terms of how NOS-related ideas could be applied for various ends, (2) portray a distorted image of the substantive content of NOS and the process of its development, and (3) lack a developmental trajectory for how to address NOS at different grade levels. As a remedy to these problems, I envision a NOS curriculum that (1) explicates and targets both NOS as an educational end and NOS as a means for socioscientific decision making, (2) has critical thinking as its foundational pillar, and (3) provides a developmental pathway for NOS learning using critical thinking as a progression unit. Next, I illustrate a framework for addressing NOS in school science referred to as the critical thinking—nature of science (CT-NOS) framework. This framework brings together the first two of the three elements envisioned in the NOS curriculum. I address the third element by situating the CT-NOS framework in a developmental context, borrowing from the literature on learning progressions in science and using critical thinking as a progression unit. Finally, I present an empirical study of experienced secondary science teachers’ views of a NOS lesson prepared using the CT-NOS framework. The teachers attended a professional development workshop at which the lesson, and the characteristics of the CT-NOS framework, were presented. The analysis of the qualitative data revealed that most teachers found the lesson to be somewhat feasible for a secondary science classroom, useful or somewhat useful to their students, and interesting. The teachers focused on 14 features of

Science Education Curriculum Development Principles in Taiwan: Connecting with Aboriginal Learning and Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Tzu-Hua; Liu, Yuan-Chen

2017-01-01

This paper reflects thorough consideration of cultural perspectives in the establishment of science curriculum development principles in Taiwan. The authority explicitly states that education measures and activities of aboriginal peoples' ethnic group should be implemented consistently to incorporate their history, language, art, living customs,…

Network biology: Describing biological systems by complex networks. Comment on "Network science of biological systems at different scales: A review" by M. Gosak et al.

Science.gov (United States)

Jalili, Mahdi

2018-03-01

I enjoyed reading Gosak et al. review on analysing biological systems from network science perspective [1]. Network science, first started within Physics community, is now a mature multidisciplinary field of science with many applications ranging from Ecology to biology, medicine, social sciences, engineering and computer science. Gosak et al. discussed how biological systems can be modelled and described by complex network theory which is an important application of network science. Although there has been considerable progress in network biology over the past two decades, this is just the beginning and network science has a great deal to offer to biology and medical sciences.

Curriculum and instruction in nuclear waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, M.; Lugaski, T.; Pankratius, B.

1991-01-01

Curriculum and instruction in nuclear waste disposal is part of the larger problem of curriculum and instruction in science. At a time when science and technological literacy is crucial to the nation's economic future fewer students are electing to take needed courses in science that might promote such literacy. The problem is directly related to what science teachers teach and how they teach it. Science content that is more relevant and interesting to students must be a part of the curriculum. Science instruction must allow students to be actively involved in investigating or playing the game of science

[Applications of synthetic biology in materials science].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Tianxin; Zhong, Chao

2017-03-25

Materials are the basis for human being survival and social development. To keep abreast with the increasing needs from all aspects of human society, there are huge needs in the development of advanced materials as well as high-efficiency but low-cost manufacturing strategies that are both sustainable and tunable. Synthetic biology, a new engineering principle taking gene regulation and engineering design as the core, greatly promotes the development of life sciences. This discipline has also contributed to the development of material sciences and will continuously bring new ideas to future new material design. In this paper, we review recent advances in applications of synthetic biology in material sciences, with the focus on how synthetic biology could enable synthesis of new polymeric biomaterials and inorganic materials, phage display and directed evolution of proteins relevant to materials development, living functional materials, engineered bacteria-regulated artificial photosynthesis system as well as applications of gene circuits for material sciences.

77 FR 19740 - Biological Sciences Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-02

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Biological Sciences Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L., 92- 463, as amended), the National Science Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Biological Sciences Advisory Committee ( 1110). Date and...

Nurturing At-Risk Youth in Math and Science: Curriculum and Teaching Considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Tobias, Randolf

The social environment of today has necessitated revision in educators' beliefs about what students are considered to be at risk of failing to complete their education with adequate levels of skills. This book addresses this issue in the areas of mathematics and science and is intended as a curriculum and teacher training accompaniment that can…

Marine Biology Activities. Ocean Related Curriculum Activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Pauls, John

The ocean affects all of our lives. Therefore, awareness of and information about the interconnections between humans and oceans are prerequisites to making sound decisions for the future. Project ORCA (Ocean Related Curriculum Activities) has developed interdisciplinary curriculum materials designed to meet the needs of students and teachers…

Fostering Eroticism in Science Education to Promote Erotic Generosities for the Ocean-Other

Science.gov (United States)

Luther, Rachel

2013-01-01

Despite the increase in marine science curriculum in secondary schools, marine science is not generally required curricula and has been largely deemphasized or ignored in relation to earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics. I call for the integration and implementation of marine science more fully in secondary science education through…

Exploring the Associations Among Nutrition, Science, and Mathematics Knowledge for an Integrative, Food-Based Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Stage, Virginia C; Kolasa, Kathryn M; Díaz, Sebastián R; Duffrin, Melani W

2018-01-01

Explore associations between nutrition, science, and mathematics knowledge to provide evidence that integrating food/nutrition education in the fourth-grade curriculum may support gains in academic knowledge. Secondary analysis of a quasi-experimental study. Sample included 438 students in 34 fourth-grade classrooms across North Carolina and Ohio; mean age 10 years old; gender (I = 53.2% female; C = 51.6% female). Dependent variable = post-test-nutrition knowledge; independent variables = baseline-nutrition knowledge, and post-test science and mathematics knowledge. Analyses included descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. The hypothesized model predicted post-nutrition knowledge (F(437) = 149.4, p mathematics knowledge were predictive of nutrition knowledge indicating use of an integrative science and mathematics curriculum to improve academic knowledge may also simultaneously improve nutrition knowledge among fourth-grade students. Teachers can benefit from integration by meeting multiple academic standards, efficiently using limited classroom time, and increasing nutrition education provided in the classroom. © 2018, American School Health Association.

Innovative curriculum: Integrating the bio-behavioral and social science principles across the LifeStages in basic science years.

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Lele Mookerjee, Anuradha; Fischer, Bradford D; Cavanaugh, Susan; Rajput, Vijay

2018-05-20

Behavioral and social science integration in clinical practice improves health outcomes across the life stages. The medical school curriculum requires an integration of the behavioral and social science principles in early medical education. We developed and delivered a four-week course entitled "LifeStages" to the first year medical students. The learning objectives of the bio-behavioral and social science principles along with the cultural, economic, political, and ethical parameters were integrated across the lifespan in the curriculum matrix. We focused on the following major domains: Growth and Brain Development; Sexuality, Hormones and Gender; Sleep; Cognitive and Emotional Development; Mobility, Exercise, Injury and Safety; Nutrition, Diet and Lifestyle; Stress and coping skills, Domestic Violence; Substance Use Disorders; Pain, Illness and Suffering; End of Life, Ethics and Death along with Intergenerational issues and Family Dynamics. Collaboration from the clinical and biomedical science departments led to the dynamic delivery of the course learning objectives and content. The faculty developed and led a scholarly discussion, using the case of a multi-racial, multi-generational family during Active Learning Group (ALG) sessions. The assessment in the LifeStages course involved multiple assessment tools: including the holistic assessment by the faculty facilitator inside ALGs, a Team-Based Learning (TBL) exercise, multiple choice questions and Team Work Assessment during which the students had to create a clinical case on a LifeStages domain along with the facilitators guide and learning objectives.

Online citizen science games: Opportunities for the biological sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Vickie

2014-12-01

Recent developments in digital technologies and the rise of the Internet have created new opportunities for citizen science. One of these has been the development of online citizen science games where complex research problems have been re-imagined as online multiplayer computer games. Some of the most successful examples of these can be found within the biological sciences, for example, Foldit, Phylo and EteRNA. These games offer scientists the opportunity to crowdsource research problems, and to engage with those outside the research community. Games also enable those without a background in science to make a valid contribution to research, and may also offer opportunities for informal science learning.

When Are Students Ready for Research Methods? A Curriculum Mapping Argument for the Political Science Major

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Bergbower, Matthew L.

2017-01-01

For many political science programs, research methods courses are a fundamental component of the recommended undergraduate curriculum. However, instructors and students often see these courses as the most challenging. This study explores when it is most appropriate for political science majors to enroll and pass a research methods course. The…

The Astrobiology in Secondary Classrooms (ASC) curriculum: focusing upon diverse students and teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Arino de la Rubia, Leigh S

2012-09-01

The Minority Institution Astrobiology Collaborative (MIAC) began working with the NASA Goddard Center for Astrobiology in 2003 to develop curriculum materials for high school chemistry and Earth science classes based on astrobiology concepts. The Astrobiology in Secondary Classrooms (ASC) modules emphasize interdisciplinary connections in astronomy, biology, chemistry, geoscience, physics, mathematics, and ethics through hands-on activities that address national educational standards. Field-testing of the Astrobiology in Secondary Classrooms materials occurred over three years in eight U.S. locations, each with populations that are underrepresented in the career fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Analysis of the educational research upon the high school students participating in the ASC project showed statistically significant increases in students' perceived knowledge and science reasoning. The curriculum is in its final stages, preparing for review to become a NASA educational product.

5. Conference cycle. The radiations and the Biological Sciences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balcazar G, M.; Chavez B, A.

1991-06-01

Nuclear technologies and their development have influenced many aspects of modern life. Besides used for electricity production nuclear technologies are applied in many other fields, especially in biological sciences. In genetics and molecular biology they enable research resulting in increased food production and better food preservation. Usage in material sciences lead to new varieties of plastics or improved characteristics. Nuclear applications are used in pe troleum industries and in forecasting geothermic power. Radiobiology and radiotherapy enable diagnosis and therapy of several diseases, e.g. cancer. Nuclear technologies also contribute to preserve the environment. They offer methods to analyse as well as decrease the environmental impacts. The 5. conference cyle entitled 'The Radiations and the Biological Sciences' aims to inform students of biological sciences about new nuclear technologies applied in their field of interest

Windmills by Design: Purposeful Curriculum Design to Meet Next Generation Science Standards in a 9-12 Physics Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Concannon, James; Brown, Patrick L.

2017-01-01

The "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) challenges science teachers to think beyond specific content standards when considering how to design and implement curriculum. This lesson, "Windmills by Design," is an insightful lesson in how science teachers can create and implement a cross-cutting lesson to teach the concepts…

Profile of science process skills of Preservice Biology Teacher in General Biology Course

Science.gov (United States)

Susanti, R.; Anwar, Y.; Ermayanti

2018-04-01

This study aims to obtain portrayal images of science process skills among preservice biology teacher. This research took place in Sriwijaya University and involved 41 participants. To collect the data, this study used multiple choice test comprising 40 items to measure the mastery of science process skills. The data were then analyzed in descriptive manner. The results showed that communication aspect outperfomed the other skills with that 81%; while the lowest one was identifying variables and predicting (59%). In addition, basic science process skills was 72%; whereas for integrated skills was a bit lower, 67%. In general, the capability of doing science process skills varies among preservice biology teachers.

Integrated Curriculum and Subject-based Curriculum: Achievement and Attitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Casady, Victoria

The research conducted for this mixed-method study, qualitative and quantitative, analyzed the results of an academic year-long study to determine whether the use of an integrated fourth grade curriculum would benefit student achievement in the areas of English language arts, social studies, and science more than a subject-based traditional curriculum. The research was conducted based on the international, national, and state test scores, which show a slowing or lack of growth. Through pre- and post-assessments, student questionnaires, and administrative interviews, the researcher analyzed the phenomenological experiences of the students to determine if the integrated curriculum was a beneficial restructuring of the curriculum. The research questions for this study focused on the achievement and attitudes of the students in the study and whether the curriculum they were taught impacted their achievement and attitudes over the course of one school year. The curricula for the study were organized to cover the current standards, where the integrated curriculum focused on connections between subject areas to help students make connections to what they are learning and the world beyond the classroom. The findings of this study indicated that utilizing the integrated curriculum could increase achievement as well as students' attitudes toward specific content areas. The ANOVA analysis for English language arts was not determined to be significant; although, greater growth in the students from the integrated curriculum setting was recorded. The ANOVA for social studies (0.05) and the paired t-tests (0.001) for science both determined significant positive differences. The qualitative analysis led to the discovery that the experiences of the students from the integrated curriculum setting were more positive. The evaluation of the data from this study led the researcher to determine that the integrated curriculum was a worthwhile endeavor to increase achievement and attitudes

The experimental teaching reform in biochemistry and molecular biology for undergraduate students in Peking University Health Science Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiaohan; Sun, Luyang; Zhao, Ying; Yi, Xia; Zhu, Bin; Wang, Pu; Lin, Hong; Ni, Juhua

2015-01-01

Since 2010, second-year undergraduate students of an eight-year training program leading to a Doctor of Medicine degree or Doctor of Philosophy degree in Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) have been required to enter the "Innovative talent training project." During that time, the students joined a research lab and participated in some original research work. There is a critical educational need to prepare these students for the increasing accessibility of research experience. The redesigned experimental curriculum of biochemistry and molecular biology was developed to fulfill such a requirement, which keeps two original biochemistry experiments (Gel filtration and Enzyme kinetics) and adds a new two-experiment component called "Analysis of anti-tumor drug induced apoptosis." The additional component, also known as the "project-oriented experiment" or the "comprehensive experiment," consists of Western blotting and a DNA laddering assay to assess the effects of etoposide (VP16) on the apoptosis signaling pathways. This reformed laboratory teaching system aims to enhance the participating students overall understanding of important biological research techniques and the instrumentation involved, and to foster a better understanding of the research process all within a classroom setting. Student feedback indicated that the updated curriculum helped them improve their operational and self-learning capability, and helped to increase their understanding of theoretical knowledge and actual research processes, which laid the groundwork for their future research work. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Incorporating nanoscale science and technology into secondary school curriculum: Views of nano-trained science teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antti Laherto

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The growing societal significance of nanoscience and nanotechnology (NST entails needs for addressing these topics in school curricula. This study lays groundwork for responding to those needs in Finland. The purpose was to analyse the appropriateness of NST for secondary school curriculum contents. First, a week-long in-service teacher training course was arranged on content knowledge of NST. After attending the course, 23 experienced science teachers were surveyed regarding their views on the educational significance of these issues, and on prospects for including them into the curriculum. A questionnaire with open-ended questions was used. Qualitative content analysis of the responses revealed that the respondents considered NST as desirable contents for secondary school, but arranging instruction is problematic. The teachers emphasised the educational significance of many applications, scientific principles and ethical issues related to NST. The outcomes are discussed with reference to recent studies on teachers’ barriers and educational concerns regarding NST.

Mapping Physical Sciences Teachers' Concerns Regarding the New Curriculum in South Africa

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Gudyanga, Remeredzayi; Jita, Loyiso C.

2018-01-01

This article reports on a study investigating physical sciences teachers' stages of concern (SoC) profiles during the implementation of the curriculum and assessment policy statement (CAPS) in South Africa. Throughout reform implementation, it is conceivable that teachers go through different SoC, ranging from giving low priority to the reform…

An approach to teaching general chemistry II that highlights the interdisciplinary nature of science.

Science.gov (United States)

Sumter, Takita Felder; Owens, Patrick M

2011-01-01

The need for a revised curriculum within the life sciences has been well-established. One strategy to improve student preparation in the life sciences is to redesign introductory courses like biology, chemistry, and physics so that they better reflect their disciplinary interdependence. We describe a medically relevant, context-based approach to teaching second semester general chemistry that demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of biology and chemistry. Our innovative method provides a model in which disciplinary barriers are diminished early in the undergraduate science curriculum. The course is divided into three principle educational modules: 1) Fundamentals of General Chemistry, 2) Medical Approaches to Inflammation, and 3) Neuroscience as a connector of chemistry, biology, and psychology. We accurately anticipated that this modified approach to teaching general chemistry would enhance student interest in chemistry and bridge the perceived gaps between biology and chemistry. The course serves as a template for context-based, interdisciplinary teaching that lays the foundation needed to train 21st century scientists. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Opportunities in Biological Sciences; [VGM Career Horizons Series].

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, Charles A.

This book provides job descriptions and discusses career opportunities in various fields of the biological sciences. These fields include: (1) biotechnology, genetics, biomedical engineering, microbiology, mycology, systematic biology, marine and aquatic biology, botany, plant physiology, plant pathology, ecology, and wildlife biology; (2) the…

INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE: A CURRICULUM APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André A. G. Bianco

2007-05-01

Full Text Available International and national institutions concerned with higher education recommendthe inclusion in curriculum of strategies to promote development of aditional skills thentraditionals memorazing habilities and contents reproduction. Between this, specialattention is given to stimulating the critical capacitie. To develop this skills, was given aproject, included into the Biochemistry discipline, with freshmen students in the Nutritioncourse of the Saúde Pública College of USP. The project consisted into the scientificarticles analysis and in the elaboration of research projects at the Scientific Initiation level.The first part presented the way how Science is divulged and the second, the mold that thescientific knowledge is generated. All activities was always conducted by activecommunication strategy. The general goal was bring near the students of scientificproceedings, contribute to developed scientific attitude, that is to say, critical sense. Theproceeding was evaluated by quantitative methods (questionnaire and qualitative(interview with differents participant and the results point for a significative increase ofknowledge of scientific job and a developed of yerned skills.

The role of project-based learning in the "Political and social sciences of the environment" curriculum at Nijmegen University

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leroy, P.; Bosch, van den H.; Ligthart, S.S.H.

2001-01-01

Since the end of 1996, teachers at the Faculty of Policy Sciences at Nijmegen University, The Netherlands, have been working on a new educational programme called "Political and Social Sciences of the Environment" (PSSE). In fact, the PSSE curriculum builds on the Environmental Policy Sciences

Associate in science degree education programs: organization, structure, and curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Galvin, William F

2005-09-01

After years of discussion, debate, and study, the respiratory care curriculum has evolved to a minimum of an associate degree for entry into practice. Although programs are at liberty to offer the entry-level or advanced level associate degree, most are at the advanced level. The most popular site for sponsorship of the associate degree in respiratory care is the community college. The basis for community college sponsorship seems to be its comprehensive curriculum, which focuses on a strong academic foundation in writing, communication, and the basic sciences as well as supporting a career-directed focus in respiratory care. Issues facing the community college are tied to literacy, outcomes, assessment, placement,cooperation with the community, partnerships with industry, and articulation arrangements with granting institutions granting baccalaureate degrees. Community colleges must produce a literate graduate capable of thriving in an information-saturated society. Assessment and placement will intensify as the laissez-faire attitudes toward attendance and allowing students to select courses without any accountability and evaluation of outcome become less acceptable. Students will be required to demonstrate steady progress toward established outcomes. Maintaining relations and cooperation with the local community and the health care industry will continue to be a prominent role for the community college. The challenge facing associate degree education in respiratory care at the community college level is the ability to continue to meet the needs of an expanding professional scope of practice and to provide a strong liberal arts or general education core curriculum. The needs for a more demanding and expanding respiratory care curriculum and for a rich general education core curriculum have led to increased interest in baccalaureate and graduate degree education. The value of associate degree education at the community college level is well established. It is

Coordinating an IPLS class with a biology curriculum: NEXUS/Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Redish, Edward

2014-03-01

A multi-disciplinary team of scientists has been reinventing the Introductory Physics for Life Scientists (IPLS) course at the University of Maryland. We focus on physics that connects elements common to the curriculum for all life scientists - molecular and cellular biology - with building general scientific competencies, such as mathematical modeling, reasoning from core principles, and multi-representation translation. The prerequisites for the class include calculus, chemistry, and biology. In addition to building the basic ideas of the Newtonian framework, electric currents, and optics, our prerequisites allow us to include topics such as atomic interactions and chemical bonding, random motion and diffusion, thermodynamics (including entropy and free energy), and spectroscopy. Our chemical bonding unit helps students link the view of energy developed in traditional macroscopic physics with the idea of chemical bonding as a source of energy presented in their chemistry and biology classes. Education research has played a central role in our design, as has a strong collaboration between our Discipline-Based Education and the Biophysics Research groups. These elements permit us to combine modern pedagogy with cutting-edge insights into the physics of living systems. Supported in part by a grant from HHMI and the US NSF grant #1122818/.

Curriculum Package: Elementary Science Lessons. [A Visit to the Louisville, Kentucky Airports: Standiford and Bowman Fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Squires, Frances H.

This science curriculum was written for teachers of children in the elementary grades. It contains science activities for the following lessons: (1) Whirly Birds and the Concept of Lift; (2) Parachutes; (3) Weather Vanes; (4) Paper Airplanes; (5) Flying an Airplane; (6) Jet Engine; (7) Identifying Flying Objects; (8) It's a Bird! It's a Plane; (9)…

Exploring Ivorian Perspectives on the Effectiveness of the Current Ivorian Science Curriculum in Addressing Issues Related to HIV/AIDS

Science.gov (United States)

Ado, Gustave Firmin

2014-01-01

School-based HIV/AIDS science education has the potential to impact students when integrated into the science curriculum. However, this mixed method study shows that school-based HIV/AIDS science education is often not infused into career subjects such as science education but integrated into civics education and taught by teachers who lack the…

An Approach to Teaching General Chemistry II that Highlights the Interdisciplinary Nature of Science*,†

Science.gov (United States)

Sumter, Takita Felder; Owens, Patrick M.

2012-01-01

The need for a revised curriculum within the life sciences has been well-established. One strategy to improve student preparation in the life sciences is to redesign introductory courses like biology, chemistry, and physics so that they better reflect their disciplinary interdependence. We describe a medically relevant, context-based approach to teaching second semester general chemistry that demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of biology and chemistry. Our innovative method provides a model in which disciplinary barriers are diminished early in the undergraduate science curriculum. The course is divided into three principle educational modules: 1) Fundamentals of General Chemistry, 2) Medical Approaches to Inflammation, and 3) Neuroscience as a connector of chemistry, biology, and psychology. We accurately anticipated that this modified approach to teaching general chemistry would enhance student interest in chemistry and bridge the perceived gaps between biology and chemistry. The course serves as a template for context-based, interdisciplinary teaching that lays the foundation needed to train 21st century scientists. PMID:21445902

How a science methods course may influence the curriculum decisions of preservice teachers in the Bahamas

Science.gov (United States)

Wisdom, Sonya L.

The purpose of this study was to examine how a science methods course in primary education might influence the curriculum decisions of preservice teachers in The Bahamas related to unit plan development on environmental science topics. Grounded in a social constructivist theoretical framework for teaching and learning science, this study explored the development of the confidence and competence of six preservice teachers to teach environmental science topics at the primary school level. A qualitative case study using action research methodologies was conducted. The perspectives of preservice teachers about the relevancy of methods used in a science methods course were examined as I became more reflective about my practice. Using constant comparative analysis, data from student-written documents and interviews as well as my field notes from class observations and reflective journaling were analyzed for emerging patterns and themes. Findings of the study indicated that while preservice teachers showed a slight increase in interest regarding learning and teaching environmental science, their primary focus during the course was learning effective teaching strategies in science on topics with which they already had familiarity. Simultaneously, I gained a deeper understanding of the usefulness of reflection in my practice. As a contribution to the complexity of learning to teach science at the primary school level, this study suggests some issues for consideration as preservice teachers are supported to utilize more of the national primary science curriculum in The Bahamas.

Establishing Enabling Conditions to Develop Critical Thinking Skills: A Case of Innovative Curriculum Design in Environmental Science

Science.gov (United States)

Belluigi, Dina Zoe; Cundill, Georgina

2017-01-01

This paper considers a curriculum design motivated by a desire to explore more valid pedagogical approaches that foster critical thinking skills among students engaged in an Environmental Science course in South Africa, focussing specifically on the topic of Citizen Science. Fifty-three under graduate students were involved in the course, which…

Designing a Deeply Digital Science Curriculum: Supporting Teacher Learning and Implementation with Organizing Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Leary, Heather; Severance, Samuel; Penuel, William R.; Quigley, David; Sumner, Tamara; Devaul, Holly

2016-01-01

This paper examines the impacts of technology (e.g., Chromebooks, Google Drive) on teacher learning and student activity in the development and implementation of a deeply digital high school biology unit. Using design-based implementation research, teachers co-designed with researchers and curriculum specialists a student-centered unit aligned to…

Biological science in conservation

Science.gov (United States)

David M. Johns

2000-01-01

Large-scale wildlands reserve systems offer one of the best hopes for slowing, if not reversing, the loss of biodiversity and wilderness. Establishing such reserves requires both sound biology and effective advocacy. Attempts by The Wildlands Project and its cooperators to meld science and advocacy in the service of conservation is working, but is not without some...

Evolution: Its Treatment in K-12 State Science Curriculum Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Lerner, L. S.

2001-12-01

State standards are the basis upon which states and local schools build curricula. Usually taking the form of lists of what students are expected to learn at specified grades or clusters of grades, they influence statewide examinations, textbooks, teacher education and credentialing, and other areas in which states typically exercise control over local curriculum development. State science standards vary very widely in overall quality.1,2 This is especially true in their treatment of evolution, both in the life sciences and to a somewhat lesser extent in geology and astronomy. Not surprisingly, a detailed evaluation of the treatment of evolution in state science standards3 has evoked considerably more public interest than the preceding studies of overall quality. We here consider the following questions: What constitutes a good treatment of evolution in science standards and how does one evaluate the standards? Which states have done well, and which less well? What nonscientific influences have been brought to bear on standards, for what reasons, and by whom? What strategies have been used to obscure or distort the role of evolution as the central organizing principle of the historical sciences? What are the effects of such distortions on students' overall understanding of science? What can the scientific community do to assure the publication of good science standards and to counteract attacks on good science teaching? 1. Lerner, L. S., State Science Standards: An Appraisal of Science Standards in 36 States, The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, Washington, D.C., March 1998. 2. Lerner, L. S. et al ., The State of State Standards 2000, ibid., January 2000. 3. Lerner, L. S., Good Science, Bad Science: Teaching Evolution In the States, ibid., September 2000.

Design of a social constructivism-based curriculum for primary science education in Confucian heritage culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vu Thu Hang, N.

2014-01-01

This study is about the application of social constructivism in primary science curriculum in Confucian heritage culture. It was found that the implementation of social constructivism in Confucian heritage culture was low and influenced by cultural divergences between Confucian cultural philosophy

Science Academies' Refresher Course in Developmental Biology

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 20; Issue 8. Science Academies' Refresher Course in Developmental Biology. Information and Announcements Volume 20 Issue 8 August 2015 pp 756-756. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

A comparative analysis of South African Life Sciences and Biology ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study reports on the analysis of South African Life Sciences and Biology textbooks for the inclusion of the nature of science using a conceptual framework developed by Chiappetta, Fillman and Sethna (1991). In particular, we investigated the differences between the representation of the nature of science in Biology ...

Evolution of a Human Ecology Curriculum from Home Economics: A Proposal for High Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Lunneborg, Patricia W.

Proposed is the development of an ecology curriculum at the secondary school level by home economics instructors in conjunction with teachers in biology, health, social science, etc. To combat the decline in enrollment in home economics and the complaint of irrelevance of traditional cooking and sewing courses, home economics teachers are urged to…

Supports and Concerns for Teacher Professional Growth During the Implementation of a Science Curriculum Innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Peers, Cheryl (Shelley) E.; Diezmann, Carmel M.; Watters, James J.

2003-02-01

Internationally, considerable reform in science education is occurring which promotes constructivist philosophies and advocates constructivist-inspired pedagogical strategies that are new to many teachers. This paper reports on the supporting factors necessary for teacher professional growth and the issues of concern that were evident during one primary teacher''s successful implementation of a unit of work based on a draft of a new state-wide science syllabus which proposes such approaches. One researcher (CEP) provided guidance during the writing and implementation of the unit through professional development workshops complemented by ongoing collegial support. The analysis of the teacher''s practice reveals that professional growth required a willingness of the teacher to engage with change and modify his professional practice. The support factors for teacher growth consisted of an appropriate program of professional development, teacher understanding of the elements of the curriculum innovation, and successful experiences in implementing new approaches. In contrast, the issues of concern were: the adequacy of support for planning including the time required to understand the innovation and make changes to teaching practice; science equipment; teacher knowledge; classroom management strategies; and ways to cope with change. Understanding of these support factors and issues of concern is vital for the successful implementation of science curriculum innovations.

Does the nature of science influence college students' learning of biological evolution?

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Wilbert, Jr.

. Assertion 4: A change in students' understanding of evolution does not necessitate a change in students' acceptance of evolution. The results showed that students engaged in explicit and reflective NOS specific instruction significantly improved their understanding of NOS concepts and the understanding of evolution. However, there was not a significant change in acceptance of evolution related to the change in understanding. These results demonstrate that the nature of science instruction plays an important role in the teaching and learning of biological evolution. Nevertheless, this NOS instruction must be explicit and reflective in nature. Students that engage explicitly and reflectively on specific tenets of NOS not only developed a better understanding of the NOS aspects but also a better understanding of biological evolution. Therefore, science teachers in elementary, middle, secondary and post-secondary education should consider implementing an explicit, reflective approach to the nature of science into their science curriculum not only for teaching evolution but for other controversial topics as well. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Transformative Multicultural Science curriculum: A case study of middle school robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Grimes, Mary Katheryn

Multicultural Science has been a topic of research and discourse over the past several years. However, most of the literature concerning this topic (or paradigm) has centered on programs in tribal or Indigenous schools. Under the framework of instructional congruence, this case study explored how elementary and middle school students in a culturally diverse charter school responded to a Multicultural Science program. Furthermore, this research sought to better understand the dynamics of teaching and learning strategies used within the paradigm of Multicultural Science. The school's Robotics class, a class typically stereotyped as fitting within the misconceptions associated with the Western Modern Science paradigm, was the center of this case study. A triangulation of data consisted of class observations throughout two semesters; pre and post student science attitude surveys; and interviews with individual students, Robotic student teams, the Robotics class instructor, and school administration. Three themes emerged from the data that conceptualized the influence of a Multicultural Science curriculum with ethnically diverse students in a charter school's Robotics class. Results included the students' perceptions of a connection between science (i.e., Robotics) and their personal lives, a positive growth in the students' attitude toward science (and engineering), and a sense of personal empowerment toward being successful in science. However, also evident in the findings were the students' stereotypical attitudes toward science (and scientists) and their lack of understanding of the Nature of Science. Implications from this study include suggestions toward the development of Multicultural Science curricula in public schools. Modifications in university science methods courses to include the Multicultural Science paradigm are also suggested.

A Radiation Laboratory Curriculum Development at Western Kentucky University

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barzilov, Alexander P.; Novikov, Ivan S.; Womble, Phil C.

2009-01-01

We present the latest developments for the radiation laboratory curriculum at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Western Kentucky University. During the last decade, the Applied Physics Institute (API) at WKU accumulated various equipment for radiation experimentation. This includes various neutron sources (computer controlled d-t and d-d neutron generators, and isotopic 252 Cf and PuBe sources), the set of gamma sources with various intensities, gamma detectors with various energy resolutions (NaI, BGO, GSO, LaBr and HPGe) and the 2.5-MeV Van de Graaff particle accelerator. XRF and XRD apparatuses are also available for students and members at the API. This equipment is currently used in numerous scientific and teaching activities. Members of the API also developed a set of laboratory activities for undergraduate students taking classes from the physics curriculum (Nuclear Physics, Atomic Physics, and Radiation Biophysics). Our goal is to develop a set of radiation laboratories, which will strengthen the curriculum of physics, chemistry, geology, biology, and environmental science at WKU. The teaching and research activities are integrated into real-world projects and hands-on activities to engage students. The proposed experiments and their relevance to the modern status of physical science are discussed.

An exploration of the science teaching orientations of Indian science teachers in the context of curriculum reform

Science.gov (United States)

Nargund-Joshi, Vanashri

This study explores the concepts and behaviors, otherwise referred to as orientations, of six Indian science teachers and the alignment of these orientations to the 2005 India National Curriculum Framework (NCF-2005). Differences in teachers' orientations across grade bands (elementary, middle, and secondary) and school types (public versus private) are also examined to determine how contextual factors may influence this alignment. First, a content analysis of the NCF-2005 was completed to identify the overarching principles of the NCF-2005 and goals specific to the teaching and learning of science. Interviews with school principals were also analyzed to understand how the goals of NCF-2005 were communicated to schools and teachers. Together, these data sources served to answer research question one. Next, profiles were created based on three interviews with each teacher and several observations of their teaching. These profiles provide a point of reference for answering the remaining three research questions. Findings include teacher's orientations falling along a continuum from traditionalist in nature to inquiry/constructivist in nature. Stark contrasts were found between traditionalist orientations and the goals of NCF-2005, with much of this contrast due to the limited pedagogical content knowledge these teachers have regarding students' scientific thinking, curriculum design, instructional strategies, and assessment. Inquiry/constructivist teachers' orientations, while more in line with reform, still have a few key areas of pedagogical content knowledge needing attention (e.g., knowledge of assessment and a variety of purposes for constructivist instructional strategies). In response to the final research question, several contextual factors contributed to teachers' orientations including environmental constraints, such as limited resources and large class sizes, cultural testing pressures, and limited accessibility to professional development. Suggestions

The Respon of IKIP BUDI UTOMO Students Toward the Instructional Book of Cell Biology Subject Aided by Interactive Multimedia

OpenAIRE

Hartati, Tri Asih Wahyu; Safitri, Dini

2017-01-01

The development of Science and Technology (Science and Technology) takes place very rapidly. The development of science and technology will impact on graduate competency changes desired by the industry. This change of course will be followed by updating the curriculum, learning resources and teaching materials are used, one of them teaching materials on the subjects of Cell Biology. In the course of Cell Biology, the students only take textbooks without the support of interactive multimedia. ...

How do the high school biology textbooks introduce the nature of science?

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Young H.

2007-05-01

Although helping students to achieve an adequate understanding of the nature of science has been a consistent goal for science education for over half a century, current research reveals that the majority of students and teachers have naive views of the nature of science (Abd-El-khalick & Akerson, 2004; Bianchini & Colburn, 2000). This problem could be attributed not only to the complex nature of science, but also to the way the nature of science is presented to students during instruction. Thus, research must be conducted to examine how the science is taught, especially in science textbooks, which are a major instructional resource for teaching science. The aim of this study was to conduct a content analysis of the first chapter of four high school biology textbooks, which typically discusses "What is science?" and "What is biology?" This research used a content analysis technique to analyze the four high school biology textbooks, using a conceptual framework that has been used often for science textbook analysis. This conceptual framework consists of four themes of the nature of science: (a) science as a body of knowledge, (b) science as a way of thinking, (c) science as a way of investigating, and (d) the interaction of science, technology, and society. For this study, the four-theme-framework was modified to incorporate descriptors from national-level documents, such as Science for All Americans (AAAS, 1990) Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993) and the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996), as well as science education research reports. A scoring procedure was used that resulted in good to excellent intercoder agreement with Cohen's kappa (k) ranging from .63 to .96. The findings show that the patterns of presentation of the four themes of the nature of science in the four high school biology textbooks are similar across the different locations of data, text, figures, and assessments. On the other hand, the pattern of presentation of the four

The role of project‐based learning in the “Political and Social Sciences of the Environment” curriculum at Nijmegen University

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leroy, P.; Ligthart, S.S.H.; Bosch, H. van den

2001-01-01

Since the end of 1996, teachers at the Faculty of Policy Sciences at Nijmegen University, The Netherlands, have been working on a new educational programme called “Political and Social Sciences of the Environment” (PSSE). In fact, the PSSE curriculum builds on the Environmental Policy Sciences

Fort Collins Science Center- Policy Analysis and Science Assistance Branch : Integrating social, behavioral, economic and biological sciences

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

The Fort Collins Science Center's Policy Analysis and Science Assistance (PASA) Branch is a team of approximately 22 scientists, technicians, and graduate student researchers. PASA provides unique capabilities in the U.S. Geological Survey by leading projects that integrate social, behavioral, economic, and biological analyses in the context of human-natural resource interactions. Resource planners, managers, and policymakers in the U.S. Departments of the Interior (DOI) and Agriculture (USDA), State and local agencies, as well as international agencies use information from PASA studies to make informed natural resource management and policy decisions. PASA scientists' primary functions are to conduct both theoretical and applied social science research, provide technical assistance, and offer training to advance performance in policy relevant research areas. Management and research issues associated with human-resource interactions typically occur in a unique context, involve difficult to access populations, require knowledge of both natural/biological science in addition to social science, and require the skill to integrate multiple science disciplines. In response to these difficult contexts, PASA researchers apply traditional and state-of-the-art social science methods drawing from the fields of sociology, demography, economics, political science, communications, social-psychology, and applied industrial organization psychology. Social science methods work in concert with our rangeland/agricultural management, wildlife, ecology, and biology capabilities. The goal of PASA's research is to enhance natural resource management, agency functions, policies, and decision-making. Our research is organized into four broad areas of study.

Executing and teaching science---The breast cancer genetics and technology-rich curriculum professional development studies of a science educator

Science.gov (United States)

Wragg, Regina E.

This dissertation presents my explorations in both molecular biology and science education research. In study one, we determined the ADIPOQ and ADIPORI genotypes of 364 White and 148 Black BrCa patients and used dominant model univariate logistic regression analyses to determine individual SNP and haplotype associations with tumor or patient characteristics in a case-case comparison. We found twelve associations between individual SNPs and patient or tumor characteristics that impact BrCa prognosis. For example, the ADIPOQ rs1501299 C allele was associated with ER+ tumors (OR=4.73, p=0.001) among White women >50 years of age at their time of diagnosis. Also, the A allele was more frequent in the Black patient population among whom more aggressive subtypes are common. Similarly, the ADIPORI rs12733285 T allele was associated with both PR+ and ER+ tumors. (OR=2.18 p=0.001; OR=1.88 p=0.019, respectively). Our data suggest that several polymorphisms individually or as specific ADIPOQ and ADIPOR1 haplotypes are associated with tumor characteristics that impact prognosis in BrCa patients. Thus, genotyping additional groups of patients for these SNPs could offer insight into the involvement of adiponectin signaling allele variance in BrCa outcomes. In our second study, we examined 1) how teachers' beliefs about themselves and their students influence the fidelity of implementation of their enactment of a technology-rich curriculum, and 2) how professional development support during the enactment leads to changes in teacher beliefs. From the analysis of two teachers' experiences through interviews, surveys, journal entries, and video recordings of their enactments, several different themes were identified. For example, teachers' beliefs regarding students' ability to learn using the curriculum influenced the fidelity of implementation and student learning. These observations led to the development of a model of professional development that would promote faithful

Women are underrepresented in computational biology: An analysis of the scholarly literature in biology, computer science and computational biology.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin S Bonham

2017-10-01

Full Text Available While women are generally underrepresented in STEM fields, there are noticeable differences between fields. For instance, the gender ratio in biology is more balanced than in computer science. We were interested in how this difference is reflected in the interdisciplinary field of computational/quantitative biology. To this end, we examined the proportion of female authors in publications from the PubMed and arXiv databases. There are fewer female authors on research papers in computational biology, as compared to biology in general. This is true across authorship position, year, and journal impact factor. A comparison with arXiv shows that quantitative biology papers have a higher ratio of female authors than computer science papers, placing computational biology in between its two parent fields in terms of gender representation. Both in biology and in computational biology, a female last author increases the probability of other authors on the paper being female, pointing to a potential role of female PIs in influencing the gender balance.

Women are underrepresented in computational biology: An analysis of the scholarly literature in biology, computer science and computational biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonham, Kevin S; Stefan, Melanie I

2017-10-01

While women are generally underrepresented in STEM fields, there are noticeable differences between fields. For instance, the gender ratio in biology is more balanced than in computer science. We were interested in how this difference is reflected in the interdisciplinary field of computational/quantitative biology. To this end, we examined the proportion of female authors in publications from the PubMed and arXiv databases. There are fewer female authors on research papers in computational biology, as compared to biology in general. This is true across authorship position, year, and journal impact factor. A comparison with arXiv shows that quantitative biology papers have a higher ratio of female authors than computer science papers, placing computational biology in between its two parent fields in terms of gender representation. Both in biology and in computational biology, a female last author increases the probability of other authors on the paper being female, pointing to a potential role of female PIs in influencing the gender balance.

Symposium on the Nature of Science—Streaming Video Archive

Science.gov (United States)

Oddone – Welcome Mark Ratner – Nano 201: A Gentle Introduction to Nanotechnology and Nanoscience Marsha Physical Sciences Neil Kelleher – How a Chemist Needs Computer Science, Biology, and Engineering to Push – Incorporating Nanotechnology into the Curriculum (streamed session not available) Rich Marvin – Using

The Biome Project: Developing a Legitimate Parallel Curriculum for Physical Education and Life Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Hastie, Peter Andrew

2013-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe the outcomes of a parallel curriculum project between life sciences and physical education. Throughout a 6-week period, students in grades two through five became members of teams that represented different animal species and biomes, and concurrently participated in a season of gymnastics skills and…

Probing the Natural World, Level III, Student Guide: Investigating Variation. Intermediate Science Curriculum Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonar, John R., Ed.; Hathway, James A., Ed.

This is the student's text of one unit of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) for level III students (grade 9). This unit focuses on diversity in human populations, measurement, and data collection. Numerous activities are given and optional excursions encourage students to pursue a topic in greater depth. Data tables within the…

Biological design in science classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Eugenie C.; Matzke, Nicholas J.

2007-01-01

Although evolutionary biology is replete with explanations for complex biological structures, scientists concerned about evolution education have been forced to confront “intelligent design” (ID), which rejects a natural origin for biological complexity. The content of ID is a subset of the claims made by the older “creation science” movement. Both creationist views contend that highly complex biological adaptations and even organisms categorically cannot result from natural causes but require a supernatural creative agent. Historically, ID arose from efforts to produce a form of creationism that would be less vulnerable to legal challenges and that would not overtly rely upon biblical literalism. Scientists do not use ID to explain nature, but because it has support from outside the scientific community, ID is nonetheless contributing substantially to a long-standing assault on the integrity of science education. PMID:17494747

Exploring the role of curriculum materials to support teachers in science education reform

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Rebecca M.

2001-07-01

For curriculum materials to succeed in promoting large-scale science education reform, teacher learning must be supported. Materials were designed to reflect desired reforms and to be educative by including detailed lesson descriptions that addressed necessary content, pedagogy, and pedagogical content knowledge for teachers. The goal of this research was to describe how such materials contributed to classroom practices. As part of an urban systemic reform effort, four middle school teachers' initial enactment of an inquiry-based science unit on force and motion were videotaped. Enactments focused on five lesson sequences containing experiences with phenomena, investigation, technology use, or artifact development. Each sequence spanned three to five days across the 10-week unit. For each lesson sequence, intended and actual enactment were compared using ratings of (1) accuracy and completeness of science ideas presented, (2) amount student learning opportunities, similarity of learning opportunities with those intended, and quality of adaptations , and (3) amount of instructional supports offered, appropriateness of instructional supports and source of ideas for instructional supports. Ratings indicated two teachers' enactments were consistent with intentions and two teachers' enactments were not. The first two were in school contexts supportive of the reform. They purposefully used the materials to guide enactment, which tended to be consistent with standards-based reform. They provided students opportunities to use technology tools, design investigations, and discuss ideas. However, enactment ratings were less reflective of curriculum intent when challenges were greatest, such as when teachers attempted to present challenging science ideas, respond to students' ideas, structure investigations, guide small-group discussions, or make adaptations. Moreover, enactment ratings were less consistent in parts of lessons where materials did not include lesson specific

Analytical Chemistry at the Interface Between Materials Science and Biology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Brien, Janese C. [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2000-09-21

Likedlessentid sciences, anal~cd chetis~continues toreinvent itself. Moving beyond its traditional roles of identification and quantification, analytical chemistry is now expanding its frontiers into areas previously reserved to other disciplines. This work describes several research efforts that lie at the new interfaces between analytical chemistry and two of these disciplines, namely materials science and biology. In the materials science realm, the search for new materials that may have useful or unique chromatographic properties motivated the synthesis and characterization of electrically conductive sol-gels. In the biology realm, the search for new surface fabrication schemes that would permit or even improve the detection of specific biological reactions motivated the design of miniaturized biological arrays. Collectively, this work represents some of analytical chemistry’s newest forays into these disciplines. The introduction section to this dissertation provides a literature review on several of the key aspects of this work. In advance of the materials science discussion, a brief introduction into electrochemically-modulated liquid chromatography (EMLC) and sol-gel chemistry is provided. In advance of the biological discussions, brief overviews of scanning force microscopy (SFM) and the oxidative chemistry used to construct our biological arrays are provided. This section is followed by four chapters, each of which is presented as a separate manuscript, and focuses on work that describes some of our cross-disciplinary efforts within materials science and biology. This dissertation concludes with a general summary and future prospectus.

Inquiry-based laboratory investigations and student performance on standardized tests in biological science

Science.gov (United States)

Patke, Usha

Achievement data from the 3rd International Mathematics and Sciences Study and Program for International Student Assessment in science have indicated that Black students from economically disadvantaged families underachieve at alarming rates in comparison to White and economically advantaged peer groups. The study site was a predominately Black, urban school district experiencing underachievement. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between students' use of inquiry-based laboratory investigations and their performance on the Biology End of Course Test, as well as to examine the relationship while partialling out the effects of student gender. Constructivist theory formed the theoretical foundation of the study. Students' perceived levels of experience with inquiry-based laboratory investigations were measured using the Laboratory Program Variable Inventory (LPVI) survey. LPVI scores of 256 students were correlated with test scores and were examined by student gender. The Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a small direct correlation between students' experience in inquiry-based laboratory investigation classes and standardized test scores on the Biology EOCT. A partial correlational analysis indicated that the correlation remained after controlling for gender. This study may prompt a change from teacher-centered to student-centered pedagogy at the local site in order to increase academic achievement for all students. The results of this study may also influence administrators and policy makers to initiate local, state, or nationwide curricular development. A change in curriculum may promote social change as students become more competent, and more able, to succeed in life beyond secondary school.

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences: Editorial ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences (IJBCS) is a journal ... IJBCS publishes original research papers, critical up-to-date and concise ... Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio ...

Exploring the Associations among Nutrition, Science, and Mathematics Knowledge for an Integrative, Food-Based Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Stage, Virginia C.; Kolasa, Kathryn M.; Díaz, Sebastián R.; Duffrin, Melani W.

2018-01-01

Background: Explore associations between nutrition, science, and mathematics knowledge to provide evidence that integrating food/nutrition education in the fourth-grade curriculum may support gains in academic knowledge. Methods: Secondary analysis of a quasi-experimental study. Sample included 438 students in 34 fourth-grade classrooms across…

Interacting with a Suite of Educative Features: Elementary Science Teachers' Use of Educative Curriculum Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Arias, Anna Maria; Bismack, Amber Schultz; Davis, Elizabeth A.; Palincsar, Annemarie Sullivan

2016-01-01

New reform documents underscore the importance of learning both the practices and content of science. This integration of practices and content requires sophisticated teaching that does not often happen in elementary classrooms. Educative curriculum materials--materials explicitly designed to support teacher and student learning--have been posited…

Integration of Cognitive Skills as a Cross-Cutting Theme Into the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum at Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akbar Soltani

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, improvement of thinking skills of students is one of the universally supported aims in the majority of medical schools. This study aims to design longitudinal theme of reasoning, problem-solving and decision-making into the undergraduate medical curriculum at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS. A participatory approach was applied to design the curriculum during 2009-2011. The project was conducted by the contribution of representatives of both basic and clinical faculty members, students and graduates at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The first step toward integrating cognitive skills into the curriculum was to assemble a taskforce of different faculty and students, including a wide variety of fields with multidisciplinary expertise using nonprobability sampling and the snowball method. Several meetings with the contribution of experts and some medical students were held to generate the draft of expected outcomes. Subsequently, the taskforce also determined what content would fit best into each phase of the program and what teaching and assessment methods would be more appropriate for each outcome. After a pilot curriculum with a small group of second-year medical students, we implemented this program for all first-year students since 2011 at TUMS. Based on findings, the teaching of four areas, including scientific and critical thinking skills (Basic sciences, problem-solving and reasoning (Pathophysiology, evidence-based medicine (Clerkship, and clinical decision-making (Internship were considered in the form of a longitudinal theme. The results of this study could be utilized as a useful pattern for integration of psycho-social subjects into the medical curriculum.

Interdisciplinary didactics alternative from the biological sciences with the professional practice disciplines in physical culture career of Pinar del Río

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Idelfonso Javiqué-Leal

2013-12-01

Full Text Available When we applied alternatives and working algorism to put into practice the knowledge in the different subjects during the instructive- learning process it is important the exclusion of all empirical level in the teaching contents. The Biological science in essence constitutes a subject in the specific basic formation aimed to the integration of the future professional in the physical Culture majoring which has an important influence on the rest of the subjects that are part of the curriculum .In the present work we can show the results of one of the tasks corresponding to the research project related to the didactic changes in the Biological sciences subject, derived from the difficulties found in the teaching process. The authors give an approximation of how to deal with the different components in the teaching leaning- process with concrete results on the base theoretical and empiric methods. They give a work alternative to establish basic concepts with the didactic of the Physical education and sport showing advance evidences in the didactic order giving a high level of work in this subject.

Ethics Instruction in Library and Information Science: The Role of "Ethics across the Curriculum"

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Smith, Bernie Todd

2010-01-01

Ethics is an important element of most graduate professional training programs. In the field of Library and Information Science (LIS) the inclusion of ethics in the curriculum is supported by a position paper by library educators and is monitored in the accreditation of graduate programs. Despite the many LIS programs which claim to integrate…

Probing the Natural World, Level III, Teacher's Edition: Investigating Variation. Intermediate Science Curriculum Study.

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Bonar, John R., Ed.; Hathway, James A., Ed.

This is the teacher's edition of one of the eight units of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) for level III students (grade 9). This unit focuses on diversity in human populations, measurement, and data collection. Optional excursions are described for students who wish to study a topic in greater depth. An introduction describes…

Probing the Natural World, Level III, Student Guide: What's Up? Intermediate Science Curriculum Study.

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Bonar, John R., Ed.; Hathway, James A., Ed.

This is the student's text of one unit of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) for level III students (grade 9). The chapters contain basic information about rockets, space, and principles of physics, as well as activities related to the subject and optional excursions. A section of introductory notes to the student discusses how the…

Science learning motivation as correlate of students’ academic performances

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Libao, Nhorvien Jay P.; Sagun, Jessie John B.; Tamangan, Elvira A.; Pattalitan, Agaton P.; Dupa, Maria Elena D.; Bautista, Romiro Gordo

2016-01-01

This study was designed to analyze the relationship of students’ learning motivation and their academic performances in science. The study made use of 21 junior and senior Biological Science students to conclude on the formulated research problems. The respondents had a good to very good motivation in learning science. In general, the extent of their motivation do not vary across their sex, age, and curriculum year. Moreover, the respondents had good academic performances in science. Aptly, e...

Developments and departures in the philosophy of soil science

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Traditional soil science curriculums provide comprehensive instruction on soil properties, soil classification, and the physical, chemical, and biological processes that occur in soils. This reductionist perspective is sometimes balanced with a more holistic perspective that focuses on soils as natu...

Lessons learned from curriculum changes and setting curriculum objectives at the University of Pennsylvania's Earth and Environmental Science Department

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Dmochowski, J. E.

2009-12-01

Recent restructuring of the University of Pennsylvania’s curriculum, including a revised multi-disciplinary Environmental Studies major and a proposed Environmental Science major has led to several changes, including a mandatory junior research seminar. Feedback from students indicates that a more structured curriculum has helped guide them through the multi-disciplinary Environmental Studies major. The addition of mandatory courses in Statistics, Geographical and Environmental Modeling, as well as Economics and Policy has ensured that students have important skills needed to succeed after graduation. We have compiled a curriculum objective matrix to clarify both the broad and focused objectives of our curriculum and how each course helps to fulfill these objectives. An important aspect of both majors is the Senior Thesis. The junior research seminar was recently revised to help students prepare for their thesis research. Topic selection, library research, data presentation, basic research methods, advisor identification, and funding options are discussed. Throughout the course, faculty from within the department lecture about their research and highlight opportunities for undergraduates. In one assignment, students are given a few types of datasets and asked to present the data and error analysis in various formats using different software (SPSS and Excel). The final paper was a research proposal outlining the student’s Senior Thesis. Based on both the university and instructor written course evaluations, students felt they benefited most from writing their senior thesis proposal; doing assignments on data analysis, library research and critical analysis; and the faculty research lectures. The lessons learned in restructuring this flexible major and providing a research seminar in the junior year may benefit other departments considering such changes.

Exploring shifts in the characteristics of US government-funded science curriculum materials and their (unintended) consequences

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Pareja Roblin, Natalie; Schunn, Christian; Bernstein, Debra; McKenney, Susan

2018-01-01

Grant-funded curriculum development efforts can substantially impact practice and research in science education. Therefore, understanding the sometimes-unintended consequences of changes in grant priorities is crucial. Using the case of two large funding agencies in the United States, the current

Crop and Soil Science. A Curriculum Guide for Idaho Vocational Agriculture Instructors. Volume 1 and Volume 2.

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Ledington, Richard L.

The 24 units that comprise this crop and soil science curriculum guide are not geared to a particular age level and must be adapted to the students for whom they are used. Units 1 through 6 are general units covering topics common to soil science. Units 7 through 24 are units covering topics common to crop production. Each unit includes objectives…

The academic qualification of sexual education in biological science at IFRO Campus Colorado Do Oeste/RO

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Juliana Negrello Rossarolla

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This article gives evidence of results in an initial training offered to the students from the seventh semestre in Biological Sciences course at the Federal Institute in Education, Science and Technology of Rondônia - IFRO - CampusColoradodo Oeste. This activity was developed during the IX Environmental Week, an event that took place at Campus in June, 2016. During the activity, the academics in Biological Sciences course carried out mini-courses in which was approached the subject of human sexuality for four classes from the first year students in Agricultural Technical Course integrated to High School. After completing the activities of Sexual Education that dealt with some topics such as: early sexual initiation, STIs (sexually transmitted infections, homophobia, sexual harassment, media exposure, gender difference, contraceptive methods, among others and after all the data were collected. For that, the students answered a questionnaire about the subject on sexuality, the contributions of this practice is in order to discuss situations related to the subject. After the analysis, was checked a great relevance of the theme proposed for the initial qualification of academics in order to them approach the subject in a significant way to teenagers who attend the schools in which these academics will be able to develop their activities. It was checked out that students from the Agricultural Course integrated to High School who was developing the course have a very restricted index of information about the subject that was handled it. This can be a reality that reaches many young people who attend the Basic Education in many Brazilian schools. On the other hand, the information obtained gave the academics and teachers from the Biological Sciences Course moments of reflection about the inclusion of contents that contemplate this subject in the school curriculum of Basic Education and of the higher course that they attend, as well as the need of a

Th unnatural order of things: A history of the high school science sequence

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Robbins, Dennis M.

Historical studies of US high school science education are rare. This study examines the historical origins of a unique characteristic of the secondary science curriculum, the Biology-Chemistry-Physics (B-C-P) order of courses. Statements from scientists, educators and the media claim that B-C-P has been the traditional curriculum sequence for over a century and can be traced back to the influential educational commission known as the Committee of Ten (CoT) of 1893. This study examines the history of the ordering of high school science subjects over the last 150 years. The reports and primary documents of important national educational commissions, such as the CoT, were searched for their recommendations on secondary science, particularly on course ordering. These recommendations were then compared to national, state and local statistical data on subject offerings and student enrollments to measure the effect of these national commissions on school policy. This study concludes that the Committee of Ten did not create B-P-C. The CoT made six recommendations, five placed Chemistry before Physics (P-C). One recommendation for C-P met with strong disagreement because it was thought an illogical order. Biology as a "uniform" course did not exist at this time and so the CoT made no recommendations for its grade placement. Statistical data shows that B-C-P evolved over many decades. From 1860 up to 1920 most schools used a P-C curriculum believing Physics was a foundational prerequisite of Chemistry. Biology was introduced in the early 1900s and it assumed a position before the physical sciences. Through the 1920s Chemistry and Physics were placed equally likely in 11th or 12 th grades and Biology was in the 10th grade. After World War II, B-C-P became the dominant pattern, exhibited in over 90% of schools. But up to this point in time no educational body or national commission had recommended B-C-P. The Biology-Chemistry-Physics order of courses is a product of many

Basic mathematics for the biological and social sciences

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Marriott, F H C

2013-01-01

Basic Mathematics for the Biological and Social Sciences deals with the applications of basic mathematics in the biological and social sciences. Mathematical concepts that are discussed in this book include graphical methods, differentiation, trigonometrical or circular functions, limits and convergence, integration, vectors, and differential equations. The exponential function and related functions are also considered. This monograph is comprised of 11 chapters and begins with an overview of basic algebra, followed by an introduction to infinitesimal calculus, scalar and vector quantities, co

Into the Curriculum. Interdisciplinary: Celebrating Our Animal Friends: An Across-the-Curriculum Unit for Middle Level Students [and] Music: Program Notes [and] Reading-Language Arts: Letters: Written, Licked, and Stamped [and] Science: Plants in Families [and] Science: Physics and Holiday Toys (Gravity) [and] Social Studies: Learning about Geography through Children's Literature.

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Gillen, Rose; And Others

1995-01-01

Presents six curriculum guides for elementary and secondary education. Subjects include interdisciplinary instruction, music, reading/language arts, science, and social studies. Each guide provides library media skills objectives, curriculum objectives, grade levels, resources, instructional roles, activity and procedures for completion, a…

Attitudes among students and teachers on vertical integration between clinical medicine and basic science within a problem-based undergraduate medical curriculum.

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Brynhildsen, J; Dahle, L O; Behrbohm Fallsberg, M; Rundquist, I; Hammar, M

2002-05-01

Important elements in the curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping are vertical integration, i.e. integration between the clinical and basic science sections of the curriculum, and horizontal integration between different subject areas. Integration throughout the whole curriculum is time-consuming for both teachers and students and hard work is required for planning, organization and execution. The aim was to assess the importance of vertical and horizontal integration in an undergraduate medical curriculum, according to opinions among students and teachers. In a questionnaire 102 faculty teachers and 106 students were asked about the importance of 14 different components of the undergraduate medical curriculum including vertical and horizontal integration. They were asked to assign between one and six points to each component (6 points = extremely important for the quality of the curriculum; 1 point = unimportant). Students as well as teachers appreciated highly both forms of integration. Students scored horizontal integration slightly but significantly higher than the teachers (median 6 vs 5 points; p=0.009, Mann-Whitney U-test), whereas teachers scored vertical integration higher than students (6 vs 5; p=0.019, Mann-Whitney U-test). Both students and teachers considered horizontal and vertical integration to be highly important components of the undergraduate medical programme. We believe both kinds of integration support problem-based learning and stimulate deep and lifelong learning and suggest that integration should always be considered deeply when a new curriculum is planned for undergraduate medical education.

Paths through interpretive territory: Two teachers' enactment of a technology-rich, inquiry-fostering science curriculum

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McDonald, Scott Powell

New understandings about how people learn and constructivist pedagogy pose challenges for teachers. Science teachers face an additional challenge of developing inquiry-based pedagogy to foster complex reasoning skills. Theory provides only fuzzy guidance as to how constructivist or inquiry pedagogy can be accomplished in a wide variety of contexts and local constraints. This study contributes to the understanding of the development of constructivist, inquiry-based pedagogy by addressing the question: How do teachers interpret and enact a technology-rich, inquiry fostering science curricula for fifth grade students' biodiversity learning? This research is a case study of two teachers chosen as critical contrasting cases and represent differences across multiple criteria including: urban I suburban, teaching philosophy, and content preparation. The two fifth grade teachers each enacted BioKIDS: Kids' Inquiry in Diverse Species, an eight week curriculum focused on biodiversity. BioKIDS incorporates multiple learning technologies to support student learning including handheld computer software designed to help students collect field data, and a web-based resource for data on local animal species. The results of this study indicate there are tensions teachers must struggle with when setting goals during enactment of inquiry science curricula. They must find a balance between an emphasis on authentic learning and authentic science, and between natural history and natural science. Authentic learning focuses on students' interests and lives; Authentic science focuses on students working with the tools and processes of science. Natural history focuses on the foundational skills in science of observation and classification. Natural science focuses on analytical science drawing on data to develop claims about the world. These two key tensions in teachers' goal setting were critical in defining and understanding differences in how teachers interpreted a curriculum to meet

S.A.P. Students Adopt Plants: A Curriculum Guide for Independent Research Projects in High School Biology.

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Wilkinson, Gayle A.

This curriculum guide begins with classroom and text study of plants and develops into an individual research project that continues throughout the school year outside the regular biology or botany teaching plan and text. The project uses about one class period every 2 weeks for group discussions, evaluations, and suggestions for the individual…

Using EarthLabs to Enhance Earth Science Curriculum in Texas

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Chegwidden, D. M.; Ellins, K. K.; Haddad, N.; Ledley, T. S.

2012-12-01

As an educator in Texas, a state that values and supports an Earth Science curriculum, I find it essential to educate my students who are our future voting citizens and tax payers. It is important to equip them with tools to understand and solve the challenges of solving of climate change. As informed citizens, students can help to educate others in the community with basic knowledge of weather and climate. They can also help to dispose of the many misconceptions that surround the climate change, which is perceived as a controversial topic. As a participant in a NSF-sponsored Texas Earth and Space (TXESS) Revolution teacher professional development program, I was selected to participate in a curriculum development project led by TERC to develop and test education resources for the EarthLabs climate literacy collection. I am involved in the multiple phases of the project, including reviewing labs that comprise the Climate, Weather and Biosphere module during the development phase, pilot teaching the module with my students, participating in research, and delivering professional development to other Texas teachers to expose them to the content found in the module and to encourage them to incorporate it into their teaching. The Climate, Weather and the Biosphere module emphasizes different forms of evidence and requires that learners apply different inquiry-based approaches to build the knowledge they need to develop as climate literate citizens. My involvement with the EarthLabs project has strengthened my overall knowledge and confidence to teach about Earth's climate system and climate change. In addition, the project has produced vigorous classroom discussion among my students as well as encouraged me to collaborate with other educators through our delivery of professional development to other teachers. In my poster, I will share my experiences, describe the impact the curriculum has made on my students, and report on challenges and valuable lessons gained by

Network science of biological systems at different scales: A review

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Gosak, Marko; Markovič, Rene; Dolenšek, Jurij; Slak Rupnik, Marjan; Marhl, Marko; Stožer, Andraž; Perc, Matjaž

2018-03-01

Network science is today established as a backbone for description of structure and function of various physical, chemical, biological, technological, and social systems. Here we review recent advances in the study of complex biological systems that were inspired and enabled by methods of network science. First, we present

The MORPG-Based Learning System for Multiple Courses: A Case Study on Computer Science Curriculum

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Liu, Kuo-Yu

2015-01-01

This study aimed at developing a Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game-based (MORPG) Learning system which enabled instructors to construct a game scenario and manage sharable and reusable learning content for multiple courses. It used the curriculum of "Introduction to Computer Science" as a study case to assess students' learning…

Effects of a Research-Infused Botanical Curriculum on Undergraduates’ Content Knowledge, STEM Competencies, and Attitudes toward Plant Sciences

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Clarke, H. David; Horton, Jonathan L.

2014-01-01

In response to the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education initiative, we infused authentic, plant-based research into majors’ courses at a public liberal arts university. Faculty members designed a financially sustainable pedagogical approach, utilizing vertically integrated curricular modules based on undergraduate researchers’ field and laboratory projects. Our goals were to 1) teach botanical concepts, from cells to ecosystems; 2) strengthen competencies in statistical analysis and scientific writing; 3) pique plant science interest; and 4) allow all undergraduates to contribute to genuine research. Our series of inquiry-centered exercises mitigated potential faculty barriers to adopting research-rich curricula, facilitating teaching/research balance by gathering publishable scholarly data during laboratory class periods. Student competencies were assessed with pre- and postcourse quizzes and rubric-graded papers, and attitudes were evaluated with pre- and postcourse surveys. Our revised curriculum increased students’ knowledge and awareness of plant science topics, improved scientific writing, enhanced statistical knowledge, and boosted interest in conducting research. More than 300 classroom students have participated in our program, and data generated from these modules’ assessment allowed faculty and students to present 28 contributed talks or posters and publish three papers in 4 yr. Future steps include analyzing the effects of repeated module exposure on student learning and creating a regional consortium to increase our project's pedagogical impact. PMID:25185223

A Portable Bioinformatics Course for Upper-Division Undergraduate Curriculum in Sciences

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Floraino, Wely B.

2008-01-01

This article discusses the challenges that bioinformatics education is facing and describes a bioinformatics course that is successfully taught at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, to the fourth year undergraduate students in biological sciences, chemistry, and computer science. Information on lecture and computer practice…

Paleo Biology, Bones: Clues to Mankind's Past. [Aids to Individualize the Teaching of Science, Mini-Course Units.

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Owens, Janet

This booklet, one of a series developed by the Frederick County Board of Education, Frederick, Maryland, provides an instruction module for an individualized or flexible approach to secondary science teaching. Subjects and activities in this series of booklets are designed to supplement a basic curriculum or to form a total curriculum, and relate…

Teaching Tree Thinking in an Upper Level Organismal Biology Course: Testing the Effectiveness of a Multifaceted Curriculum

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Novick, Laura R.; Catley, Kefyn M.

2018-01-01

The ability to interpret and reason from Tree of Life diagrams is a key component of twenty-first century science literacy. This article reports on the authors' continued development of a multifaceted research-based curriculum--including an instructional booklet, lectures, laboratories and a field activity--to teach such tree thinking to biology…

Developing a competency-based medical education curriculum for the core basic medical sciences in an African Medical School

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Olopade FE

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Funmilayo Eniola Olopade,1 Oluwatosin Adekunle Adaramoye,2 Yinusa Raji,3 Abiodun Olubayo Fasola,4 Emiola Oluwabunmi Olapade-Olaopa5 1Department of Anatomy, 2Department of Biochemistry, 3Department of Physiology, 4Department of Oral Pathology, 5Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria Abstract: The College of Medicine of the University of Ibadan recently revised its MBBS and BDS curricula to a competency-based medical education method of instruction. This paper reports the process of revising the methods of instruction and assessment in the core basic medical sciences directed at producing medical and dental graduates with a sound knowledge of the subjects sufficient for medical and dental practice and for future postgraduate efforts in the field or related disciplines. The health needs of the community and views of stakeholders in the Ibadan medical and dental schools were determined, and the “old” curriculum was reviewed. This process was directed at identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the old curricula and the newer competences required for modern-day medical/dental practice. The admission criteria and processes and the learning methods of the students were also studied. At the end of the review, an integrated, system-based, community-oriented, person-centered, and competency-driven curriculum was produced and approved for implementation. Four sets of students have been admitted into the curriculum. There have been challenges to the implementation process, but these have been overcome by continuous faculty development and reorientation programs for the nonteaching staff and students. Two sets of students have crossed over to the clinical school, and the consensus among the clinical teachers is that their knowledge and application of the basic medical sciences are satisfactory. The Ibadan medical and dental schools are implementing their competency-based medical education curricula

Life sciences space biology project planning

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Primeaux, G.; Newkirk, K.; Miller, L.; Lewis, G.; Michaud, R.

1988-01-01

The Life Sciences Space Biology (LSSB) research will explore the effect of microgravity on humans, including the physiological, clinical, and sociological implications of space flight and the readaptations upon return to earth. Physiological anomalies from past U.S. space flights will be used in planning the LSSB project.The planning effort integrates science and engineering. Other goals of the LSSB project include the provision of macroscopic view of the earth's biosphere, and the development of spinoff technology for application on earth.

Interdisciplinary Climate Change Curriculum Materials based on the Next Generation Science Standards and The Earth Charter

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Barbosa, A.; Robertson, W. H.

2013-12-01

In the 2012, the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies' reported that one of the major issues associated with the development of climate change curriculum was the lack of interdisciplinary materials that also promoted a correlation between science standards and content. Therefore, in order to respond to this need, our group has developed an interdisciplinary climate change curriculum that has had as its fundamental basis the alignment with the guidelines presented by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the ones presented by the international document entitled The Earth Charter. In this regards, while the alignment with NGSS disciplinary core ideas, cross-concepts and students' expectations intended to fulfill the need for the development of climate change curriculum activities that were directly associated with the appropriate set of NGSS guidelines, the alignment with The Earth Charter document intended to reinforce the need the for the integration of sociological, philosophical and intercultural analysis of the theme 'climate change'. Additionally, our curriculum was also developed as part of a collaborative project between climate scientists and engineers, who are responsible for the development of a Regional Arctic Simulation Model (RASM). Hence, another important curriculum constituent was the feedback, suggestions and reviews provided by these professionals, who have also contributed to these pedagogical materials' scientific accuracy by facilitating the integration of datasets and visualizations developed by RASM. Furthermore, our group has developed a climate change curriculum for two types of audience: high school and early undergraduate students. Each curriculum unit is divided into modules and each module contains a set of lesson plans. The topics selected to compose each unit and module were designated according to the surveys conducted with scientists and engineers involved with the development of the climate change

Effect of Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning on Non-majors Biology Students' Understanding of Biological Classification

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Wozniak, Breann M.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of process-oriented guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) on non-majors college biology students' understanding of biological classification. This study addressed an area of science instruction, POGIL in the non-majors college biology laboratory, which has yet to be qualitatively and quantitatively researched. A concurrent triangulation mixed methods approach was used. Students' understanding of biological classification was measured in two areas: scores on pre and posttests (consisting of 11 multiple choice questions), and conceptions of classification as elicited in pre and post interviews and instructor reflections. Participants were Minnesota State University, Mankato students enrolled in BIOL 100 Summer Session. One section was taught with the traditional curriculum (n = 6) and the other section in the POGIL curriculum (n = 10) developed by the researcher. Three students from each section were selected to take part in pre and post interviews. There were no significant differences within each teaching method (p familiar animal categories and aquatic habitats, unfamiliar organisms, combining and subdividing initial groupings, and the hierarchical nature of classification. The POGIL students were the only group to surpass these challenges after the teaching intervention. This study shows that POGIL is an effective technique at eliciting students' misconceptions, and addressing these misconceptions, leading to an increase in student understanding of biological classification.

Considerations of multicultural science and curriculum reform: A content analysis of state-adopted biology textbooks in Florida

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Delgato, Margaret H.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the extent to which multicultural science education, including indigenous knowledge representations, had been infused within the content of high school biology textbooks. The study evaluated the textbook as an instructional tool and framework for multicultural science education instruction by comparing the mainstream content to indigenous knowledge perspectives portrayed in the student and teacher editions of 34 textbooks adopted in Florida within the last four adoption cycles occurring from 1990 to 2006. The investigation involved a content analysis framed from a mixed methods approach. Emphasis was placed, in consideration of the research questions and practicality of interpreting text with the potential for multiple meanings, within qualitative methods. The investigation incorporated five strategies to assess the extent of multicultural content: (1) calculation of frequency of indigenous representations through the use of a tally; (2) assessment of content in the teacher editions by coding the degree of incorporation of multicultural content; (3) development of an archaeology of statements to determine the ways in which indigenous representations were incorporated into the content; (4) use of the Evaluation Coefficient Analysis (ECO) to determine extent of multicultural terminologies within content; and (5) analysis of visuals and illustrations to gauge percentages of depictions of minority groups. Results indicated no solid trend in an increase of inclusion of multicultural content over the last four adoption cycles. Efforts at most reduced the inclusion of indigenous representations and other multicultural content to the level of the teacher edition distributed among the teacher-interleafed pages or as annotations in the margins. Degree of support of multicultural content to the specific goals and objectives remained limited across all four of the adoption cycles represented in the study. Emphasis on

Engineering the curriculum: Towards an adaptive curriculum

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Johns-Boast, Lynette Frances

The curriculum is one of the most important artefacts produced by higher education institutions, yet it is one of the least studied. Additionally, little is known about the decision-making of academics when designing and developing their curricula, nor how they make use of them. This research investigates how 22 Australian higher education engineering, software engineering, computer science, and information systems academics conceive of curriculum, what approaches they take when designing, and developing course and program curricula, and what use they make of the curriculum. It also considers the implications of these conceptions and behaviour upon their curricula. Data were collected through a series of one-to-one, in-depth, qualitative interviews as well as small focus group sessions and were analysed following Charmaz’ (2006) approach to grounded theory. In this thesis, I argue that the development of curricula for new higher degree programs and courses and / or the updating and innovating of an existing curriculum is a design problem. I also argue that curriculum is a complex adaptive system. Surrounding the design and development of a curriculum is a process of design that leads to the creation of a designed object - the official-curriculum. The official-curriculum provides the guiding principles for its implementation, which involves the design and development of the curriculum-in-use, its delivery, and evaluation. Data show that while the participants conceive of curriculum as a problem of design involving a design process leading to the development of the official-curriculum, surprisingly, their behaviour does not match their conceptions. Over a very short period, their behaviour leads to a process I have called curriculum drift where the official-curriculum and the curriculum-in-use drift away from each other causing the curriculum to lose its integrity. Curricular integrity is characterised through the attributes of alignment, coherence, and

A Comparative Analysis of South African Life Sciences and Biology Textbooks for Inclusion of the Nature of Science

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Ramnarain, Umesh; Padayachee, Keshni

2015-01-01

This study reports on the analysis of South African Life Sciences and Biology textbooks for the inclusion of the nature of science using a conceptual framework developed by Chiappetta, Fillman and Sethna (1991). In particular, we investigated the differences between the representation of the nature of science in Biology textbooks that were written…

Do Facilitate, Don’t Demonstrate: Meaningful Engagement for Science Outreach

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Gelderman, Richard

2017-01-01

We are encouraged to hand over the learning experience to the students who must do the learning. After the 1957 launch of Sputnik it seemed that learning by discovery would replace lectures and other forms of learning by rote. The innovative Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC), Chemical Education Materials Study (ChEMS), and Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) provided teachers with hands-on, activity-based curriculum materials emphasizing problem solving, process skills, and creativity. Our current reforms, based on the Next Generation Science Standards, stress that learner-centered strategies need to become commonplace throughout the classrooms of our formal education system. In this presentation, we share tips on how to double check your style of interactions for science outreach, to ensure the audience is working with a facilitator rather than simply enjoying an expert’s entertaining demonstration.

Saving our science from ourselves: the plight of biological classification

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Malte C. Ebach

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Saving our science from ourselves: the plight of biological classification. Biological classification ( nomenclature, taxonomy, and systematics is being sold short. The desire for new technologies, faster and cheaper taxonomic descriptions, identifications, and revisions is symptomatic of a lack of appreciation and understanding of classification. The problem of gadget-driven science, a lack of best practice and the inability to accept classification as a descriptive and empirical science are discussed. The worst cases scenario is a future in which classifications are purely artificial and uninformative.

Curriculum Package: Junior High - Middle School Science Lessons. [A Visit to the Louisville, Kentucky Airports: Standiford and Bowman Fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Squires, Frances H.

This science curriculum was written for teachers of children in junior high or middle school. It contains science activities for the following lessons: (1) Anemometers and Wind Speed; (2) Up! Up! and Away; (3) Jet Lag--Time Zones; (4) Inventors; (5) Model Rocketry; (6) Geometry and Kites; and (7) Super Savers. In lesson one, students construct an…

Biological and Physical Space Research Laboratory 2002 Science Review

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Curreri, P. A. (Editor); Robinson, M. B. (Editor); Murphy, K. L. (Editor)

2003-01-01

With the International Space Station Program approaching core complete, our NASA Headquarters sponsor, the new Code U Enterprise, Biological and Physical Research, is shifting its research emphasis from purely fundamental microgravity and biological sciences to strategic research aimed at enabling human missions beyond Earth orbit. Although we anticipate supporting microgravity research on the ISS for some time to come, our laboratory has been vigorously engaged in developing these new strategic research areas.This Technical Memorandum documents the internal science research at our laboratory as presented in a review to Dr. Ann Whitaker, MSFC Science Director, in July 2002. These presentations have been revised and updated as appropriate for this report. It provides a snapshot of the internal science capability of our laboratory as an aid to other NASA organizations and the external scientific community.

Test of Science Process Skills of Biology Students towards Developing of Learning Exercises

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Judith S. Rabacal

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This is a descriptive study aimed to determine the academic achievement on science process skills of the BS Biology Students of Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology, Philippines with the end view of developing learning exercises which will enhance their academic achievement on basic and integrated science process skills. The data in this study were obtained using a validated questionnaire. Mean was the statistical tool used to determine the academic achievement on the above mentioned science process skills; t-test for independent means was used to determine significant difference on the academic achievement of science process skills of BS Biology students while Pearson Product Moment of Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the significant relationship between basic and integrated science process skills of the BS Biology students. A 0.05 level of significance was used to determine whether the hypothesis set in the study will be rejected or accepted. Findings revealed that the academic achievement on basic and integrated science process skills of the BS Biology students was average. Findings revealed that there are no significant differences on the academic performance of the BS Biology students when grouped according to year level and gender. Findings also revealed that there is a significant difference on the academic achievement between basic and integrated science process skills of the BS Biology students. Findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between academic achievement on the basic and integrated science process skills of the BS Biology students.

The Impact of High School Science Teachers' Beliefs, Curricular Enactments and Experience on Student Learning during an Inquiry-Based Urban Ecology Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

McNeill, Katherine L.; Pimentel, Diane Silva; Strauss, Eric G.

2013-01-01

Inquiry-based curricula are an essential tool for reforming science education yet the role of the teacher is often overlooked in terms of the impact of the curriculum on student achievement. Our research focuses on 22 teachers' use of a year-long high school urban ecology curriculum and how teachers' self-efficacy, instructional practices,…

A Study of Changes in the Library and Information Science Curriculum with Evaluation of Its Practicality

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Noh, Younghee; Ahn, In-Ja; Choi, Sang-Ki

2012-01-01

Purpose: This study analyzed the process of changes in Korean Library and Information Science curriculum and evaluated the courses currently available by using a perception survey of librarians in the field. It also explored a possible demand for new courses, while suggesting compulsory, core, and optional courses for Bachelor's degree curriculum…

Designing Computer-Supported Complex Systems Curricula for the Next Generation Science Standards in High School Science Classrooms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan A. Yoon

2016-12-01

Full Text Available We present a curriculum and instruction framework for computer-supported teaching and learning about complex systems in high school science classrooms. This work responds to a need in K-12 science education research and practice for the articulation of design features for classroom instruction that can address the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS recently launched in the USA. We outline the features of the framework, including curricular relevance, cognitively rich pedagogies, computational tools for teaching and learning, and the development of content expertise, and provide examples of how the framework is translated into practice. We follow this up with evidence from a preliminary study conducted with 10 teachers and 361 students, aimed at understanding the extent to which students learned from the activities. Results demonstrated gains in students’ complex systems understanding and biology content knowledge. In interviews, students identified influences of various aspects of the curriculum and instruction framework on their learning.

Founders' Weekend. North Country Workshop on Science, Technology and the Undergraduate Curriculum. Proceedings (Potsdam, New York, November 9-10, 1984).

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State Univ. of New York, Potsdam. Coll. at Potsdam.

Proceedings of the North Country Workshop on Science, Technology, and the Undergraduate Curriculum are presented. The Sloan Foundation's call for reform of the liberal arts and coverage of mathematics, science, and technology is noted in welcoming remarks by State University of New York, Potsdam, President Humphrey Tonkin. Stephen H. Cutcliffe…

The Relationship in Biology between the Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry

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Kremer, Kerstin; Specht, Christiane; Urhahne, Detlef; Mayer, Jürgen

2014-01-01

Informed understandings of nature of science and scientific inquiry are generally accepted goals of biology education. This article points out central features of scientific inquiry with relation to biology and the nature of science in general terms and focuses on the relationship of students' inquiry skills in biology and their beliefs on the…

Mapping and sequencing the human genome: Science, ethics, and public policy. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McInerney, J.D.

1993-03-31

Development of Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy followed the standard process of curriculum development at the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), the process is described. The production of this module was a collaborative effort between BSCS and the American Medical Association (AMA). Appendix A contains a copy of the module. Copies of reports sent to the Department of Energy (DOE) during the development process are contained in Appendix B; all reports should be on file at DOE. Appendix B also contains copies of status reports submitted to the BSCS Board of Directors.

Experience in the United States with a secondary resource curriculum on ''Science, society and America's nuclear waste''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, G.P.

1994-01-01

The nuclear power and nuclear waste situation in the Usa, is first reviewed. In order to enhance information concerning these topics among pupils and teachers, a resource curriculum, 'Science, society, and America's Nuclear Waste', was developed by teachers for teachers; it consists of four units: nuclear waste, ionizing radiation, the nuclear waste policy act, and the waste management system. It has been well received by teachers. Within nine months after its national introduction, 350000 teacher and student curriculum documents were requested by teachers from all 50 states. Requests have been also received from 250 foreign colleges and universities

Epistemological Predictors of Prospective Biology Teachers' Nature of Science Understandings

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Köseoglu, Pinar; Köksal, Mustafa Serdar

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate epistemological predictors of nature of science understandings of 281 prospective biology teachers surveyed using the Epistemological Beliefs Scale Regarding Science and the Nature of Science Scale. The findings on multiple linear regression showed that understandings about definition of science and…

S.E.A. Lab. Science Experiments and Activities. Marine Science for High School Students in Chemistry, Biology and Physics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Kathy, Ed.

A series of science experiments and activities designed for secondary school students taking biology, chemistry, physics, physical science or marine science courses are outlined. Each of the three major sections--chemistry, biology, and physics--addresses concepts that are generally covered in those courses but incorporates aspects of marine…

A Look at the Relationship of Curriculum and Instruction and the Art and Science of Teaching

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Flake, Lee Hatch

2017-01-01

The definition of instruction and curriculum may take on different meanings based on the purpose or interpretation whether political, social, or educational. Teaching effectively requires the skill of a knowledgeable and experienced educator. Teaching can be convincingly debated as being an art or a science or defined collectively as an art and a…

Neo-Liberal Individualism and a New Essentialism: A Comparison of Two Australian Curriculum Documents

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Smith, Dorothy V.

2011-01-01

This article explores a significant shift in the science curriculum in Victoria, Australia, in the mid-1990s by using the idea of essentialism to compare two science curriculum documents that span the shift. The accounts given in these documents of desirable approaches to teaching science, science itself and the proper scope of curriculum, are…

From Fertilization to Birth: Representing Development in High School Biology Textbooks

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Wellner, Karen L.

Biology textbooks are everybody's business. In accepting the view that texts are created with specific social goals in mind, I examined 127 twentieth-century high school biology textbooks for representations of animal development. Paragraphs and visual representations were coded and placed in one of four scientific literacy categories: descriptive, investigative, nature of science, and human embryos, technology, and society (HETS). I then interpreted how embryos and fetuses have been socially constructed for students. I also examined the use of Haeckel's embryo drawings to support recapitulation and evolutionary theory. Textbooks revealed that publication of Haeckel's drawings was influenced by evolutionists and anti-evolutionists in the 1930s, 1960s, and the 1990s. Haeckel's embryos continue to persist in textbooks because they "safely" illustrate similarities between embryos and are rarely discussed in enough detail to understand comparative embryology's role in the support of evolution. Certain events coincided with changes in how embryos were presented: (a) the growth of the American Medical Association (AMA) and an increase in birth rates (1950s); (b) the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) and public acceptance of birth control methods (1960s); (c) Roe vs. Wade (1973); (d) in vitro fertilization and Lennart Nilsson's photographs (1970s); (e) prenatal technology and fetocentrism (1980s); and (f) genetic engineering and Science-Technology-Society (STS) curriculum (1980s and 1990s). By the end of the twentieth century, changing conceptions, research practices, and technologies all combined to transform the nature of biological development. Human embryos went from a highly descriptive, static, and private object to that of sometimes contentious public figure. I contend that an ignored source for helping move embryos into the public realm is schoolbooks. Throughout the 1900s, authors and publishers accomplished this by placing biology textbook embryos and

Hydrogen Technology and Energy Curriculum (HyTEC)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nagle, Barbara

2013-02-28

The Lawrence Hall of Science of the University of California, Berkeley has collaborated with scientists and engineers, a local transit agency, school districts, and a commercial curriculum publisher to develop, field-test nationally, and publish a two-week curriculum module on hydrogen and fuel cells for high school science. Key partners in this project are the Schatz Energy Research Center (SERC) of Humboldt State University, the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit), FilmSight Productions, Lab-Aids, Inc., and 32 teachers and 2,370 students in field-test classrooms in California, Connecticut, Ohio, New York, South Carolina, and Washington. Field-test teachers received two to three days of professional development before teaching the curriculum and providing feedback used for revision of the curriculum. The curriculum, titled Investigating Alternative Energy: Hydrogen and Fuel Cells and published by Lab-Aids, Inc., includes a teachers guide (with lesson plans, resources, and student handout pages), two interactive computer animations, a video, a website, and a laboratory materials kit. The project has been disseminated to over 950 teachers through awareness workshops at state, regional, and national science teacher conferences.

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences (IJBCS) is a journal ... c) Short Communication (maximum: 10 pages, 20 references). d) Case ... Abstract: All articles should be provided with an abstract not exceeding 200 words.

Why Astronomy Should BE Part of the School Curriculum

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Percy, John

Why is astronomy useful? Why should it be supported by taxpayers? Why should it be part of the school curriculum? In this paper I will list 20 reasons. They include: cultural historical and philosophical reasons; practical technological and scientific reasons; environmental aesthetic and emotional reasons; and pedagogical reasons. Astronomy can attract young people to science and technology. It can promote public awareness understanding and appreciation of science. It can be done as an inexpensive hobby; ""the stars belong to everyone"". Finally: I will connect the 20 reasons to the expectations of the modern school curriculum: knowledge skills applications and attitudes. In the context of the science curriculum this includes science technology society and environment.

Pros and cons of vertical integration between clinical medicine and basic science within a problem-based undergraduate medical curriculum: examples and experiences from Linköping, Sweden.

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Dahle, L O; Brynhildsen, J; Behrbohm Fallsberg, M; Rundquist, I; Hammar, M

2002-05-01

Problem-based learning (PBL), combined with early patient contact, multiprofessional education and emphasis on development of communications skills, has become the basis for the medical curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping (FHS), Sweden, which was started in 1986. Important elements in the curriculum are vertical integration, i.e. integration between the clinical and basic science parts of the curriculum and horizontal integration between different subject areas. This article discusses the importance of vertical integration in an undergraduate medical curriculum, according to experiences from the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping, and also give examples on how it has been implemented during the latest 15 years. Results and views put forward in published articles concerning vertical integration within undergraduate medical education are discussed in relation to the experiences in Linköping. Vertical integration between basic sciences and clinical medicine in a PBL setting has been found to stimulate profound rather than superficial learning, and thereby stimulates better understanding of important biomedical principles. Integration probably leads to better retention of knowledge and the ability to apply basic science principles in the appropriate clinical context. Integration throughout the whole curriculum entails a lot of time and work in respect of planning, organization and execution. The teachers have to be deeply involved and enthusiastic and have to cooperate over departmental borders, which may produce positive spin-off effects in teaching and research but also conflicts that have to be resolved. The authors believe vertical integration supports PBL and stimulates deep and lifelong learning.

Models for Instruction and Curriculum.

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Toth, Elizabeth L.

1999-01-01

Proposes three models of course-specific curricula and a content-curriculum model for undergraduate public-relations education, and proposes core and elective areas for a master's of public-relations curriculum. Agrees that public-relations curricula should have a broad liberal arts and science basis, and recommended more attention to ethics,…

The Integrated Early Childhood Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Krogh, Suzanne

This textbook provides an outline of an integrated curriculum for early childhood education. Part 1 discusses the human element in school: the child and the teacher and child development. Part 2 contains the curriculum itself and covers the subjects of language, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, and movement. Guidelines provide…

BioSIGHT: Interactive Visualization Modules for Science Education

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Wong, Wee Ling

1998-01-01

Redefining science education to harness emerging integrated media technologies with innovative pedagogical goals represents a unique challenge. The Integrated Media Systems Center (IMSC) is the only engineering research center in the area of multimedia and creative technologies sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The research program at IMSC is focused on developing advanced technologies that address human-computer interfaces, database management, and high- speed network capabilities. The BioSIGHT project at IMSC is a demonstration technology project in the area of education that seeks to address how such emerging multimedia technologies can make an impact on science education. The scope of this project will help solidify NASA's commitment for the development of innovative educational resources that promotes science literacy for our students and the general population as well. These issues must be addressed as NASA marches towards the goal of enabling human space exploration that requires an understanding of life sciences in space. The IMSC BioSIGHT lab was established with the purpose of developing a novel methodology that will map a high school biology curriculum into a series of interactive visualization modules that can be easily incorporated into a space biology curriculum. Fundamental concepts in general biology must be mastered in order to allow a better understanding and application for space biology. Interactive visualization is a powerful component that can capture the students' imagination, facilitate their assimilation of complex ideas, and help them develop integrated views of biology. These modules will augment the role of the teacher and will establish the value of student-centered interactivity, both in an individual setting as well as in a collaborative learning environment. Students will be able to interact with the content material, explore new challenges, and perform virtual laboratory simulations. The BioSIGHT effort is truly cross

A Bioethics Course for Biology and Science Education Students.

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Bryant, John; la Velle, Linda Baggott

2003-01-01

Points out the importance of awareness among biologists and biology teachers of the ethical and social implications of their work. Describes the bioethics module established at the University of Exeter mainly targeting students majoring in biology and science education. (Contains 18 references.) (Author/YDS)

An Examination of Science High School Students' Motivation towards Learning Biology and Their Attitude towards Biology Lessons

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Kisoglu, Mustafa

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine motivation of science high school students towards learning biology and their attitude towards biology lessons. The sample of the study consists of 564 high school students (308 females, 256 males) studying at two science high schools in Aksaray, Turkey. In the study, the relational scanning method, which is…

Evolution of the New Pathway curriculum at Harvard Medical School: the new integrated curriculum.

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Dienstag, Jules L

2011-01-01

In 1985, Harvard Medical School adopted a "New Pathway" curriculum, based on active, adult learning through problem-based, faculty-facilitated small-group tutorials designed to promote lifelong skills of self-directed learning. Despite the successful integration of clinically relevant material in basic science courses, the New Pathway goals were confined primarily to the preclinical years. In addition, the shifting balance in the delivery of health care from inpatient to ambulatory settings limited the richness of clinical education in clinical clerkships, creating obstacles for faculty in their traditional roles as teachers. In 2006, Harvard Medical School adopted a more integrated curriculum based on four principles that emerged after half a decade of self-reflection and planning: (1) integrate the teaching of basic/population science and clinical medicine throughout the entire student experience; (2) reestablish meaningful and intensive faculty-student interactions and reengage the faculty; (3) develop a new model of clinical education that offers longitudinal continuity of patient experience, cross-disciplinary curriculum, faculty mentoring, and student evaluation; and (4) provide opportunities for all students to pursue an in-depth, faculty-mentored scholarly project. These principles of our New Integrated Curriculum reflect our vision for a curriculum that fosters a partnership between students and faculty in the pursuit of scholarship and leadership.

Student teachers' views: what is an interesting Life Sciences ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In South Africa, the Grade 12 'classes of 2008 and 2009' were the first to write examinations under the revised Life Sciences (Biology) curriculum which focuses on outcomes-based education (OBE). This paper presents an exploration of what students (as learners) considered to be difficult and interesting in Grades 10–12 ...

The relevance of basic sciences in undergraduate medical education.

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Lynch, C; Grant, T; McLoughlin, P; Last, J

2016-02-01

Evolving and changing undergraduate medical curricula raise concerns that there will no longer be a place for basic sciences. National and international trends show that 5-year programmes with a pre-requisite for school chemistry are growing more prevalent. National reports in Ireland show a decline in the availability of school chemistry and physics. This observational cohort study considers if the basic sciences of physics, chemistry and biology should be a prerequisite to entering medical school, be part of the core medical curriculum or if they have a place in the practice of medicine. Comparisons of means, correlation and linear regression analysis assessed the degree of association between predictors (school and university basic sciences) and outcomes (year and degree GPA) for entrants to a 6-year Irish medical programme between 2006 and 2009 (n = 352). We found no statistically significant difference in medical programme performance between students with/without prior basic science knowledge. The Irish school exit exam and its components were mainly weak predictors of performance (-0.043 ≥ r ≤ 0.396). Success in year one of medicine, which includes a basic science curriculum, was indicative of later success (0.194 ≥ r (2) ≤ 0.534). University basic sciences were found to be more predictive than school sciences in undergraduate medical performance in our institution. The increasing emphasis of basic sciences in medical practice and the declining availability of school sciences should mandate medical schools in Ireland to consider how removing basic sciences from the curriculum might impact on future applicants.

New Biological Sciences, Sociology and Education

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Youdell, Deborah

2016-01-01

Since the Human Genome Project mapped the gene sequence, new biological sciences have been generating a raft of new knowledges about the mechanisms and functions of the molecular body. One area of work that has particular potential to speak to sociology of education, is the emerging field of epigenetics. Epigenetics moves away from the mapped…

[The 2010 curriculum of the faculty of medicine at the National University of Mexico].

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Mendiola, Melchor; Durante-Montiel, Irene; Morales-López, Sara; Lozano-Sánchez, Rogelio; Martínez-González, Adrián; Graue Wiechers, Enrique

2011-01-01

The 2010 undergraduate medical degree curriculum at the faculty of medicine of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) constitutes an important curricular reform of medical education in our country. It is the result of an institutional reflective process and academic dialog, which culminated in its approval by UNAM’s Academic Council for the Biology, Chemistry, and Health Sciences areas on February 2nd, 2010. Some distinguishing characteristics of the new academic curriculum are: organization by courses with a focus on outcome competencies; three curricular axes that link three knowledge areas; four educational phases with achievement profiles; new courses (biomedical informatics, basic-clinical and clinical-basic integration, among others); and core curriculum. The aforementioned curriculum was decided within a framework of effective teaching strategies, competency oriented learning assessment methods, restructuring of the training of teaching staff, and establishment of a curriculum committee follow-up and evaluation of the program. Curricular change in medical education is a complex process through which the institution can achieve its mission and vision. This change process faces challenges and opportunities, and requires strategic planning with long-term foresight to guarantee a successful dynamic transition for students, teachers, and for the institution itself.

Biological sciences teaching undergraduates’ environmental knowledge: a critical analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvana do Nascimento Silva

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, environmental issues have been addressed in a way that goes beyond the natural impacts, embracing socio-economic, political and cultural aspects. This paper makes a description of the types of environmental conceptions, giving special emphasis to the interactions that permeate it, and develops an empirical work by analyzing the conceptions about the environmental knowledge of students majoring in a teacher preparation course on biological sciences of a university in the State of Bahia, Brazil. In a qualitative research, data were collected by application of a questionnaire with open questions with answers in text and drawings. The results revealed a predominance of naturalistic conceptions, while socio-environmental conceptions of systemic or socio-metabolic characteristics were not found. These findings lead to the need for the integration of these critical approaches about the environmental issue in Sciences and Biology teachers’ training, emphasizing the interactions between work, nature and society. Finally, some suggestions also emerge for future research, among which to analyze the biological sciences university teachers’ environmental conceptions and an action-research with these investigated undergraduates concerning environmental critical approaches.

Deliberation as Communication Instruction: A Study of a Climate Change Deliberation in an Introductory Biology Course

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Drury, Sara A. Mehltretter

2015-01-01

The author argues that deliberation is an innovative method for teaching communication skills, particularly group communication, in the undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum. A case study using a deliberation activity on global climate change in an introductory biology course demonstrates how deliberative…

Developing and Assessing Curriculum on the Physics of Medical Instruments

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Christensen, Warren; Johnson, James K.; Van Ness, Grace R.; Mylott, Elliot; Dunlap, Justin C.; Anderson, Elizabeth A.; Widenhorn, Ralf

2013-01-01

Undergraduate educational settings often struggle to provide students with authentic biologically or medically relevant situations and problems that simultaneously improve their understanding of physics. Through exercises and laboratory activities developed in an elective Physics in Biomedicine course for upper-level biology or pre–health majors at Portland State University, we aim to teach fundamental physical concepts, such as light absorption and emission and atomic energy levels, through analysis of biological systems and medical devices. The activities address the properties of electromagnetic waves as they relate to the interaction with biological tissue and make links between physics and biomedical applications such as microscopy or laser eye surgery. We report on the effect that engaging students in tasks with actual medical equipment has had on their conceptual understanding of light and spectroscopy. These initial assessments indicate that students’ understanding improves in some areas as a result of taking the course, but gains are not uniform and are relatively low for other topics. We also find a promising “nonshift” in student attitudes toward learning science as a result of taking the course. A long-term goal of this work is to develop these materials to the extent that they can eventually be imported into an introductory curriculum for life sciences majors. PMID:23737632

Self-efficacy on Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK of Biological Science Pre-Service Teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anania B. Aquino

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The teachers are the focal figure in education and play vital roles in learning. These roles have served as key point in designing the curriculum and preparing pre-service teachers. Turning students into competent teachers is an interplay of varied factors, one of which is technology. This impact necessitates the utilization of technology in teaching, described as technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK. The study aimed to investigate TPACK self-efficacies of pre - service biological science teachers who were enrolled in two academic years at the College of Teacher Education in a state university in the Philippines. It also examined whether the responses of the two groups of respondents on TPACK self – efficacy differ and whether these self-efficacies relate to sex, electronic gadget owned and access to internet. It used the descriptive survey method of research employing a questionnaire on TPACK to collect data. The study found out that there is more female than male. Majority have electronic gadgets but have limited access to internet. Findings showed that respondents have good TPACK self – efficacy. The findings showed that the responses of the two groups of participants on TPACK self – efficacies are statistically different . Further, their self – efficacies is very slightly affected by their sex, electronic gadgets owned and access to internet. The study recommends reviewing and improving instructional practices and curriculum of the college to enhance TPACK of respondents.

Inter-level relations in computer science, biology, and psychology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boogerd, Fred; Bruggeman, Frank; Jonker, Catholijn; Looren de Jong, Huib; Tamminga, Allard; Treur, Jan; Westerhoff, Hans; Wijngaards, Wouter

2002-01-01

Investigations into inter-level relations in computer science, biology and psychology call for an *empirical* turn in the philosophy of mind. Rather than concentrate on *a priori* discussions of inter-level relations between “completed” sciences, a case is made for the actual study of the way

Inter-level relations in computer science, biology, and psychology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boogerd, F.; Bruggeman, F.; Jonker, C.M.; Looren de Jong, H.; Tamminga, A.; Treur, J.; Westerhoff, H.V.; Wijngaards, W.C.A.

2002-01-01

Investigations into inter-level relations in computer science, biology and psychology call for an empirical turn in the philosophy of mind. Rather than concentrate on a priori discussions of inter-level relations between 'completed' sciences, a case is made for the actual study of the way

Inter-level relations in computer science, biology and psychology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boogerd, F.C.; Bruggeman, F.J.; Jonker, C.M.; Looren De Jong, H.; Tamminga, A.M.; Treur, J.; Westerhoff, H.V.; Wijngaards, W.C.A.

2002-01-01

Investigations into inter-level relations in computer science, biology and psychology call for an empirical turn in the philosophy of mind. Rather than concentrate on a priori discussions of inter-level relations between "completed" sciences, a case is made for the actual study of the way

Creating Successful Campus Partnerships for Teaching Communication in Biology Courses and Labs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Susanne E; Birch, Christina

2018-01-01

Creating and teaching successful writing and communication assignments for biology undergraduate students can be challenging for faculty trying to balance the teaching of technical content. The growing body of published research and scholarship on effective teaching of writing and communication in biology can help inform such work, but there are also local resources available to support writing within biology courses that may be unfamiliar to science faculty and instructors. In this article, we discuss common on-campus resources biology faculty can make use of when incorporating writing and communication into their teaching. We present the missions, histories, and potential collaboration outcomes of three major on-campus writing resources: writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines initiatives (WAC/WID), writing programs, and writing centers. We explain some of the common misconceptions about these resources in order to help biology faculty understand their uses and limits, and we offer guiding questions faculty might ask the directors of these resources to start productive conversations. Collaboration with these resources will likely save faculty time and effort on curriculum development and, more importantly, will help biology students develop and improve their critical reading, writing, and communication skills.

Problem based learning (PBL) vs. Case based curriculum in clinical clerkship, Internal Medicine innovated Curriculum, Student prospective.

Science.gov (United States)

Aljarallah, Badr; Hassan, Mohammad Saleh

2015-04-01

The vast majority of PBL experience is in basic science courses. Application of classic Problem based learning in clerkship phase is challenging. Although the clinical case is considered a problem, yet solving this problem following the burrow's law has faced hurdles. The difficulties are facing the learner, the teacher and curricula. We implement innovative curriculum for the clerkship year in internal medicine course. We surveyed the student just before coming to an internal medicine course to ask them about continuing PBL or other types of learning in clinical years. A committee was created to study the possible ways to integrate PBL in the course. After multiple brainstorming meeting, an innovated curriculum was implemented. Student surveyed again after they completed their course. The survey is asking them about what is the effect of the implemented curriculum in their skills, attitude, and knowledge. 70% of Students, who finished their basic science in PBL, preferred not to have classical PBL, but more a clinical oriented case based curriculum in the clinical years. After this innovated curriculum, 50-60 % of students who completed it showed a positive response in all aspects of effects including skill, attitude, and knowledge. The Innovated curriculum includes daily morning report, 3 bedside teaching, investigation session, and clinical reasoning weekly, and Lectures up to twice a week. We suggest implementing a curriculum with PBL and case-based criteria in clinical phase are feasible, we are providing a framework with this innovated curriculum.

Problems and the present status of radiation educational curriculum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiroi, Tadashi; Muraishi, Yukimasa; Mikado, Shogo; Watanabe, Tomohiro

1999-01-01

To examine teaching curriculum for radiation education requires a collective and extensive consideration on various subjects from many fields. The present study has been made from 4 points of view, namely 'physics', physics experiment', 'chemistry', and 'general science'. In 'physics', a curriculum in which learning about radiation followed by learning Newtonian mechanics was examined. Some group experiments taking radiation as the subject, a curriculum including radiation and radioactivity in high school chemistry course and general science are proposed and discussed briefly. (S. Ohno)

Building confidence: an exploration of nurses undertaking a postgraduate biological science course.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Wissen, Kim; McBride-Henry, Karen

2010-01-01

This study aimed to explore the impact of studying biological science at a postgraduate level and how this impacted on nursing practice. The term biological sciences in this research encompasses elements of physiology, genetics, biochemistry and pathophysiology. A qualitative research study was designed, that involved the dissemination of a pre- and post-course semi-structured questionnaire for a biological science course, as part of a Master of Nursing programme at a New Zealand University, thus exploring the impact of undertaking a postgraduate biological sciences course. The responses were analysed into themes, based on interpretive concepts. The primary themes revealed improvement in confidence as: confidence in communication, confidence in linking nursing theoretical knowledge to practice and confidence in clinical nursing knowledge. This study highlights the need to privilege clinically-derived nursing knowledge, and that confidence in this nursing knowledge and clinical practice can be instilled through employing the model of theory-guided practice.

From darwin to the census of marine life: marine biology as big science.

Science.gov (United States)

Vermeulen, Niki

2013-01-01

With the development of the Human Genome Project, a heated debate emerged on biology becoming 'big science'. However, biology already has a long tradition of collaboration, as natural historians were part of the first collective scientific efforts: exploring the variety of life on earth. Such mappings of life still continue today, and if field biology is gradually becoming an important subject of studies into big science, research into life in the world's oceans is not taken into account yet. This paper therefore explores marine biology as big science, presenting the historical development of marine research towards the international 'Census of Marine Life' (CoML) making an inventory of life in the world's oceans. Discussing various aspects of collaboration--including size, internationalisation, research practice, technological developments, application, and public communication--I will ask if CoML still resembles traditional collaborations to collect life. While showing both continuity and change, I will argue that marine biology is a form of natural history: a specific way of working together in biology that has transformed substantially in interaction with recent developments in the life sciences and society. As a result, the paper does not only give an overview of transformations towards large scale research in marine biology, but also shines a new light on big biology, suggesting new ways to deepen the understanding of collaboration in the life sciences by distinguishing between different 'collective ways of knowing'.

From darwin to the census of marine life: marine biology as big science.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niki Vermeulen

Full Text Available With the development of the Human Genome Project, a heated debate emerged on biology becoming 'big science'. However, biology already has a long tradition of collaboration, as natural historians were part of the first collective scientific efforts: exploring the variety of life on earth. Such mappings of life still continue today, and if field biology is gradually becoming an important subject of studies into big science, research into life in the world's oceans is not taken into account yet. This paper therefore explores marine biology as big science, presenting the historical development of marine research towards the international 'Census of Marine Life' (CoML making an inventory of life in the world's oceans. Discussing various aspects of collaboration--including size, internationalisation, research practice, technological developments, application, and public communication--I will ask if CoML still resembles traditional collaborations to collect life. While showing both continuity and change, I will argue that marine biology is a form of natural history: a specific way of working together in biology that has transformed substantially in interaction with recent developments in the life sciences and society. As a result, the paper does not only give an overview of transformations towards large scale research in marine biology, but also shines a new light on big biology, suggesting new ways to deepen the understanding of collaboration in the life sciences by distinguishing between different 'collective ways of knowing'.

Effect of Personal Response Systems on Student Perception and Academic Performance in Courses in a Health Sciences Curriculum

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FitzPatrick, Kathleen A.; Finn, Kevin E.; Campisi, Jay

2011-01-01

To increase student engagement, active participation, and performance, personal response systems (clickers) were incorporated into six lecture-based sections of four required courses within the Health Sciences Department major curriculum: freshman-level Anatomy and Physiology I and II, junior-level Exercise Physiology, and senior-level Human…

Challenges of medical and biological engineering and science

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magjarevic, R [University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Zagreb (Croatia)

2004-07-01

All aspects of biomedical engineering and science, from research and development, education and training, implementation in health care systems, internationalisation and globalisation, and other, new issues are present in the strategy and in action plans of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE) which, with help of a large number of highly motivated volunteers, will stay in leading position in biomedical engineering and science.

Challenges of medical and biological engineering and science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magjarevic, R.

2004-01-01

All aspects of biomedical engineering and science, from research and development, education and training, implementation in health care systems, internationalisation and globalisation, and other, new issues are present in the strategy and in action plans of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE) which, with help of a large number of highly motivated volunteers, will stay in leading position in biomedical engineering and science

Knowledge base and functionality of concepts of some Filipino biology teachers in five biology topics

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Barquilla, Manuel B.

2018-01-01

This mixed research, is a snapshot of some Filipino Biology teachers' knowledge structure and how their concepts of the five topics in Biology (Photosynthesis, Cellular Respiration, human reproductive system, Mendelian genetics and NonMendelian genetics) functions and develops inside a biology classroom. The study focuses on the six biology teachers and a total of 222 students in their respective classes. Of the Six (6) teachers, three (3) are under the Science curriculum and the other three (3) are under regular curriculum in both public and private schools in Iligan city and Lanao del Norte, Philippines. The study utilized classroom discourses, concept maps, interpretative case-study method, bracketing method, and concept analysis for qualitative part; the quantitative part uses a nonparametric statistical tool, Kendall's tau Coefficient for determining relationship and congruency while measures of central tendencies and dispersion (mean, and standard deviation) for concept maps scores interpretation. Knowledge Base of Biology teachers were evaluated by experts in field of specialization having a doctorate program (e.g. PhD in Genetics) and PhD Biology candidates. The data collection entailed seven (7) months immersion: one (1) month for preliminary phase for the researcher to gain teachers' and students' confidence and the succeeding six (6) months for main observation and data collection. The evaluation of teachers' knowledge base by experts indicated that teachers' knowledge of (65%) is lower than the minimum (75%) recommended by ABD-el-Khalick and Boujaoude (1997). Thus, the experts believe that content knowledge of the teachers is hardly adequate for their teaching assignment. Moreover, the teachers in this study do not systematically use reallife situation to apply the concepts they teach. They can identify concepts too abstract for their student; however, they seldom use innovative ways to bring the discussion to their students' level of readiness and

Integrating gender into a basic medical curriculum.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verdonk, P.; Mans, L.J.L.; Lagro-Janssen, A.L.M.

2005-01-01

INTRODUCTION: In 1998, gaps were found to exist in the basic medical curriculum of the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre regarding health-related gender differences in terms of biological, psychological and social factors. After screening the curriculum for language, content and context,

Correlation between MCAT biology content specifications and topic scope and sequence of general education college biology textbooks.

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Rissing, Steven W

2013-01-01

Most American colleges and universities offer gateway biology courses to meet the needs of three undergraduate audiences: biology and related science majors, many of whom will become biomedical researchers; premedical students meeting medical school requirements and preparing for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT); and students completing general education (GE) graduation requirements. Biology textbooks for these three audiences present a topic scope and sequence that correlates with the topic scope and importance ratings of the biology content specifications for the MCAT regardless of the intended audience. Texts for "nonmajors," GE courses appear derived directly from their publisher's majors text. Topic scope and sequence of GE texts reflect those of "their" majors text and, indirectly, the MCAT. MCAT term density of GE texts equals or exceeds that of their corresponding majors text. Most American universities require a GE curriculum to promote a core level of academic understanding among their graduates. This includes civic scientific literacy, recognized as an essential competence for the development of public policies in an increasingly scientific and technological world. Deriving GE biology and related science texts from majors texts designed to meet very different learning objectives may defeat the scientific literacy goals of most schools' GE curricula.

Correlation between MCAT Biology Content Specifications and Topic Scope and Sequence of General Education College Biology Textbooks

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Rissing, Steven W.

2013-01-01

Most American colleges and universities offer gateway biology courses to meet the needs of three undergraduate audiences: biology and related science majors, many of whom will become biomedical researchers; premedical students meeting medical school requirements and preparing for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT); and students completing general education (GE) graduation requirements. Biology textbooks for these three audiences present a topic scope and sequence that correlates with the topic scope and importance ratings of the biology content specifications for the MCAT regardless of the intended audience. Texts for “nonmajors,” GE courses appear derived directly from their publisher's majors text. Topic scope and sequence of GE texts reflect those of “their” majors text and, indirectly, the MCAT. MCAT term density of GE texts equals or exceeds that of their corresponding majors text. Most American universities require a GE curriculum to promote a core level of academic understanding among their graduates. This includes civic scientific literacy, recognized as an essential competence for the development of public policies in an increasingly scientific and technological world. Deriving GE biology and related science texts from majors texts designed to meet very different learning objectives may defeat the scientific literacy goals of most schools’ GE curricula. PMID:24006392

Nuclear power and the science curriculum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, W.

1980-01-01

The curriculum provision in UK schools for studies of nuclear power, its scientific aspects, its technologies and its effect upon society are examined in the light of present concern for an informed lay opinion. (U.K.)

The Curriculum Ideology of the South African Secondary School Biology

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Mnguni, Lindelani

2013-01-01

South Africa has had a number of curriculum reforms since 1994 which have been based on both political and education grounds. However, there is a dearth of knowledge about the nature of the envisioned graduates, especially with respect to social challenges. This can be addressed by exploring the curriculum ideology which outlines the vision of…

Systematic Changes in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum Progam Award and Course and Curriculum Development Program Awards

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1996-06-01

to both the content and learning methods of the molecular science curriculum. Course and Curriculum Development Program Awards. Studio General Chemistry with Full Merging of the Laboratory and Classroom Experiences. Thomas M. Apple Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute DUE 9555069 114,000 A workshop general chemistry class is being developed that includes experimental work during every meeting. Lab work is merged with classroom discussion. Students working in groups are challenged to link their macroscopic observations to chemical principles. The merger of thirty-minute, concept-based discovery labs with discussion and lateral development material provides a unique perspective of chemistry. In modernizing the general chemistry curriculum, fewer topics are treated and the more esoteric aspects of physical chemistry that are inappropriate for freshmen are eliminated. More time is allocated to materials chemistry, organic and biological chemistry, and environmental science. The course material is organized into modules or case-studies that contain material that is developed with the specific aim of showing the relevance of the material to problems to which the students already have been exposed. Societal relevance is built into every module of the syllabus by incorporating laboratories, discussion and "lateral development" problems for each topic. Dynamic Visualization in Chemistry. James P. Birk Arizona State University DUE 9555098 175,000 This project will produce real images of chemical and physical changes occurring at the microscopic and atomic levels. These images, from different instruments (optical, electron, and scanning probe microscopes), will be captured electronically (video tapes and CD ROMs) and used in conjunction with molecular modeling as instructional aids in introductory chemistry courses. The objective is to introduce students to the relationships between macroscopic changes in materials and the corresponding changes in the arrangements of their atoms

The impact of an introductory college-level biology class on biology self-efficacy and attitude towards science

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Thomas, Megan Elizabeth

Self-efficacy theory was first introduced in a seminal article by Albert Bandura in 1977 entitled "Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change". Since its original introduction, self-efficacy has been a major focus of academic performance, anxiety, career development, and teacher retention research. Self-efficacy can be defined as the belief an individual possesses about their ability to perform a given task. Bandura proposed that self-efficacy should be measured at the highest level of specificity due to the fact that different people are efficacious in different areas. Interested in students' efficacy toward biology, Ebert-May, Baldwin, & Allred (1997) created and validated a survey to measure students' biology self-efficacy. Their survey was modeled after the guidelines for science literacy, and loaded to three sub-factors; methods of biology, generalization to other science courses, and application of the concepts. As self-efficacy theory has been related to effort expenditure and persistence (Bandura, 1977; 1997), one might think it would have some effect on students' attitudes toward the topic at hand. The current research investigated what changes in biology self-efficacy occurred after an introductory biology course with an inquiry based laboratory learning environment. In addition, changes in students' attitudes towards science were explored and how self-efficacy might affect them.

Developing a competency-based medical education curriculum for the core basic medical sciences in an African Medical School.

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Olopade, Funmilayo Eniola; Adaramoye, Oluwatosin Adekunle; Raji, Yinusa; Fasola, Abiodun Olubayo; Olapade-Olaopa, Emiola Oluwabunmi

2016-01-01

The College of Medicine of the University of Ibadan recently revised its MBBS and BDS curricula to a competency-based medical education method of instruction. This paper reports the process of revising the methods of instruction and assessment in the core basic medical sciences directed at producing medical and dental graduates with a sound knowledge of the subjects sufficient for medical and dental practice and for future postgraduate efforts in the field or related disciplines. The health needs of the community and views of stakeholders in the Ibadan medical and dental schools were determined, and the "old" curriculum was reviewed. This process was directed at identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the old curricula and the newer competences required for modern-day medical/dental practice. The admission criteria and processes and the learning methods of the students were also studied. At the end of the review, an integrated, system-based, community-oriented, person-centered, and competency-driven curriculum was produced and approved for implementation. Four sets of students have been admitted into the curriculum. There have been challenges to the implementation process, but these have been overcome by continuous faculty development and reorientation programs for the nonteaching staff and students. Two sets of students have crossed over to the clinical school, and the consensus among the clinical teachers is that their knowledge and application of the basic medical sciences are satisfactory. The Ibadan medical and dental schools are implementing their competency-based medical education curricula successfully. The modifications to the teaching and assessment of the core basic medical science subjects have resulted in improved learning and performance at the final examinations.

A Thai pre-service teacher's understanding of nature of science in biology teaching

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Srisawat, Akkarawat; Aiemsum-ang, Napapan; Yuenyong, Chokchai

2018-01-01

This study was conducted on the effect of understanding and instruction of the nature of science of Ms. Wanida, a pre-service student under science education program in biology, Faculty of Education, Khon Kaen University. Wanida was a teaching practicum student majoring in biology at Khon Kaen University Demonstration School (Modindaeng). She was teaching biology for 38 Grade 10 students. Methodology regarded interpretive paradigm. The study aimed to examine 1) Wanida's understanding of the nature of science, 2) Wanida's instruction of the nature of science, 3 students' understanding of the nature of science from Wanida's instruction, and 4) the effects of Wanida's understanding and instruction of the nature of science on students' understanding of the nature of science from Wanida's instruction. Tools of interpretation included teaching observation, a semi-structured interview, open-ended questionnaire, and an observation record form for the instruction of the nature of science. The data obtained was interpreted, encoded, and classified, using the descriptive statistics. The findings indicated that Wanida held good understanding of the nature of science. She could apply the deficient nature of science approach mostly, followed by the implicit nature of science approach. Unfortunately, she could not show her teaching as explicit nature of science. However, her students' the understanding of the nature of science was good.

Graduates from a reformed undergraduate medical curriculum based on Tomorrow's Doctors evaluate the effectiveness of their curriculum 6 years after graduation through interviews.

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Watmough, Simon D; O'Sullivan, Helen; Taylor, David C M

2010-09-29

In 1996 Liverpool reformed its medical curriculum from a traditional lecture based course to a curriculum based on the recommendations in Tomorrow's Doctors. A project has been underway since 2000 to evaluate this change. This paper focuses on the views of graduates from that reformed curriculum 6 years after they had graduated. Between 2007 and 2009 45 interviews took place with doctors from the first two cohorts to graduate from the reformed curriculum. The interviewees felt like they had been clinically well prepared to work as doctors and in particular had graduated with good clinical and communication skills and had a good knowledge of what the role of doctor entailed. They also felt they had good self directed learning and research skills. They did feel their basic science knowledge level was weaker than traditional graduates and perceived they had to work harder to pass postgraduate exams. Whilst many had enjoyed the curriculum and in particular the clinical skills resource centre and the clinical exposure of the final year including the "shadowing" and A & E attachment they would have liked more "structure" alongside the PBL when learning the basic sciences. According to the graduates themselves many of the aims of curriculum reform have been met by the reformed curriculum and they were well prepared clinically to work as doctors. However, further reforms may be needed to give confidence to science knowledge acquisition.

Science and Literacy: Incorporating Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Research Methods, and Writing into the Science Curriculum

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Nieser, K.; Carlson, C.; Bering, E. A.; Slagle, E.

2012-12-01

Part of preparing the next generation of STEM researchers requires arming these students with the requisite literacy and research skills they will need. In a unique collaboration, the departments of Physics (ECE) and Psychology at the University of Houston have teamed up with NASA in a grant to develop a supplemental curriculum for elementary (G3-5) and middle school (G6-8) science teachers called Mars Rover. During this six week project, students work in teams to research the solar system, the planet Mars, design a research mission to Mars, and create a model Mars Rover to carry out this mission. Targeted Language Arts skills are embedded in each lesson so that students acquire the requisite academic vocabulary and research skills to enable them to successfully design their Mars Rover. Students learn academic and scientific vocabulary using scientifically based reading research. They receive direct instruction in research techniques, note-taking, summarizing, writing and other important language skills. The interdisciplinary collaboration empowers students as readers, writers and scientists. After the curriculum is completed, a culminating Mars Rover event is held at a local university, bringing students teams in contact with real-life scientists who critique their work, ask questions, and generate excite about STEM careers. Students have the opportunity to showcase their Mars Rover and to orally demonstrate their knowledge of Mars. Students discover the excitement of scientific research, STEM careers, important research and writing tools in a practical, real-life setting.

Evaluating the Effects of Medical Explorers a Case Study Curriculum on Critical Thinking, Attitude Toward Life Science, and Motivational Learning Strategies in Rural High School Students

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Brand, Lance G.

2011-12-01

The purpose of this study was three-fold: to measure the ability of the Medical Explorers case-based curriculum to improve higher order thinking skills; to evaluate the impact of the Medical Explorers case-based curriculum to help students be self directed learners; and to investigate the impact of the Medical Explorers case-based curriculum to improve student attitudes of the life sciences. The target population for this study was secondary students enrolled in advanced life science programs. The resulting sample (n = 71) consisted of 36 students in the case-based experimental group and 35 students in the control group. Furthermore, this study employed an experimental, pretest-posttest control group research design. The treatment consisted of two instructional strategies: case-based learning and teacher-guided learning. Analysis of covariance indicated no treatment effect on critical thinking ability or Motivation and Self-regulation of Learning. However, the Medical Explorers case-based curriculum did show a treatment effect on student attitudes toward the life sciences. These results seem to indicate that case-based curriculum has a positive impact on students' perspectives and attitudes about the study of life science as well as their interest in life science based careers. Such outcomes are also a good indicator that students enjoy and perceive the value to use of case studies in science, and because they see value in the work that they do they open up their minds to true learning and integration. Of additional interest was the observationthat on average eleventh graders showed consistently stronger gains in critical thinking, motivation and self-regulation of learning strategies, and attitudes toward the life sciences as compared to twelfth grade students. In fact, twelfth grade students showed a pre to post loss on the Watson-Glaser and the MSLQ scores while eleventh grade students showed positive gains on each of these instruments. This decline in twelfth

Reproductive science as an essential component of conservation biology.

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Holt, William V; Brown, Janine L; Comizzoli, Pierre

2014-01-01

In this chapter we argue that reproductive science in its broadest sense has never been more important in terms of its value to conservation biology, which itself is a synthetic and multidisciplinary topic. Over recent years the place of reproductive science in wildlife conservation has developed massively across a wide and integrated range of cutting edge topics. We now have unprecedented insight into the way that environmental change affects basic reproductive functions such as ovulation, sperm production, pregnancy and embryo development through previously unsuspected influences such as epigenetic modulation of the genome. Environmental change in its broadest sense alters the quality of foodstuffs that all animals need for reproductive success, changes the synchrony between breeding seasons and reproductive events, perturbs gonadal and embryo development through the presence of pollutants in the environment and drives species to adapt their behaviour and phenotype. In this book we explore many aspects of reproductive science and present wide ranging and up to date accounts of the scientific and technological advances that are currently enabling reproductive science to support conservation biology.

Integrating technology, curriculum, and online resources: A multilevel model study of impacts on science teachers and students

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Ye, Lei

This scale-up study investigated the impact of a teacher technology tool (Curriculum Customization Service, CCS), curriculum, and online resources on earth science teachers' attitudes, beliefs, and practices and on students' achievement and engagement with science learning. Participants included 73 teachers and over 2,000 ninth-grade students within five public school districts in the western U.S. To assess the impact on teachers, changes between pre- and postsurveys were examined. Results suggest that the CCS tool appeared to significantly increase both teachers' awareness of other earth science teachers' practices and teachers' frequency of using interactive resources in their lesson planning and classroom teaching. A standard multiple regression model was developed. In addition to "District," "Training condition" (whether or not teachers received CCS training) appeared to predict teachers' attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Teachers who received CCS training tended to have lower postsurvey scores than their peers who had no CCS training. Overall, usage of the CCS tool tended to be low, and there were differences among school districts. To assess the impact on students, changes were examined between pre- and postsurveys of (1) knowledge assessment and (2) students' engagement with science learning. Students showed pre- to postsurvey improvements in knowledge assessment, with small to medium effect sizes. A nesting effect (students clustered within teachers) in the Earth's Dynamic Geosphere (EDG) knowledge assessment was identified and addressed by fitting a two-level hierarchical linear model (HLM). In addition, significant school district differences existed for student post-knowledge assessment scores. On the student engagement questionnaire, students tended to be neutral or to slightly disagree that science learning was important in terms of using science in daily life, stimulating their thinking, discovering science concepts, and satisfying their own

The Gas Laws and the Kinetic Theory: Curriculum Guide for the Thirteen-College Curriculum Program.

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Daniel, Army; And Others

This booklet is both a teacher's manual and a student's manual in a series of booklets that make up the core of a Physical Science course designed for the freshman year of college and used by teachers in the 27 colleges participating in the Thirteen College Curriculum Program. This program is a curriculum revision project in support of 13…

Fostering 21st-Century Evolutionary Reasoning: Teaching Tree Thinking to Introductory Biology Students.

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Novick, Laura R; Catley, Kefyn M

2016-01-01

The ability to interpret and reason from Tree of Life (ToL) diagrams has become a vital component of science literacy in the 21st century. This article reports on the effectiveness of a research-based curriculum, including an instructional booklet, laboratory, and lectures, to teach the fundamentals of such tree thinking in an introductory biology class for science majors. We present the results of a study involving 117 undergraduates who received either our new research-based tree-thinking curriculum or business-as-usual instruction. We found greater gains in tree-thinking abilities for the experimental instruction group than for the business-as-usual group, as measured by performance on our novel assessment instrument. This was a medium size effect. These gains were observed on an unannounced test that was administered ∼5-6 weeks after the primary instruction in tree thinking. The nature of students' postinstruction difficulties with tree thinking suggests that the critical underlying concept for acquiring expert-level competence in this area is understanding that any specific phylogenetic tree is a subset of the complete, unimaginably large ToL. © 2016 L. R. Novick and K. M. Catley. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Exploring Ivorian perspectives on the effectiveness of the current Ivorian science curriculum in addressing issues related to HIV/AIDS

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Ado, Gustave Firmin

School-based HIV/AIDS science education has the potential to impact students when integrated into the science curriculum. However, this mixed method study shows that school-based HIV/AIDS science education is often not infused into career subjects such as science education but integrated into civics education and taught by teachers who lack the skills, knowledge, and the training in the delivery of effective school HIV/AIDS education. Since science is where biological events take place, it is suggested that HIV/AIDS science merits being taught in the science education classroom. This study took place in nine public middle schools within two school districts in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, one major urban city in the southern region. The study utilized triangulation of multiple data sources---both qualitative and quantitative. To substantiate the claims made in this study, a range of qualitative methods such as field notes and individual interviews with 39 teachers, 63 sixth grade students, 8 school administrators, and 20 community elders were used. For the quantitative portion 140 teachers and 3510 sixth grade students were surveyed. The findings from the study prioritize science education that includes HIV/AIDS science education for all, with emphasis on HIV/AIDS prevention in Ivory Coast. The factors that influence the implementation of HIV/AIDS curricula within the Ivorian sixth grade classrooms are discussed. Interview and survey data from students, teachers, school administrators, and community elders indicate that in the Ivorian school setting, "gerontocratic" cultural influences, religious beliefs, personal cultural beliefs, and time spent toward the discourse on HIV/AIDS have led to HIV/AIDS education that is often insufficient to change either misconceptions about HIV/AIDS or risky practices. It was also found that approaches to teaching HIV/AIDS does not connect with youth cultures. By reframing and integrating current HIV/AIDS curricula into the science

Curriculum Framework (CF) Implementation Conference. Report of the Regional Educational Laboratory Network Program and the National Network of Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Regional Consortia (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, January 26-27, 1995).

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Palmer, Jackie; Powell, Mary Jo

The Laboratory Network Program and the National Network of Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Regional Consortia, operating as the Curriculum Frameworks Task Force, jointly convened a group of educators involved in implementing state-level mathematics or science curriculum frameworks (CF). The Hilton Head (South Carolina) conference had a dual…

The use of hidden curriculum in the interpretation of climate change on infographics in higher education students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abner Colón Ortiz

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The importance of environmental issues is evident deemed climate change to educate students. The main purpose of this study was to explore the interpretation of climate change on infographics in higher education students using the hidden curriculum. To achieve the purpose, a content analysis was performed to analyze the infographics that present students before (diagnostic and after (formative to use a hidden curriculum concepts of climate change in a course of General Biology. The study was conducted was a qualitative content analysis approach. The sample consisted of undergraduate students of an institution of higher education in Puerto Rico who took a course in General Biology.The results of the content analysis reflected that 81% of students had some misconceptions of climate change at the beginning of the course. Then offer the course General Biology and integrate concepts of climate change with a hidden curriculum, students downplayed their erroneous concepts to 9%. Therefore, we conclude that concepts should be integrated in climate change science courses for better environmental education. This explains why there is a need to educate students on climate change as recommended by the state and international agencies. So states to consider the potential of universities to develop environmental education and close collaboration between institutions of higher education as well as established the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 

An evaluative study of the impact of the "Curriculum Alignment Toolbox" on middle school science achievement

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Jones, Carol L.

The number of computer-assisted education programs on the market is overwhelming science teachers all over the Michigan. Though the need is great, many teachers are reluctant to procure computer-assisted science education programs because they are unsure of the effectiveness of such programs. The Curriculum Alignment Toolbox (CAT) is a computer-based program, aligned to the Michigan Curriculum Framework's Benchmarks for Science Education and designed to supplement science instruction in Michigan middle schools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of CAT in raising the standardized test scores of Michigan students. This study involved 419 students from one urban, one suburban and one rural middle school. Data on these students was collected from 4 sources: (1) the 8th grade Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) test, (2) a 9 question, 5-point Likert-type scale student survey, (3) 4 open-response student survey questions and (4) classroom observations. Results of this study showed that the experimental group of 226 students who utilized the CAT program in addition to traditional instruction did significantly better on the Science MEAP test than the control group of 193 students who received only traditional instruction. The study also showed that the urban students from a "high needs" school seemed to benefit most from the program. Additionally, though both genders and all identified ethnic groups benefited from the program, males benefited more than females and whites, blacks and Asian/Pacific Islander students benefited more than Hispanic and multi-racial students. The CAT program's success helping raise the middle school MEAP scores may well be due to some of its components. CAT provided students with game-like experiences all based on the benchmarks required for science education and upon which the MEAP test is based. The program also provided visual and auditory stimulation as well as numerous references which students indicated

Political Science and the Good Citizen: The Genealogy of Traditionalist Paradigm of Citizenship Education in the American School Curriculum

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Ahmad, Iftikhar

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to chronicle paradigm shifts in American political science during the twentieth century and their influence on political scientists' perspectives on pre-collegiate citizenship education curriculum. Methodology: The research questions explored in this article are concerned with the history of political…

Should Intelligent Design Be Included in Today's Public School Curriculums?

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Costley, Kevin C.; Killins, Pam

2010-01-01

The controversial concept of evolution makes up only a small part of the science curriculum stated in Arkansas. During the past few years, the curriculum topic of "Intelligent Design" has caught the attention of many science teachers in the public schools. The Intelligent Design Movement has been successful in attracting the attention of…

Reconstruction of biological networks based on life science data integration.

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Kormeier, Benjamin; Hippe, Klaus; Arrigo, Patrizio; Töpel, Thoralf; Janowski, Sebastian; Hofestädt, Ralf

2010-10-27

For the implementation of the virtual cell, the fundamental question is how to model and simulate complex biological networks. Therefore, based on relevant molecular database and information systems, biological data integration is an essential step in constructing biological networks. In this paper, we will motivate the applications BioDWH--an integration toolkit for building life science data warehouses, CardioVINEdb--a information system for biological data in cardiovascular-disease and VANESA--a network editor for modeling and simulation of biological networks. Based on this integration process, the system supports the generation of biological network models. A case study of a cardiovascular-disease related gene-regulated biological network is also presented.

Biological Evolution and the History of the Earth Are Foundations of Science

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2008-01-01

AGU affirms the central importance of including scientific theories of Earth history and biological evolution in science education. Within the scientific community, the theory of biological evolution is not controversial, nor have ``alternative explanations'' been found. This is why no competing theories are required by the U.S. National Science Education Standards. Explanations of natural phenomena that appeal to the supernatural or are based on religious doctrine-and therefore cannot be tested through scientific inquiry-are not scientific, and have no place in the science classroom.

Innovating Science Teaching by Participatory Action Research – Reflections from an Interdisciplinary Project of Curriculum Innovation on Teaching about Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timo Feierabend

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a three-year curriculum innovation project on teaching about climate change. The innovation for this study focused on a socio-critical approach towards teaching climate change in four different teaching domains (biology, chemistry, physics and politics. The teaching itself explicitly aimed at general educational objectives, i.e., fostering students’ communication and evaluation abilities as essential components for preparing young people for active participation in society. Participatory Action Research has been used as a collaborative strategy of cyclical curriculum innovation and research. Using past experiences and selected results from accompanying research, this project and its methodology will be reflected upon from the viewpoint of the chemistry group taking part in the project. Core issues reflected upon include how the project contributed to the creation of feasible curriculum materials, how it led to innovative structures in practice, and whether it supported experienced teachers’ ongoing professional development. General considerations for the process of curriculum innovation will also be derived.

KUSPACE: Embedding Science Technology and Mathematics Ambassador Activities in the Undergradiuate Engineering Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Welch, C.; Osborne, B.

The UK national STEM Ambassadors programme provides inspiring role models for school students in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) subjects. STEMNET, the national body responsible for STEM Ambassa- dors aims to provide more than 27,000 STEM Ambassadors nationwide by the end of 2011. This paper reports on a project at Kingston University to embed STEM Ambassador training and activity in Year 2 of the undergraduate Aerospace Engineering, Astronautics and Space Technology degree. The project, known as KUSPACE (Kingston University Students Providing Amazing Classroom Experiences), was conceived to develop students' communication, planning and presentation skills and build links between different cohort years, while providing a valuable contribution to local primary schools' STEM programmes and simultaneously raising the public engagement profile of the university. This paper describes the pedagogical conception of the KUSPACE, its implementation in the curriculum, the delivery of it in the university and schools and its effect on the undergraduate students, as well as identifying good practice and drawing attention to lessons learned.STEMNET (www.stemnet.org) is the UK's Science, Technol- ogy, Engineering and Mathematics Network. Working with a broad range of UK partners and funded by the UK govern- ment's Department for Business Innovation and Skills, STEMNET plays a significant role in ensuring that five to nineteen year olds and their teachers can experience a wide range of activities and schemes which enhance and enrich the school curriculum [1]. Covering all aspects of Science, Tech- nology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), these activities and schemes are designed both to increase STEM awareness and literacy in the young people and also to encourage more of them to undertake post-16 STEM qualifications and associated careers [2]. STEMNET operates through forty-five local con- tract holders around the UK which help the network deliver its

Perceptual Influence of Ugandan Biology Students' Understanding of HIV/AIDS

Science.gov (United States)

Mutonyi, Harriet; Nashon, Samson; Nielsen, Wendy S.

2010-08-01

In Uganda, curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS has largely depended on public and private media messages about the disease. Media campaigns based on Uganda’s cultural norms of communication are metaphorical, analogical and simile-like. The topic of HIV/AIDS has been introduced into the Senior Three (Grade 11) biology curriculum in Uganda. To what extent do students’ pre-conceptions of the disease, based on these media messages influence students’ development of conceptual understanding of the disease, its transmission and prevention? Of significant importance is the impact the conceptions students have developed from the indirect media messages on classroom instruction on HIV/AIDS. The study is based in a theoretical framework of conceptual change in science learning. An interpretive case study to determine the impact of Ugandan students’ conceptions or perceptions on classroom instruction about HIV/AIDS, involving 160 students aged 15-17, was conducted in four different Ugandan high schools: girls boarding, boys boarding, mixed boarding, and mixed day. Using questionnaires, focus group discussions, recorded biology lessons and informal interviews, students’ preconceptions of HIV/AIDS and how these impact lessons on HIV/AIDS were discerned. These preconceptions fall into four main categories: religious, political, conspiracy and traditional African worldviews. Results of data analysis suggest that students’ prior knowledge is persistent even after biology instructions. This has implications for current teaching approaches, which are mostly teacher-centred in Ugandan schools. A rethinking of the curriculum with the intent of offering science education programs that promote understanding of the science of HIV/AIDS as opposed to what is happening now—insensitivity to misconceptions about the disease—is needed.

Islamic values in the Kuwaiti curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Alshahen, Ghanim A.

This study investigated the influence of Islamic values on the curriculum, in particular the Islamic studies and science curricula. Three questionnaires were developed, validated, and used to investigate teachers' and pupils' attitudes toward Islamic values in the curriculum. Four main sections deal with Islamic values in the Islamic studies and science curricula, namely: Islamic values in the textbook, teaching Islamic values, the relationship between Islamic values and the science curriculum, and the Islamic values model. Two instruments were used in this study: questionnaires and interviews. Both qualitative and quantitative data were generated from the sample, which consisted of Islamic studies and science teachers and supervisors in intermediate schools, and pupils studying in the eighth grade in intermediate schools. In the last case, the data were gathered by questionnaire only. The interviews and questionnaires provided explanatory data. The research was carried out in three phases, considering respectively 55 Islamic studies teachers, 55 science teachers who teach the eighth grade in intermediate schools, and 786 pupils who study in the eighth grade in 20 schools. In each school, the researcher selected two classes. This thesis consists of eight chapters. Chapter One provides a general introduction and highlights the general framework of this study. Chapter Two is concerned with the development of the education system in Kuwait and the objectives of the Islamic studies and science curricula in the intermediate stage. Chapter Three presents the conceptions of values, the Islamic values model, and Islamic values in the curriculum. Chapter Four describes the objectives of the study, and its research design methods and procedures used to develop the instruments. The sampling procedure, the data collection procedures, and the statistical methods used to analyse the data are also described. Chapter Five presents and interprets the findings of this study. Data

Science learning motivation as correlate of students’ academic performances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nhorvien Jay P. Libao

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This study was designed to analyze the relationship  of students’ learning motivation and their academic performances in science. The study made use of 21 junior and senior Biological Science students to conclude on the formulated research problems. The respondents had a good to very good motivation in learning science. In general, the extent of their motivation do not vary across their sex, age, and curriculum year. Moreover, the respondents had good academic performances in science. Aptly, extrinsic motivation was found to be related with their academic performances among the indicators of motivations in learning science.

Graduates from a reformed undergraduate medical curriculum based on Tomorrow's Doctors evaluate the effectiveness of their curriculum 6 years after graduation through interviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taylor David CM

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In 1996 Liverpool reformed its medical curriculum from a traditional lecture based course to a curriculum based on the recommendations in Tomorrow's Doctors. A project has been underway since 2000 to evaluate this change. This paper focuses on the views of graduates from that reformed curriculum 6 years after they had graduated. Methods Between 2007 and 2009 45 interviews took place with doctors from the first two cohorts to graduate from the reformed curriculum. Results The interviewees felt like they had been clinically well prepared to work as doctors and in particular had graduated with good clinical and communication skills and had a good knowledge of what the role of doctor entailed. They also felt they had good self directed learning and research skills. They did feel their basic science knowledge level was weaker than traditional graduates and perceived they had to work harder to pass postgraduate exams. Whilst many had enjoyed the curriculum and in particular the clinical skills resource centre and the clinical exposure of the final year including the "shadowing" and A & E attachment they would have liked more "structure" alongside the PBL when learning the basic sciences. Conclusion According to the graduates themselves many of the aims of curriculum reform have been met by the reformed curriculum and they were well prepared clinically to work as doctors. However, further reforms may be needed to give confidence to science knowledge acquisition.

Ecological Literacy, Urban Green Space, and Mobile Technology: Exploring the Impacts of an Arboretum Curriculum Designed for Undergraduate Biology Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Phoebus, Patrick E.

Increasing individual ecological literacy levels may help citizens make informed choices about the environmental challenges facing society. The purpose of this study was to explore the impacts of an arboretum curriculum incorporating mobile technology and an urban greenspace on the ecological knowledge, environmental attitudes and beliefs, and environmental behaviors of undergraduate biology students and pre-service K-8 teachers during a summer course. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, analyzed, and later merged to create an enhanced understanding of the impact of the curriculum on the environmental attitudes and beliefs of the participants. Quantitative results revealed a significant difference between pre- and post-survey scores for ecological knowledge, with no significant differences between pre- and post-scores for the other variables measured. However, no significant difference in scores was found between experimental and comparison groups for any of the three variables. When the two data sets were compared, results from the quantitative and qualitative components were found to converge and diverge. Quantitative data indicated the environmental attitudes and beliefs of participants were unaffected by the arboretum curriculum. Similarly, qualitative data indicated participants' perceived environmental attitudes and beliefs about the importance of nature remained unchanged throughout the course of the study. However, qualitative data supporting the theme connecting with the curriculum suggested experiences with the arboretum curriculum helped participants develop an appreciation for trees and nature and led them to believe they increased their knowledge about trees.

Middle school science curriculum design and 8th grade student achievement in Massachusetts public schools

Science.gov (United States)

Clifford, Betsey A.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released proposed Science and Technology/Engineering standards in 2013 outlining the concepts that should be taught at each grade level. Previously, standards were in grade spans and each district determined the method of implementation. There are two different methods used teaching middle school science: integrated and discipline-based. In the proposed standards, the Massachusetts DESE uses grade-by-grade standards using an integrated approach. It was not known if there is a statistically significant difference in student achievement on the 8th grade science MCAS assessment for students taught with an integrated or discipline-based approach. The results on the 8th grade science MCAS test from six public school districts from 2010 -- 2013 were collected and analyzed. The methodology used was quantitative. Results of an ANOVA showed that there was no statistically significant difference in overall student achievement between the two curriculum models. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference for the various domains: Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Physical Science, and Technology/Engineering. This information is useful for districts hesitant to make the change from a discipline-based approach to an integrated approach. More research should be conducted on this topic with a larger sample size to better support the results.

Beyond Evolution: Addressing Broad Interactions Between Science and Religion in Science Teacher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Shane, Joseph W.; Binns, Ian C.; Meadows, Lee; Hermann, Ronald S.; Benus, Matthew J.

2016-03-01

Science and religion are two indisputably profound and durable cultural forces with a complex history of interaction. As ASTE members are aware, these interactions often manifest themselves in classrooms and in the surrounding communities. In this essay, we encourage science teacher educators to broaden their perspectives of science-religion interactions so that they may better assist pre- and in-service science teachers with addressing topics such as the age and origins of the universe and biological evolution in an appropriate manner. We first introduce some foundational scholarship into the historical interactions between science and religion as well as current efforts to maintain healthy dialogue between perspectives that are frequently characterized as innately in conflict with or mutually exclusive of one another. Given that biological evolution is the dominant science-religion issue of our day, in particular in the USA, we next summarize the origins and strategies of anti-evolution movements via the rise and persistence of Christian Fundamentalism. We then summarize survey and qualitative sociological research indicating disparities between academic scientists and the general public with regard to religious beliefs to help us further understand our students' worldviews and the challenges they often face in campus-to-classroom transitions. We conclude the essay by providing resources and practical suggestions, including legal considerations, to assist science teacher educators with their curriculum and outreach.

Gravitational biology and space life sciences: Current status and ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Gravitational and space biology organizations and journals. American Institute of ... of Scientific Unions (now the International Council for. Science). COSPAR ... Greek Aerospace Medical Association & Space Research. (GASMA). Provides ...

Development of mathematics curriculum for Medialogy studentsat Aalborg University

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Timcenko, Olga

Abstract This paper addresses mathematics curriculum development for Medialogy education. Medialogy as a study line was established in 2002 at Faculty for Engineering and Natural Sciences at Aalborg University, and mathematics curriculum has already been revised tree times. Some of the reasoning...... behind curriculum development, lessons learned and remaining issues are presented and discussed....

Butterflies & Wild Bees: Biology Teachers' PCK Development through Citizen Science

Science.gov (United States)

Scheuch, Martin; Panhuber, Tanja; Winter, Silvia; Kelemen-Finan, Julia; Bardy-Durchhalter, Manfred; Kapelari, Suzanne

2018-01-01

Citizen science is a rapidly growing emerging field in science and it is gaining importance in education. Therefore, this study was conducted to document the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of biology teachers who participated in a citizen science project involving observation of wild bees and identification of butterflies. In this paper,…

Reconstruction of biological networks based on life science data integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kormeier Benjamin

2010-06-01

Full Text Available For the implementation of the virtual cell, the fundamental question is how to model and simulate complex biological networks. Therefore, based on relevant molecular database and information systems, biological data integration is an essential step in constructing biological networks. In this paper, we will motivate the applications BioDWH - an integration toolkit for building life science data warehouses, CardioVINEdb - a information system for biological data in cardiovascular-disease and VANESA- a network editor for modeling and simulation of biological networks. Based on this integration process, the system supports the generation of biological network models. A case study of a cardiovascular-disease related gene-regulated biological network is also presented.

Ultrafast electron microscopy in materials science, biology, and chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, Wayne E.; Campbell, Geoffrey H.; Frank, Alan; Reed, Bryan; Schmerge, John F.; Siwick, Bradley J.; Stuart, Brent C.; Weber, Peter M.

2005-01-01

The use of pump-probe experiments to study complex transient events has been an area of significant interest in materials science, biology, and chemistry. While the emphasis has been on laser pump with laser probe and laser pump with x-ray probe experiments, there is a significant and growing interest in using electrons as probes. Early experiments used electrons for gas-phase diffraction of photostimulated chemical reactions. More recently, scientists are beginning to explore phenomena in the solid state such as phase transformations, twinning, solid-state chemical reactions, radiation damage, and shock propagation. This review focuses on the emerging area of ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM), which comprises ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) and dynamic transmission electron microscopy (DTEM). The topics that are treated include the following: (1) The physics of electrons as an ultrafast probe. This encompasses the propagation dynamics of the electrons (space-charge effect, Child's law, Boersch effect) and extends to relativistic effects. (2) The anatomy of UED and DTEM instruments. This includes discussions of the photoactivated electron gun (also known as photogun or photoelectron gun) at conventional energies (60-200 keV) and extends to MeV beams generated by rf guns. Another critical aspect of the systems is the electron detector. Charge-coupled device cameras and microchannel-plate-based cameras are compared and contrasted. The effect of various physical phenomena on detective quantum efficiency is discussed. (3) Practical aspects of operation. This includes determination of time zero, measurement of pulse-length, and strategies for pulse compression. (4) Current and potential applications in materials science, biology, and chemistry. UEM has the potential to make a significant impact in future science and technology. Understanding of reaction pathways of complex transient phenomena in materials science, biology, and chemistry will provide fundamental

Did We Have Science before 1988?

Science.gov (United States)

Peacock, Alan; Dunne, Mick

2014-01-01

In this "Primary Science" interview, science educators Alan Peacock and Mick Dunne reflect on their own experiences of what science was like in England before a National Curriculum was introduced. Among the topics covered are: earliest memories of science in school, teaching science before 1988 (pre-science curriculum for primary…

Bioinformatics in High School Biology Curricula: A Study of State Science Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Wefer, Stephen H.; Sheppard, Keith

2008-01-01

The proliferation of bioinformatics in modern biology marks a modern revolution in science that promises to influence science education at all levels. This study analyzed secondary school science standards of 49 U.S. states (Iowa has no science framework) and the District of Columbia for content related to bioinformatics. The bioinformatics…

Outcomes of a Self-Regulated Learning Curriculum Model

Science.gov (United States)

Peters-Burton, Erin E.

2015-10-01

The purpose of this study was to describe connections among students' views of nature of science in relation to the goals of a curriculum delivered in a unique setting, one where a researcher and two teachers collaborated to develop a course devoted to teaching students about how knowledge is built in science. Students proceeded through a cycle of self-regulated phases, forethought, performance, and self-reflection, during each segment of the curriculum: (a) independent research, (b) knowledge building in the discipline of science, and (c) a citizen science project. Student views were measured at the beginning and end of the course using epistemic network analysis. The pretest map reported student understanding of science as experimentation and indicated three clusters representing the durability of knowledge, empirical evidence, and habits of mind, which were loosely connected and represented knowledge generation as external to personal thinking. The posttest map displayed a broader understanding of scientific endeavors beyond experimentation, a shift toward personal knowledge generation, and indicated a larger number of connections among three more tightly oriented clusters: empirical evidence, habits of mind, and tentativeness. Implications include the potential to build curriculum that purposefully considers reinforcing cycles of learning of the nature of science in different contexts.

Innovating Science Teaching by Participatory Action Research--Reflections from an Interdisciplinary Project of Curriculum Innovation on Teaching about Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Feierabend, Timo; Eilks, Ingo

2011-01-01

This paper describes a three-year curriculum innovation project on teaching about climate change. The innovation for this study focused on a socio-critical approach towards teaching climate change in four different teaching domains (biology, chemistry, physics and politics). The teaching itself explicitly aimed at general educational objectives,…

Taking the conservation biology perspective to secondary school classrooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Wyner, Yael; Desalle, Rob

2010-06-01

The influence of conservation biology can be enhanced greatly if it reaches beyond undergraduate biology to students at the middle and high school levels. If a conservation perspective were taught in secondary schools, students who are not interested in biology could be influenced to pursue careers or live lifestyles that would reduce the negative impact of humans on the world. We use what we call the ecology-disrupted approach to transform the topics of conservation biology research into environmental-issue and ecology topics, the major themes of secondary school courses in environmental science. In this model, students learn about the importance and complexity of normal ecological processes by studying what goes wrong when people disrupt them (environmental issues). Many studies published in Conservation Biology are related in some way to the ecological principles being taught in secondary schools. Describing research in conservation biology in the language of ecology curricula in secondary schools can help bring these science stories to the classroom and give them a context in which they can be understood by students. Without this context in the curriculum, a science story can devolve into just another environmental issue that has no immediate effect on the daily lives of students. Nevertheless, if the research is placed in the context of larger ecological processes that are being taught, students can gain a better understanding of ecology and a better understanding of their effect on the world.

the impact of digital technology revolution on surveying curriculum ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

the impact of digital technology revolution on surveying curriculum review in ... Global Journal of Environmental Sciences ... Also, it focuses on the need to review the current surveying curriculum to meet the technological advancement. Finally ...