The complaint took members of EJSE through an interesting discussion which has resulted in a new section being added to the EJSE this month. The new section will be entitled "Applications of Research & Model Inquiry Lessons." Many journals in the science education community have aligned themselves with either research orientations or practical applications of research. Several journals have found a nice balance in including both. When the editors of EJSE began discussing the purpose and breadth of the journal we concluded that EJSE can maintain high research publication standards as well as be a model for other journals concerning practical applications of research to the K-16 classroom.
The new section of the EJSE, "Applications of Research & Model Inquiry Lessons" will be an effort to balance research and practical application in science education that is applicable to the K-16 classrooms. In this section, we are urging teachers in K-16 settings to submit their very best research applications and science lesson ideas to be peer reviewed and included in this new section.
However, there is a catch!!! In order to justify this new section, we must take into consideration some of the current initiatives in science education. In other words, we must use a lesson design style that is advocated by the National Science Education Standards (NSES) - an inquiry approach which utilizes the Learning Cycle. In addition, we must be able to reference the specific standards of the NSES in the lesson plan. Finally, there must be enough content in the "background information" section so as to clearly communicate the content and process of the concept / topic being studied so that the average lay person may be able to teach the lesson. After all, this will be a resource for all teachers on all levels including pre-service teachers. (Read more about Inquiry and the Learning Cycle in the "guidelines for publishing in EJSE Applications of Research & Model Inquiry Lessons" section.
At present the Applications of Research & Model Inquiry Lessons will be a separate section in the journal. These applications and activities will then be archived in five different parts. General applications, K-4 applications, 5-8 applications, 9-12 applications, and college level applications. Within each grade level category, there will be different categories as defined by the NSES - Science Content Standards. The lessons will be differentiated as Observations, Investigations, and / or Experiments.
With this new section in the EJSE, we will be able to serve the needs of the entire K-16 community by providing valuable research as well as practical applications to that research. We encourage you and your colleagues to submit you work in this new section so that it may grow and become the resource that is intended.
Go to EJSE Vol. 3 No. 3 (March 1999)