Integrating reading and science education: On developing and evaluating WEE Science

Two studies of a new science programme called WEE Science were conducted in two fifth-grade classrooms. The studies lasted for seven days in one of the classrooms and nine days in the other. At the beginning of the programme the students chose a science trade book from among the many that were selected and brought to the classroom. The students then formed groups based on the topics of the books and asked questions (Wondering) about the content. After choosing one of the 'wonderments' to pursue further, the students formed and implemented a plan for investigating (Exploring). In each classroom, each student explored, working in cooperating groups of two or more. The students then explained (Explaining) to a group of their peers what they had wondered and what and how they had explored. The students' wonderments, activities, plans, and explanations were recorded in a science notebook that had been designed for that purpose. In addition, the classrooms were videotaped while WEE Science was in progress. While the studies were successful in that most students eagerly participated in all phases of the project, some problems were encountered which created another round of wondering for the researchers. Some of these were: evaluating students' work, responding to science misconceptions of students, teaching some students to record observations in their notebooks, deciding where WEE Science would fit best in the curriculum, and anticipating its reception in the science education community.     

Effects of Argument Scaffolding and Source Credibility on Science Text Comprehension

This study investigated the effects of argument scaffolding and source credibility on science text comprehension. Eighty-seven college students were randomly assigned to an argument scaffolding activity, or no scaffolding, and read 2 science texts, attributed to a high- or a low-credibility source. The argument-scaffolding group recalled less text-based information but generated more knowledge-based inferences than did the no-scaffolding group. High source credibility enhanced readers’ text-based recall but had little effect on knowledge-based inferences or situation models. Overall, results suggest that argumentation facilitates deeper text comprehension and better argument understanding, while at the same time reducing the effect of source credibility on text processing.     

Edinburgh University,schools and the civil service in the early twentieth century

This article is a case study of the relation between urban schooling and university education, using two main sources. Data on the schools attended by history students at Edinburgh University between 1899 and 1933 illustrate the diversity and social ranking of schools in the city. New higher grade schools had a key role in increasing access to university education for both men and women, especially for prospective teachers; the significance of the Education (Scotland) Act of 1918 for Catholic schools, and the continuing importance of small private schools for girls, are also shown. The second source analyses the school origins of successful Edinburgh candidates in civil service examinations between 1896 and 1944, supplemented for other parts of Scotland by the report of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service of 1912. This elite career drew mainly from older schools, and contemporary claims for equality of opportunity in Scotland need to be treated with reserve.     

Are Environmental Professors Unbalanced? Evidence From the Field

Most outcomes assessment in higher education has focused on content knowledge or skills development; however, attitudinal change is also a legitimate focus of assessment. We use the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) to test whether courses designed to meet the same university environmental literacy requirement changed student environmental attitudes, and whether these changes resulted from instructor and/or course-content effects. We found student environmental attitudes did change significantly but in different directions depending upon who taught the course. The ability to measure such changes adds to the discussion in the environmental education community on the desired nature of attitudinal change and of the responsibilities of higher education instructors.     

Book review section

FREE SPEECH: RESPONSIBLE COMMUNICATION UNDER LAW. By Robert M. O'Neil. Indianapolis, Indiana: The Bobbs‐Merrill Company, Inc., 1966; pp. viii 123+$1.25.

THE MOYNIHAN REPORT AND THE POLITICS OF CONTROVERSY, by Lee Rainwater and William L. Yancey. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1967; pp. xvii+493. $3.95.

VOICES OF CRISIS: VITAL SPEECHES ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES, by Floyd W. Matson, New York: The Odyssey Press, Inc., 1967; pp. xi+304.

THE BLACK POWER REVOLT. Edited by Floyd B. Barbour. Boston: Porter Sargent Publisher, 1968; pp. 287. $5.95 cloth; $2.95 paper.

THE AGITATOR IN AMERICAN SOCIETY. By Charles W. Lomas. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice‐Hall, 1968; pp. viii+182.

BLACK POWER: THE POLITICS OF LIBERATION IN AMERICA. By Stokely Carmichael and Charles V. Hamilton. New York: Vintage Books, 1967; pp. xii+ 198. Paper $1.95.

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMISSION ON CIVIL DISORDERS. New York: Bantam Books, 1968; pp. xi+609. Paper $1.25.     

Parents’ Metacognitive Knowledge: Influences on Parent–Child Interactions in a Science Museum Setting

Despite science learning in settings such as science museums being recognized as important and given increasing attention in science education circles, the investigation of parents’ and their children’s metacognition in such settings is still in its infancy. This is despite an individual’s metacognition being acknowledged as an important influence on their learning within and across contexts. This research investigated parents’ metacognitive procedural and conditional knowledge, a key element of their metacognition, related to (a) what they knew about how they and their children thought and learned, and (b) whether this metacognitive knowledge influenced their interactions with their children during their interaction with a moderately complex simulation in a science museum. Parents reported metacognitive procedural and conditional knowledge regarding their own and their children’s thinking and learning processes. Further, parents were aware that this metacognitive knowledge influenced their interactions with their children, seeing this as appropriate pedagogical action for them within the context of the particular exhibit and its task requirements at the science museum, and for the child involved. These findings have implications for exhibit and activity development within science museum settings.