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Teachers’ educational beliefs influence their decisions and actions before, during, and after class. Classroom actions are a result of decision-making processes wherein teachers judge how they can teach effectively. The early years of teaching profession is important in shaping new teachers’ practices in accordance with their beliefs. This study identifies how the beliefs and classroom practices of a new science teacher change within the first three years of working. This study’s participant was a new high-school science teacher in Midwestern United States. Changes were investigated by employing qualitative research methods. Data for this longitudinal case study were gathered from interviews, questionnaires, and classroom observations for three years. The findings show that teachers cannot practice their reformist beliefs without experiencing real class environments.

The purpose of this article is to provide a brief literature review and useful suggestions for using advertisements as tools for organizing and accomplishing science teaching and learning. Newspapers and advertisements can be used as a context for developing scientific literacy and for promoting the development of critical thinking skills, through questioning, creating flexible course content, and exploring science beyond the classroom.

Science has often been defined as the exploration of the Natural World and offering explanations of objects and events encountered. Technology is related to science in that it seeks answers to problems in the Man-Made World (Engineering). Too often typical science is categorized as physics, chemistry, biology, and earth/space science. These disciplines are offered for learning from textbooks, teacher lesson plans, lectures and assignments for all students to remember. Science textbooks are typically used to determine the information used for teaching in the K-16 science classes. Science has also been used and associated with the student Bexplorations^ of science. Such explorations start with questions and ideas by students.

As we move forward with current reforms entitled Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has recently committed itself to offering some members to work with other scientists and engineers to help design STEM reforms. They are placing volunteers in K-12 classrooms one day a week to make scientific literacy possible for all students. But even with such efforts, the definition for STEM as reform is not clear. It is not a scientific term like the ones scientists choose to replace a complicated observation. Even with more and more dollars being spent to support STEM reforms in all K-12 classrooms, we continue to not have an accurate idea as to what STEM could accomplish over the next decade. Some STEM changes have been proposed and considered in several states for the last four decades. We now know the eight features offered by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (Achieve, 2013) as reform; but, will they really improve the actual “doing” of science for all students at all grade levels?

This study focuses on two main issues concerning changes in student attitudes toward science study and their perceptions of its usefulness in their lives. Information has been gathered concerning how student attitudes toward science have changed for teachers and schools not involved with any funded professional development project. Pretesting and posttesting were administered with such “control” groups at the same intervals corresponding with the data collected from students with teachers enrolled in five funded Professional Development projects over the 1981–2008 interim. The grade levels used by the National Assessment of Education Progress in their 1977 assessment of science were used; it focused on students in grades 3, 7, and 11. The results indicate a steady decline in student positive attitudes concerning their science study as grade levels increase. Conversely, the student perceptions of the usefulness of their science study as related to daily living, further science study, and for potential careers remained much the same over the 30-year interim is a second focus. Generally, results indicate that traditional teaching and major use of textbooks cause increasingly negative student attitudes about science while not producing major changes in their perceptions of its usefulness in their lives.

Science/Technology/Society (STS) as a reform effort has been active in Iowa for three decades. A program called Iowa Chautauqua has evolved over the four decades to promote K-12 STS teaching in Iowa’s 300 school districts. This is a study of how teachers have become Teacher Leaders of the reforms and lead other teachers who enroll as new teachers and schools each New Year. All were involved with Action Research projects each year while also assisting graduate student teams who serve as research associates. In this study, students were asked to identify specific teacher actions that were designed to make student learning more successful. The study examines general student views of teacher actions as well as specific examples of how students interact with the teacher and how the teachers encourage greater student/student involvement. The results show success with STS and how it defines science and affective actions of teachers in classrooms. Student views of Teacher Leaders, new Chautauqua teachers, and Control Teachers with no STS or Chautauqua experiences provide ways of recognizing successes of current reform efforts.

Background:The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a Science Technology and Society (STS) approach in terms of student understanding of major processes of science.Materials and methods:Participants included twelve teachers who agreed to participate in an experimental study where Science, Technology, and Society (STS) strategies were utilized with one class section and in a school class where the teacher determined the course structure and the form of instruction (textbook-oriented) that is typically used by most science teachers.A total of twenty-four sections of students were in STS sections (199 students) and a similar number in textbook-oriented sections (204 students). The data collected were analyzed using quantitative methods.Results:The results indicate that students in the STS sections achieved significantly better than students in the textbook-oriented sections in terms of understanding and using science process skills. Differences in success by male and female students of varying ability levels were examined as well.Conclusions:Using science process skills is significantly better in STS sections then in textbook-oriented ones.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the advantages of an approach to instruction using current problems and issues as curriculum organizers and illustrating how teaching must change to accomplish real learning. The study sample consisted of 41 preservice science teachers (13 males and 28 females) in a model science teacher education program. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to determine success with science discipline-specific “Societal and Educational Applications” courses as one part of a total science teacher education program at a large Midwestern university. Students were involved with idea generation, consideration of multiple points of views, collaborative inquiries, and problem solving. All of these factors promoted grounded instruction using constructivist perspectives that situated science with actual experiences in the lives of students.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the Chautauqua Professional Development Program in terms of the mastery of basic science concepts, understanding major science processes, use of creativity skills, improvement of student attitudes toward science, and the ability to apply science concepts and processes in new situations. Participants included twelve teachers who agreed to participate in an experimental study where Science, Technology, and Society (STS) strategies were utilized with two class sections where in one class the teacher determined the course structure and the form of instruction that was typically used. Conversely, the experimental class was almost exclusively student-centered. A total of twenty-four sections of students were in STS sections (365 students) and a similar number in control sections (359 students).The data collected were analyzed using quantitative methods. The results were tabulated and contrasted for students enrolled in the two sections for all the teachers. The results indicate that students in the student-centered STS sections achieved significantly better than students in the teacher-directed STS sections in terms of understanding and use of process skills, use of creativity skills, development of more positive attitudes; and the ability to apply science concepts in new contexts. However, there were no significant differences noted with respect to mastery of basic science concepts. Apparently student-centered STS approaches result in students with conceptual understandings but it is no better than the situation where teachers guide and direct inquiry STS approaches which focus much more exclusively on specific concepts and their definitions.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the Iowa Chautauqua Professional Development Program in terms of changes in concept mastery, use of process skills, application of science concept and skills, student attitudes toward science, student creativity, and student perceptions regarding their science classrooms. Participants were 12 teachers who agreed to participate in an experimental study where an inquiry approach was utilized with one section and traditional strategies in another section. A total of 24 sections of students were enrolled in inquiry sections (365 students) and traditional sections (359 students). The data collected were analyzed using quantitative methods. The results are tabulated and contrasted for students enrolled in the two sections for each teacher. The results indicate that student use and understanding of science skills and concepts in the inquiry sections increased significantly more than they did for students enrolled in typical sections in terms of process skills, creativity skills, ability to apply science concepts, and the development of more positive attitudes.

Fifteen 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade teachers from five school districts each taught two sections of science —one with a Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach and the other with a more traditional textbook approach in which basic science concepts were the major organizers. Local, current, and personally relevant issues provided the context and organizational scheme for the STS section. The two approaches were evaluated using six different domains: (1) Concept, (2) Process, (3) Application, (4) Creativity, (5) Attitude, and (6) Worldview. The results indicate no difference in results at any grade level in the Concept domain. However, significant differences in terms of learning with large effect sizes were found in the other five domains. STS provided an impressive teaching approach utilizing the features of the National Science Teachers Association’s (NSTA) (2006) position paper regarding STS in all assessment domains.

Five Teacher Leaders organized a study regarding two of their sections of 8–9th grade science. One section was the experimental section where twelve constituents of the Nature of Science (NOS) were used as an added consideration to activities, discussions, projects, and focus for all aspects of science content. The control section was a typical one where STS approaches were used without any conscientious efforts to add appropriate NOS considerations. Significant differences were found regarding student improvement and understanding of the twelve NOS constructs that were utilized; no such differences were noted in the control sections for the five teachers.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Science, Technology, and Society (STS) learning increases student concept mastery, general science achievement, use of concepts in new situations, and attitudes toward science in middle school classrooms. The study involved two teachers and fifty-two students in grades 6 through 8. Two sections of middle school science were taught by two longtime teachers where one used an STS approach and the other retained a typical use of the textbook as a class organizer. Each teacher administered the same pre- and post-assessments. Major findings indicated that middle school students experiencing the STS format with constructivist teaching practices: (1) learned basic concepts as well as students who studied them directly from the textbook, (2) achieved as much general concept mastery as students who studied in a textbook dominated way, (3) applied science concepts in new situations better than students who studied science in a more traditional way, (4) developed more positive attitudes about science, (5) exhibited creativity skills that were more individual and occurred more often, and (6) learned and used science at home and in the community more than students in the typical textbook dominated section. Further, the STS approach coincided well with the kind of teaching across the curriculum that is (recommended as) central to teaching in middle schools.

The purpose of this study is to compare changes in attitudes of students about their study of biology in the classes thought by five biology teachers who experienced an Iowa Chautauqua workshop with and two non-Chautauqua teachers who had no experience with any professional development program. The results indicated that there are significant differences in student attitudes in favor with students of the five biology teachers who experienced of a full year of experiences an Iowa Chautauqua workshop. © 2016 by iSER, International Society of Educational Research.

Creativity can be described in ways that improve school science. A year-long workshop series offered designs to illustrate changes in teaching used for improving student learning. A research panel was formed to observe changes in the use and understanding of creativity by students in classrooms taught by teachers participating in year-long workshops designed for that purpose. Comparisons included observations at the beginning of the school year (October) and again near the close of the year (April) to indicate student learning involving the use and understanding of six facets of creativity. The focus was on middle school teachers and students. Results with teachers were statistically positive.

The major advantage of STS is the kind of teaching it allows and demands. Twelve middle school teachers who were enthused with STS teaching selected two sections for a research study. One section was the experimental STS section; the other followed the course syllabus and textbook closely. The major findings indicate the advantages for STS as a teaching approach. Students at the STS approach learned as many science concepts as students who were taught such concepts directly. But the students in the STS sections were superior in all other aspects, including understanding and use of 14 process skills, use of creative thinking skills, development of more positive attitudes, better ability to apply and connect ideas and skills to other situations, and developing a better understanding of the nature and history of science.

An analysis of our efforts with curriculum reform in science during the 60s is offered. Failure to state the problems and to engage all those interested, involved, and affected is noted. Instead of proceeding with the same tactics and using the same rationale for new reforms, a rationale for focusing upon instructional goals and enlarging the research and development team is presented. Basically, a call for treating science curriculum reform as a science rather than an art is advocated.

This chapter is to present some reflections from international scholars who have been visiting Taiwan for the past few years. These scholars would like to share their insightful feedback of their interactions with scholars, teachers, and students during their stay in Taiwan.

Lead teachers were a major part of a staff-development program first offered in 1983 for science teachers in Iowa. Later, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) reform project called Scope, Sequence, and Coordination (SS&C) involved 20 school districts and worked annually with new teachers involved during the 7-year funding period, 1990–1997. Eight lead teachers, who provided assistance to staff teams, were studied in 1998 and 2000 to determine how their teaching practices changed during the 3 years following funding. The results indicated that the eight teachers have continued to grow in terms of constructivist strategies beyond the funding period and in ways illustrating that the kind of teaching advocated by the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996).

Two sections of middle school science were taught by two longtime teachers where one used an STS approach and the other followed the more typical textbook approach closely. Pre- and post assessments were administered to one section of students for each teacher. The testing focused on student concept mastery, general science achievement, concept applications, use of concepts in new situations, and attitudes toward science. Videotapes of classroom actions were recorded and analyzed to determine the level of the use of STS teaching strategies in the two sections. Information was also be collected that gave evidence of and noted changes in student creativity and the continuation of student learning and the use of it beyond the classroom. Major findings indicate that students experiencing the STS format where constructivist teaching practices were used to (a) learn basic concepts as well as students who studied them directly from the textbook, (b) achieve as much in terms of general concept mastery as students who studied almost exclusively by using a textbook closely, (c) apply science concepts in new situations better than students who studied science in a more traditional way, (d) develop more positive attitudes about science, (e) exhibit creativity skills more often and more uniquely, and (f) learn and use science at home and in the community more than did students in the textbook dominated classroom.

Six African countries participated in an intercontinental professional development workshop developed by the science and math staff at the University of Iowa and supported by the Africa-America Institute. The 11-day workshop was designed to produce changes in goal setting, assessment practices, instruction, and curriculum structures for high school teachers. The article provides a detailed description of the workshop and discusses evidence of workshop successes. Preworkshop and postworkshop vision statements and curriculum units were used to track the progression of five Kenyan educators as they moved toward constructivist-based practices. Teachers enhanced their views of science and math learning outcomes and learning environment as the workshop progressed. Specifically, teachers moved from emphasizing better grades and exam scores to greater student use of science and math skills. They also shifted from a heavily teacher-centered classroom view to a more student-centered classroom view.

The purpose of this study was to examine how different inquiry experiences affect in-service science teachers’ performance in terms of their questions and classroom actions. Teachers in a workshop experience proceeded through structured, guided, and full inquiry stations where materials to make foam were provided. Participants were 26 in-service science teachers who were enrolled in an 8-day workshop learning about science-technology-society (STS) approaches to teaching. Those who experienced full inquiry first resulted in more curiosity, more questions, and more unique experiments than at the other two stations. Success in guided inquiry was observed when the guidance was provided by more open-ended questions posed by the leader teachers. The study raises questions concerning the limitations on student thinking when in structured and guided laboratories that characterize traditional science teaching. An analysis of this study may contribute important direction and information for science teaching and learning and encourage more moves for STS successes.

The National Science Education Standards include suggested visions for changing staff development programs for preparing new teachers and working with inservice teachers. Analyzing the visions for the most successful programs precedes the identification of programs that best match the NSES visions. The National Science Teachers Association is publishing a new monograph that identifies 16 model programs that approach the visions while also providing actual evidence of the successes experienced. This manuscript is an attempt to provide a setting and a rationale for the national search and for informing science teacher educators in the features of the best programs nominated after a 4-year search. Instead of only describing science teacher education programs for new and inservice teachers, actual evidence establishing their validity is offered. Perhaps the examples will be more useful if the framework and procedures used in their selections are shared with Association for Science Teacher Education members.

(2005). Toward Needed Reforms in Science Teacher Education. Journal of Science Teacher Education: Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 89-93.

This professional development program was designed to prepare science teachers to be more student-centered and to implement newer goals for science instruction. These goals are to improve science teaching in ways that promote broader and longer-lasting learning. Secondary school science teachers in Korea are expected to follow a rigid national curriculum with large classes - often with more than 50 students. This study focuses on feedback and follow-up interaction with teacher participants who were enrolled in a month-long workshop in the U.S. before returning to Korea to implement the new ideas. Assistance was offered to help teachers develop teaching modules which were more constructivist while also assisting with assessment efforts that provided further evidence of use of the new teaching practices and their effect on student learning. Student mastery of concepts and improvement in student creativity were two aspects of the summer workshop experiences and these were evaluated to illustrate workshop effects on teacher participants in their actual classrooms.

The definition of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) reforms remains unclear. STEM is not like a scientific term where scientists choose to replace a series of complex observations with a new word. Even with more and more money being spent to support STEM reforms in all K-12 classrooms, we continue to not have accurate ideas of what STEM efforts are and/or what they could/should accomplish. Some STEM changes have been proposed and considered for use in several statewide efforts across the United States. But, to what end? Will major funding improve the personal “doing” of science for all students and at all grade levels?

Robert Yager is a native Iowan who was worked at the University of Iowa since 1956. He has served as president of seven national associations, including the National Science Teachers Association, School Science and Mathematics Association, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the Association for the Education of Teachers of Science, the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Section Q of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Association of Science-Technology-Society. Yager has directed over 100 projects supported by the National Science Foundation, several research projects supported by the U.S. Department of Education, and several project evaluations. The University of Iowa has one of the largest graduate programs in the U.S., while also focusing on in-service programs for science teachers and a model preservice program (which enjoyed NSF support for a 10-year period). Yager has published over 500 books, monographs, and research reports. Currently, he is active with several research projects in Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Israel, and Estonia.

A small group of Russian teachers who were interested in adopting aspects of the US science educational reform movement, participated in a constructivist science teaching project. Baseline data from translated classroom observations were scored using the science classroom observation rubric from the expert science teaching educational evaluation model (ESTEEM) and compared with a traditional (teacher centered) group of US science teachers and a group of US constructivist (student centered) science teachers. The purpose of the research is to investigate how Russian teachers who were beginning a US science education reform project compared with two US groups of science teachers, a traditional and a reform group. Analysis of variance was used to analyse the total rubric score and four categories for the Russian/traditional US and the Russian/constructivist US studies in order to examine closely the traditional and the constructivist teaching practises. In the first study US traditional teachers were statisti...

The current national priority for systemic approaches to the reform of science and mathematics education has led to unprecedented interest in research on the efficacy of science and mathematics teacher preparation programs. In response to this priority, a focus on collaborative approaches to educational reform and to research on educational reform resulted in a national collaborative research consortium of insitutions of higher education. The consortium was formed to investigate the following question about secondary science teacher education: What are the perceptions, beliefs, and classroom performances of beginning secondary teachers as related to their philosophies of teaching and their content pedagogical skills? The research design and instrumentation yielded detailed descriptions that elicited knowledge and beliefs held by beginning teachers about science, the nature of teaching and learning, and their philosophy of teaching. An analysis of video portfolios of beginning teachers provided classroom-based evidence of their performance in both subject matter and pedagogical dimensions of teaching. Among the findings from this 3-year exploratory study were that teachers graduated from their teacher preparation programs with a range of knowledge and beliefs about: how teachers should interact with subject content and processes, what teachers should be doing in the classroom, what students should be doing in the classroom, philosophies of teaching, and how they perceived themselves as classroom teachers. Beginning teachers described their practices as very student-centered. Observations of these teaching practices contrasted starkly with teacher beliefs: While teachers professed student-centered beliefs, they behaved in teacher-centered ways. Undertaking intensive, collaborative studies such as the one described in this article, is the beginning of efforts through which the science and mathematics education communities can strive to address the needs of students, teachers, teacher educators, and other stakeholders working to establish a common vision for excellent instruction and systemic, long-lasting reform. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 930–954, 1999

The Scope, Sequence and Coordination (SS&C) project is a major reform initiative in the United States conceived by the National Science Teachers Association with major funding by the National Science Foundation. This is a report of the Iowa Project, a broad effort of many stockholders in 20 school districts, where a science-technology-society approach was emphasized through a constructivist philosophy of learning and teaching. Results indicated the successes of SS&C in four areas: (1) SS&C teachers are more confident to teach science and they better understand the nature of science and technology than do control teachers. (2) SS&C teachers can use teaching strategies that reflect a constructivist view of learning, and conduct action research projects related to effective teaching. (3) Students achieve significantly better in SS&C courses than they do in traditional textbookoriented courses. (4) Historically disenfranchised groups of learners, such as low ability students and females, are especially well s...

STS represents a significant reform effort in science/technology education in grades kindergarten through the undergraduate collegiate years. It focuses on use of constructivism as a way of learning and a broader view of science, and as a way of assessing learning for real understanding. Basic to STS is teaching and the assessment of learning in multiple domains, namely, concepts, processes, the application of both to new situations, the nature and history of science, creativity skills, and attitude. When education occurs in STS classrooms, students grow significantly in all domains and more so than in traditional classrooms.

The primary objective of this study was to involve parents in the process of the reform of science education through the development of Science, Technology and Society (STS) courses in school science. We were also interested to determine whether the STS reform could be justified on the basis of parental perception of need. This second objective is consistent with one of the major aims of STS education‐‐that of increasing the engagement of an informed public in all matters to do with science in society. It is the commitment to participatory democracy, and the deeply held concern by the authors about the increasing role and power of small groups of experts in all walks of life, education not excepted, that reduces collaborative dialogue within society that underpins this research. The research explores the interests and concerns about science and technology in society of a group of parents.

Since the 1980s, over a thousand Korean science teachers and supervisors visited western countries to participate in overseas in-service training programs. This study reports the evaluation of the effect of the University of Iowa's program on the development of teachers' constructivist philosophies by participating teachers. A total of 70 high school teachers who participated during the fall of 1995 and the summer of 1996 were surveyed. The Constructivist Learning Environment Survey was translated into Korean and administered to the participants three times: at the beginning and the end of the workshops and again three months after. Analysis indicated that the effect of the workshop was significant and that the learning was retained. Ways of encouraging teachers to continue improvement in the use of constructivist practices are discussed in light of the realities of Korean science education.

This study was conducted to investigate the extent to which preservice elementary teachers held alternative conceptions in fundemental elementary science concepts. Eighty-six preservice elementary teachers participated in this study. Twelve preservice elementary teachers participated in follow-up interviews. Data were collected through the use of Alternative Conceptions in Science Instrument (Schoon, & Boone, 1998), a participant information form, and utilization of interviews. The results indicated that the majority of preservice elementary teachers (67.4%) held a number of alternative conceptions with mostly in the physical science. Various sources of alternative conceptions emerged during the interviews. Findings from the study also confirmed that science courses completed do not seem to have influenced participants’ alternative conceptions. Overall, the results of the study suggest that more consideration be given to identifying and modifying of the alternative conceptions of science so that teachers could better help their own students arriving at more accurate conceptions.

Many nonscientists hold incorrect views of science. These incorrect views of science are rooted in fundamental problems with science education in schools. These problems are discussed in the context of their causes, including a dysfunctional working definition of science. The Science/Technology/Society (STS) movement is described and illustrated as a potential means to correct these problems. Examples derived from statewide efforts in Iowa are used as evidence that STS initiatives are paradigms for curriculum and instructional reform.

Current problems in science education are identified from research literature. A review and analysis of major reform efforts in science education is provided. A summary of the Constructivist Learning Theory is presented; this theory has been generally accepted as a means for resolving current problems and for implementing the major reforms in science education. It is noted that specific constructivist teaching practices are needed to improve learning: Changes in teaching, not curriculum, are the key to effective reform. Many continue to think of reform in terms of content structure and curriculum frameworks, but to promote real learning, “how” to teach must be emphasized more than “what” to teach.

Professors of college chemistry were asked to rank various examples of traditional chemistry knowledge and skills as to their importance for incoming students to possess. A pilot study revealed that the items—all selected from one edition of the American Chemical Society-National Science Teachers Association (ACS-NSTA) Chemistry Achievement Examination—represented attributes viewed as relatively unimportant. The professors then identified 29 personal traits they considered more important for incoming students to possess. Subsequently, these items, knowledge, skill, and personal attributes, were included in a three-part assessment instrument. The instrument was administered to 69 college chemistry professors selected at random and to 37 high school chemistry teachers. The results reveal that the college professors universally identified student personal attributes as significantly more important for incoming students to possess over specific knowledge and skills included in the ACS-NSTA Achievement Examination. Chemistry professors do not find items commonly used to assess success in high school chemistry as important attributes for incoming students to possess. Conversely, high school chemistry teachers regard the knowledge and skill items to be more important for college preparation than personal attributes.

T HE Iowa Chautauqua Program has operated in Iowa since its inception in 1983 as one part of the National Science Teachers Association's (NSTA) effort to find new mechanisms for helping teachers and schools improve their science programs. In Iowa the Chautauqua effort sought to introduce Science/Technology/Society (STS) strategies to new teachers, to help them develop materials with such features to use in their own classrooms, and to assist in structuring an assessment program that could provide evidence that reform has occurred. The Iowa Chautauqua Program has evolved over an eight-year period. It has enrolled 2000 K-12 teachers in centers across the entire state. It is a teacher program enrolling 250 new teachers annually while utilizing the most successful teachers from past programs as vital parts of the staff team. Table 1 provides a sequence for the Chautauqua effort. STS is defined as the teaching and learning of science in a human context (NSTA 1990-1991). This agrees with the view of reform in biology education advanced by Hurd (1978) and by the Project Synthesis research team (Hurd 1981; Hurd, Bybee, Kahle & Yager 1980). NSTA adopted an STS Position Paper that offered an elaboration of the primary features of STS programs. Table 2 provides a list of these features. During 1988-90, a total of 224 teachers from grades 4 through 12 agreed to be part of a statewide effort to evaluate STS modules and teaching strategies for their effectiveness in the life sciences. Teachers in the Iowa Chautauqua Program routinely plan a fourto six-week module that has the features of STS (see Table 2). They routinely agree to administer pretests in the five goal and assessment domains visualized by Yager and McCormack (1989). These domains include

Typical school science has failed most students in the areas of improving student understanding of the nature of science and developing improved perceptions of careers in science/technology fields. A new reform effort called Science/Technology/Society (STS) has been used in Iowa where an investigation into improvements in these two areas is a focus. Likert-scales were used as pre- and post-assessment instruments with 424 middle school students. The results indicate significant increases in positive directions. Students improved in each category included in the study in terms of students gaining more accurate perceptions of the nature of science. Further, the students developed significantly better understanding of and more positive attitudes about science careers as a result of STS instruction.

IN all science programs that have been identified as "exemplary" in the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Search for Excellence program there was an overt effort by science teachers to help students develop into scientifically literate citizens. (i.e. persons who have the skills of critical thinking, who can make reasoned judgments and who understand that the society of the future will be increasingly technological in function and driven by science.) Perhaps this is not unexpected since the Project Synthesis goal clusters were accepted by NSTA as appropriate when criteria were developed for its Search for Excellence effort. In all, 30 biology programs were selected in the various searches conducted during the 1982-89 interval. The NSTA goal clusters (from Project Synthesis) include

Nouveau programme d'enseignement a l'universite de l'Iowa, et introduction des sciences technologiques.

Science-technology-society (STS) has been identified by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the Departments of Education in a variety of states, and a variety of commissions and panels concerned with reform in science education as a new direction and goal for science education. Because most teachers are dependent upon textbooks for determining their curricula and teaching approaches, an investigation of 11 of the most frequently used secondary science textbooks in the U.S. were reviewed to determine the attention given to STS topics. The framework established by the Project Synthesis research team for STS was used to define STS topics. The 11 textbooks were examined in their entirety to determine space devoted to STS. Minimum interrater reliability was established at 0.80; any deviation resulted in further analysis. Comparisons were made of STS coverage by science disciplines and across the 7-12 grade levels. Results revealed that less than 7% of the narrative space is devoted to STS topics, with a range of 11.5% to 0.5%. Further, the coverage of STS topics decreases as grade level increases. A great discrepancy, therefore, exists between goals for science education (an STS emphasis) to actual coverage in the most frequently used textbooks.