or above.
or above.
"Go Pack" It's a new year...and bit of a new look for
the EJSE. This issue begins our second year thanks to our review
board, authors, and Internet readers. We hope this new year brings more
innovative ideas and articles to the EJSE.
And...we are also proud to report that the
EJSE subscription rates will remain the same in 1997-98 as they
did in 1996-97. . . FREE!
The Martian Sky at Sunset
Photo courtesy
of NASA at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/img/
Photo lower left courtesy of NASA at
http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS11/10075247.jpg
The first issue of the
EJSE began with the words, "It's a new dawn..." 
We
featured another famous NASA photo, Earthrise. Much has developed
in technology since 1969 with the astronauts of Apollo 11 landing on the
moon. Even though Viking 1 first orbited Mars in 1975, space technology
has continued to evolve to the point where young engineers, many of whom
were probably exposed elementary and secondary sciences using Elementary
Science Study(ESS), Science-A Process Approach(S-APA), or Science Curriculum
Improvement Study (SCIS) curriculum materials. Little did their teachers
know that, perhaps one day, a budding scientist or engineer in their third
grade would become part of the Mars Pathfinder mission in 1997,
allowing those of us who are still earth bound to enjoy the spectacular
view of the Martian sunset. I wonder if these students ever did an
"egg drop"? I bet so.
I suggest that scholarly electronic publishing has gone
through a similar evolution -- from largely text-only versions of manuscripts,
often delivered via e-mail or ftp, to World Wide Web pages, complete
with color graphics, animation and audio, ever increasing in their style
and sophistication.
The EJSE is proud to be at the forefront
of this new technology in offering scholarly science education publications
to its readers. We plan to continue to bring our readers even
more science education and related information in '97-98. We also
are planning for theme issues this year, so please stay tuned and on-line
for more information.
John R. Cannon, editor
Article one, A Multiple Perspective Analysis of
the Role of Language in Inquiry Science Learning: To Build
a Tower analyzes data in a new light. One reviewer commented:
"...this is a helpful step in understanding how elementary school students
make sense of science and technology experiences. I especially like
the idea of examining the same evidence from a number of different theoretical
perspectives."
Article two, The Ranking Of Global Environmental
Issues and Problems By Polish Secondary Students And Teachers, reviews
and discusses ecological beliefs and concerns closely held by a large segment
of the Polish citizenry. It makes clear the continued importance
of evolving environmental policy, science education, and quality of life
for people world-wide.
Article three, Elementary and Secondary Students'
Perceptions Toward Science: Correlations with Gender, Ethnicity,
Ability, Grade, and Science Achievement brings together and discusses
research involving previously individually investigated factors, such as
gender, and looks for relationships with the factors gender, ethnicity,
ability, grade, and science achievement. This collective study investigated
both elementary and secondary students.
Welcome back to the EJSE for
another new academic year!
by Robert E. Yager, University
of Iowa
To go to this article, click here.
Michael Kamen, Auburn University
e-mail:
kamenmi@mail.auburn.edu
Wolff-Michael Roth, University of Victoria
Lawrence B. Flick, Oregon State University
Bonnie Shapiro, University of Calgary
Laura Barden, Western Illinois University
Elizabeth Kean, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Stephen Marble, Southwest Educational Development Lab
and
Jay Lemke, City University of New York
Abstract
The role of language in science learning is coming into focus for science
education researchers from a number of perspectives. With a constructivist
paradigm dominating the field, language is being explored for its role
in facilitating and assessing learning and in understanding complex interactions
related to science teaching and learning. This paper, by opening
a window onto a variety of techniques, methods, and approaches to the analysis
of one short discussion between
several elementary students, presents the opportunity to continue and
enhance the dialogue about ways to research and understand children's discourse
during science activities. The purpose of this paper is to clarify
issues relating to the interaction between language and science learning
and to relate these issues to different theoretical perspectives.
From this "discourse about discourse" the authors identify and share avenues
for further research, including methodological
approaches and implications for the classroom teacher. The researchers
examine a two-and-one-half minute videotape of three boys constructing
a tower of plastic drinking straws as part of a unit called "Engineering
for Children: Structures" which was presented in a mixed fourth-
and fifth-grade class.
To go to this article, click here.
M. Faye Neathery
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Department of Chemistry/Science Education
100 Campus Drive
Weatherford, OK 73096
(405) 774- 7133
e-mail: neathef@swosu.edu
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine student attitudes toward
science and the correlations of the attitudes with the variables of ability,
gender, ethnicity, grade, and science achievement. To measure the elementary
and secondary students' perceptions toward science, a modified Osgood Semantic
Differential instrument was used. The attitudes examined were important/unimportant
(S1), valuable/worthless (S2), understandable/confusing (S3), exciting/boring
(S4), and easy/hard (S5).
An intercorrelational analysis showed significant relationships between
ability and four of the five attitudes toward science. The students in
the high ability group rated science as valuable, understandable, and easy;
whereas, the students in the low ability group rated science as important.
The attitude of exciting did not correlate with ability. Gender correlated
with one attitude; males ranked science as a subject more exciting than
females. Ethnicity did not correlate with any of the
five attitudes. Grade significantly correlated with each attitude toward
science; the grade comparisons as measured by the Scheffe test indicated
that students enrolled in grades four, five, and six perceived science
more positively than secondary students. With multiple correlation, science
achievement correlated with attitude toward science.
To go to this article, click here.
Michael Robinson, Ph.D
University of Nevada
Reno, Nevada, 89557
e-mail: robinson@equinox.unr.edu
Tomasz Trojok, Ph.D.
Electrical Engineer
Walcownie Metali, Dziedzice
ul. Hutnicza 13
Czechowice-Dziedzice 43-502
Poland
and
Jan Norwisz, Ph.D.
Director
Poszanowania Energy Foundation
ul. Bohaterow Getta Warszawskiego 9p.608
Gliwice 44-100
Poland
Abstract
This article presents a study of the priorities given to global environmental issues/problems by over 700 secondary students and teachers in nine secondary schools in two cities in Katowice Province in Upper Silesia, Poland. The 12 global environmental issues/problems used in the study were originally identified by Rodger Bybee. The students and teachers ranked air quality and hazardous substances as the most important environmental problems and energy shortages and mineral resources as the least important. The study also determined where students get most of their information about environmental problems and related it to the importance of personal experience. Some background information about environmental problems in Poland is also given. The study has important implications for determining what changes should be made in secondary science curriculum and instruction in Polish secondary schools if students are to develop a greater understanding of the need for global environmental sustainability.
To go to this article, click here.
To go to the special section, click here.
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