Biological Sciences Curriculum Study Research Articles

Ella Thea Smith and the Lost History of American High School Biology Textbooks

Two influential articles published in the 1970s suggested that pressure from Christian fundamentalists, subsequent to the Scopes trial of 1925, forced American high school biology textbook authors and publishers to significantly limit discussion of the topic of evolution. The conclusions reached by these studies have become foundational for historians examining the interplay between science and religion in the United States in the twentieth century. However, a reexamination of key twentieth century biology textbooks suggests that the narrative that the treatment of the theory of evolution was held hostage to anti-rational cultural forces is largely a myth, created first as part of a public relations effort by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) to differentiate, defend, and promote its work, and later as part of an attempt by scholars to sound a warning concerning the rise of the religious right. A focus on this narrative has not only allowed biologists to sidestep uncomfortable questions regarding the race-biased and class-biased assumptions embedded within the concept of evolutionary progress, it has also limited reliance on the texts in question as reliable reflections of the cultural assumptions of educators and scientists. A reexamination of the most popular American biology textbooks from 1907 to 1963, particularly the work of Ella Thea Smith, provides evidence in support of these contentions.

BSCS at 50 Years: Looking Forward for Another 50 Years

As Rodger Bybee, Executive Director of BSCS, mentioned in his Editorial printed in the February 2007 issue of ABT, we will be celebrating 50 years of leadership in science education. While that Editorial looked at the rich history that defines today, in this Editorial I will look forward. What is the work that will define BSCS' path for the next 50 years? To answer that question, it helps to review what it means to be a study. I am often asked what the letters BSCS stand for. I answer by saying Biological Sciences Curriculum Study--a mouthful even to those of us who work at BSCS. Most people recognize the first half of our name sciences and have some idea of what this means. For most people the second half of our name, curriculum study, is less clear. In these two acknowledgements lies the conundrum of working at BSCS. For most of the organization's history we have worked in areas of science beyond biology, though it is true we were originally funded to focus on the issue of high school biology curriculum. The second half of the conundrum is that the curriculum part of our name is much more defining than the first half and yet this is the part few people understand. So, we have a name that neither adequately identifies what we do nor fully helps people understand how we do it. A study examines the role of instructional materials in schools. In the case of our emphasis is in the sciences, with slightly more emphasis on the biological sciences. To study the role of curriculum, one must think about instructional materials, professional development, research, and evaluation in an effort to improve student learning. This is what has done for close to 50 years. We do this work by organizing it into Centers for Curriculum Development, Professional Development, and Research and Evaluation. In the Center for Curriculum Development we develop innovative materials that lead the profession. Although this innovation is a hallmark of materials, it is important to note that we do not create innovative materials for the sake of innovation. Rather, we are striving to meet our mission of providing a better science education for all students based on research about teaching and learning. If the popular, mainstream materials are not resulting in more effective learning (and many reports tell us they are not), then it is time to try something new. The innovations incorporated into materials are thoughtfully informed by data, feedback from the Center for Professional Development, and studies by the Center for Research and Evaluation. Work in the Center for Professional Development focuses on developing and disseminating strategies and support systems that enable the effective implementation of contemporary, research-based curricular materials, including programs, in classrooms across the nation. The renewed emphasis in professional development at has been a catalyst for new connections with schools and school districts nationwide, institutions of higher education, other leading science education organizations, professional development providers, our publishers, and private and public funding agencies. Our primary areas of focus right now are in building district-based leadership teams who can sustain the implementation of inquiry-based science materials and instruction, and strengthening teachers' knowledge and abilities to teach meaningful science content while students experience meaningful inquiry. The Center for Research and Evaluation Division provides information about the effectiveness of instructional materials and professional development development services supporting the use of high quality materials. Our line of research is not limited to the study of materials. We conduct rigorous research and evaluation projects on any instructional materials that promote the understanding of scientific inquiry. …

The Commencement of the Manhattanville Music Curriculum Program: 1957–1966

The period extending from the late 1950s through the 1960s was an era of intensive curriculum reform in United States education history. (1) This period featured an alphabet soup of new curriculum projects in various school subjects: the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), the Chemical Education Materials Study (CEMS), the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC), the School Mathematics Study Group (SMSG), and, in music: the Contemporary Music Project (CMP) and the Manhattanville Music Curriculum Program (MMCP). (2) These new curricula were tested, re-tested, and revised in participating schools. Summer institutes and in-service programs were held to train teachers in the use of new materials and methods. This extensive education reform movement swept through many school subject areas and across the nation. (3) The Manhattanville Program was a major music curriculum reform project undertaken during the 1960s. Contemporary observers view the MMCP as one of the pivotal events in American music education history during the second half of the twentieth century. (4) Nevertheless, no major historical studies of the MMCP have been undertaken to date. All the extant research on the MMCP has been in the form of empirical studies on the effects of local, small-scale applications of MMCP principles and strategies. (5) This study constitutes a first attempt to document some of the history of the MMCP beyond its treatment in general surveys of American music education history, and focuses on an examination of the circumstances and major events that gave impetus to the formation of the MMCP. Involvement of the Federal Government The federal government played a significant role in the school reform movement. The direct impetus for the government's involvement was the Union's launching of the world's first space satellite, Sputnik I, in October 1957. The Soviet Union's triumph in space technology panicked the American people, and public education immediately fell under heavy criticism. Education came to be seen as a matter of the nation's survival in the cold war competition between the Union and the United States. Education reform became one of the most critical concerns of the nation during this post-Sputnik period. (6) Although the U.S. Constitution gives the states responsibility for education, during this period the federal government began to provide strong support for education reform in the form of financial support through educational legislation, beginning soon after the Sputnik event with the National Defense Education Act. During the five-year period 1963-1968, the U.S. Congress enacted twenty-four major pieces of educational legislation. As a result, more substantial funds than ever before were distributed to support education. (7) After Sputnik and until 1963, the federal government directed funding exclusively to the fields of mathematics, science, and modern foreign languages. Arts and humanities education was excluded from federal funding. There was no federal support for summer training for teachers in the arts, although the National Science Foundation sponsored approximately 416 summer institutes for high school teachers of mathematics, physics, and biology in the summer of 1962 alone, and the U. S. Office of Education financed eighty foreign language programs in the same summer. (8) This state of affairs in education curriculum reform took a turn in 1962 when the Kennedy administration established the Cultural Affairs Branch, a precursor of the Arts and Humanities Program, within the Office of Education. Kathryn Bloom was appointed as director. The branch consisted of two staff members, both in the Office of Education: Harold Arberg, a music education specialist, was appointed as the first arts specialist and Richard Grove was appointed museum education specialist. (9) This was a landmark event because for the first time arts education received official recognition within the federal government. …

Ecology education when no child is left behind

Frontiers in Ecology and the EnvironmentVolume 1, Issue 7 p. 389-390 Forum Ecology education when no child is left behind Rodger W. Bybee, Rodger W. Bybee Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, Colorado Springs, CO, USASearch for more papers by this author Rodger W. Bybee, Rodger W. Bybee Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, Colorado Springs, CO, USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 September 2003 https://doi.org/10.1890/1540-9295(2003)001[0389:EEWNCI]2.0.CO;2Citations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume1, Issue7September 2003Pages 389-390 RelatedInformation

What Should the Inquiry Experience Be for the Learner?

As an instructional technique, inquiry learning is not new. Biological Sciences Curriculum Study provided excellent guidance in its ‘‘Invitation to Enquiry’’ materials in the 1960s, and recent reform efforts [National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996), Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy (AAAS 1993)] have reminded us once again of the pivotal role that inquiry plays in science education. In this article, we describe a model of inquiry learning that is basic, but that ties together the fundamental processes of seeking, identifying and substantiating knowledge by learners. The model has three phases: developing a question, answering the question, and arguing the answer. Each of the phases is important, but perhaps none more so than that of arguing the answer, for it is here that students reconstruct their thinking, marshal the evidence they have gathered, and make logical connections between an existing body of knowledge and the conclusions they have drawn. Following the description of the model are two examples of how inquiry learning can be fostered by a close student-teacher relationship.

Inservice Needs of Teachers of Biology: A Comparison between Veteran & Nonveteran Teachers

B IOLOGY is a continually changing (e.g. Human Genome Project, AIDS, new techniques such as Southern Blocks). At the same time, the techniques used to teach it (e.g. cooperative learning, microcomputer-based labs, authentic assessmentlike portfolios) are evolving. Consequently, biology teachers need inservice opportunities to update their background in both content and pedagogy. Buccino (1989) recommended that the continued professional development of biology teachers should be a concern of both institutions of higher education and local school systems. Dung (1989) noted that schools alone cannot provide the total professional growth experiences needed for biology teachers and proposed partnerships with higher education institutions and informal education sites (i.e. museums, etc.). The National Research Council (NRC 1990) reported that the nature of inservice activities is changing. For example, NRC noted that 63% of teachers of grades 10-12 have masters degrees, consequently, fewer teachers are returning to higher education institutions for further coursework. In her national survey, Weiss (1987) observed that 46% of teachers of grades 9-12 had taken a course in the past two-to-three years. She asked teachers when they would prefer inservice sessions to be scheduled. The preference was a workday (60%), while 33% responded that they would likely attend if the sessions were held during summer or after school, and about 20% would likely attend a Saturday or evening inservice program. However, school districts are seldom able to provide extensive inservice programs during the school day. Teachers must, for the most part, find alternatives for advancing their professional development. Baird et al. (1994) found in their multistate study of rural teachers that inconvenient location, inappropriate programs, poor programs, lack of information, and lack of personal energy were barriers to participation in inservice activities. During the 1960s and 1970s, NSF sponsored institutes that were frequently conducted on Saturdays, after school, or in the summer. Barrow (1992) reported on Presidential Honorees who teach biology. These exemplary biology teachers reported that more than 50% of their local schools have provided inservice opportunities. These teachers are considered exemplary because they have masters' degrees, attend professional meetings, submit manuscripts for publication, continue to take college courses, and read professional journals on a regular basis. Wivagg (1987) considers reading journals a professional responsibility of teachers. About three-fourths of the Honorees had personally conducted inservice sessions during the past two years. The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS 1993) recently released Developing Biological Literacy. This curriculum framework addresses changes in the roles that precollege, twoand four-year institutions play in developing biological literacy. These guidelines are going to necessitate inservice activities for current biology teachers. NRC (1990) recommended that inservice programs should vary based on the years of teaching: . . during the first several years of teaching, the focus of inservice programs should be techniques for teaching science. In later years, they should provide mechanisms for updating teachers' knowledge of science (p. 59). This study was conducted to see if there was a difference in perceived inservice needs of veteran and nonveteran biology teachers as recommended by NRC (1990). For the purposes of this study, we considered veterans as having taught five years or more and nonveterans as having taught less than five years.

Elementary School Science for Students with Disabilities

This paper reviews science curriculum issues surrounding the education of children with disabilities. Our nation's leadership has expressed serious concern regarding the role of science and mathematics in the education of our children, and children with disabilities cannot be excluded from this interest. we explore the background of science education for children with disabilities and examine three curricula designed especially for children with disabilities: Biological Science Curriculum study, full option science system, and science for all children.

Problem Solver's Conceptions about Osmosis

What do you need to know to solve a problem? This question prompted my study of the conceptual knowledge of problem solvers. Conceptual knowledge is factual knowledge. It is the knowledge of the meanings associated with concepts, laws and theories. For this study, to solve means to construct not only a correct answer but a scientifically meaningful solving course. A meaningful solving course is a sequence of problem-solving operations that is driven by conceptual knowledge (Stewart 1982). By a scientifically meaningful solving course, I refer to a meaningful solving course that is driven expressly by conceptual knowledge that is both accurate and appropriate to the problem. The purpose of my study was to identify the conceptual knowledge of high school students who solved a significant problem about osmosis. The problem selected for this study is significant for both instruction and research in the domain of osmosis (see Figure 1). Firstly, the problem conditions have been displayed extensively in high school biology texts (e.g. Otto & Towle 1985; Schraer & Stoltze 1987). Moreover, similar osmotic systems are the basis for illustrations and laboratory activities in other textbooks and laboratory manuals [e.g. Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), Yellow Version, 1980; Laboratory Inquiries, 1984]. Secondly, various researchers have used the conditions of this problem to explore students' conceptions about osmosis (Johnstone & Mahmoud 1980; Murray 1983). Osmosis is a fundamental but difficult concept for students to understand (Friedler, Amir & Tamir 1987). Therefore, to enhance the likelihood for a correct answer and a scientifically meaningful solving course, I selected participants who were designated as outstanding science students. Teachers recommended students who were outstanding in science for both their overall conceptual knowledge and interest in problem solving. Presumably their conceptual knowledge about osmosis could be useful for the majority of students to know.

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A Biologist in Wonderland: The Texas Biology Textbook Adoption Hearings

During 1984 presidential campaign, a colleague at a prestigious eastern university told me that Ronald Reagan had virtually no chance of reelection because the whole country sees through his shallow, media-controlled approach to government. My response, after a brief moment of speechlessness, was, You've to get out more; you've been talking primarily to your academic colleagues and to other people who think way you do. My job takes me regularly to cities and towns across America, and in 13 years of such travel Ihave learned not to assume that perspective shared by biology educators is necessarily prevailing viewpoint for rest of country. That lesson was brought home to me once again when I attended biology textbook adoption hearings in Austin, Texas, in July 1990. The Texas biology adoption process is important-and bizarre. It is important because Texas, as one of most populous of 22 adoption states, has an inordinate impact on textbook market; publishers pay attention to what happens there and often structure their books to ensure adoption. Because it is not financially feasible to develop alternate textbooks for less lucrative markets, rest of states in effect have their curriculum influenced by decisions in Texas (Moyer 1985). The process also is bizarre, however, because Texas has more than its share of creationists, some of whom, such as Mel and Norma Gabler, have been calling cadence on a march toward ignorance for three decades. Creationist opposition to evolution content in biology textbooks is well organized, and creationists' zeal and antediluvian pronouncements at adoption hearings bring out media in force. Only Texas residents and publishers' representatives are permitted to testify at hearings; I testified in my capacity as director of Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. Two of our books, Blue Version (D.C. Heath) and Green Version (Kendall/Hunt), were among nine books competing for eight possible places on adoption list. All nine books were subject to creationist attacks because books fail to present alternative explanations for life on Earth. The creationists, of course, think that creation science-a wonderful oxymoron-is an acceptable scientific alternative. Their testimony is a monument to scientific illiteracy and reminds us once again that our perspective as science educators is not as universal as we might wish. I provide below a few excerpts from testimony of some 20 creationists; about 35 Texas residents testified in total. The verbal testimony came too fast to ensure verbatim accuracy of statements, but I assure you that speakers' essential points are preserved.

A comparison of a biological sciences curriculum study (BSCS) laboratory and a traditional laboratory on student achievement at two private liberal arts colleges

AbstractThe purpose of this experiment was to compare an inquiry‐oriented Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) style laboratory approach with a more directive traditional approach on student outcomes in the cognitive and affective domains of learning at two private, midwestern liberal‐arts colleges. The BSCS approach emphasized basic and integrated science processes, concept development through extensive questioning, and increased student discretion, while the traditional approach contained highly structured, more prescriptive, teacher‐oriented activities. Intact laboratory sections of students enrolled in introductory general biology at two private liberal‐arts colleges were randomly selected into two treatment groups. Pretest and posttest measures were taken on three dependent variables: (1) biological content achievement, measured with a researcher‐generated Test on Biology Laboratory Concepts, (2) reasoning ability, measured with the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking, and (3) attitude toward biology, measured with the Biology Student Behavior Inventory. Analysis of covariance indicated the experimental group (n = 60) using the BSCS‐style laboratory approach scored significantly higher than the comparison group (n = 59) in levels of performance on biology content achievement, F(1, 114) = 4.07, p < 0.05. There were no significant differences between the two groups in performance levels on attitude toward biology or on reasoning ability. However, both groups experienced a 15‐percent increase in the number of formal thinkers as indicated by pretest‐posttest gain scores on the reasoning ability test. These results lend support to the hypothesis that a BSCS‐style laboratory approach fosters desired learner outcomes at the postsecondary level. In addition, these findings support the notion that the science laboratory may be used as a primary vehicle to promote formal reasoning skills.

If I Had 6 Years...

Research Article| May 01 1990 If I Had 6 Years... William V. Mayer William V. Mayer Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The American Biology Teacher (1990) 52 (5): 306–309. https://doi.org/10.2307/4449116 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation William V. Mayer; If I Had 6 Years.... The American Biology Teacher 1 May 1990; 52 (5): 306–309. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/4449116 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1990 National Association of Biology Teachers Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Science for Life & Living: An Elementary School Science Program from Biological Sciences Curriculum Study

Research Article| February 01 1990 Science for Life & Living: An Elementary School Science Program from Biological Sciences Curriculum Study Rodger W. Bybee, Rodger W. Bybee Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Nancy M. Landes Nancy M. Landes Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The American Biology Teacher (1990) 52 (2): 92–98. https://doi.org/10.2307/4449042 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Rodger W. Bybee, Nancy M. Landes; Science for Life & Living: An Elementary School Science Program from Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. The American Biology Teacher 1 February 1990; 52 (2): 92–98. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/4449042 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1990 National Association of Biology Teachers Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Enlist micros: Training science teachers to use microcomputers

AbstractA National Science Foundation grant to the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) at The Colorado College supported the design and production of training materials to encourage literacy of science teachers in the use of microcomputers. ENLIST Micros is based on results of a national needs assessment that identified 22 compentencies needed by K–12 science teachers to use microcomputers for instruction. A writing team developed the 16‐hour training program in the summer of 1985, and field‐test coordinators tested it with 18 preservice or in‐service groups during the 1985–86 academic year at 15 sites within the United States. The training materials consist of video programs, interactive computer disks for the Apple II series microcomputer, a training manual for participants, and a guide for the group leader. The experimental materials address major areas of educational computing: awareness, applications, implementation, evaluation, and resources. Each chapter contains activities developed for this program, such as viewing video segments of science teachers who are using computers effectively and running commercial science and training courseware. Role playing and small‐group interaction help the teachers overcome their reluctance to use computers and plan for effective implementation of microcomputers in the school. This study examines the implementation of educational computing among 47 science teachers who completed the ENLIST Micros training at a southern university. We present results of formative evaluation for that site. Results indicate that both elementary and secondary teachers benefit from the training program and demonstrate gains in attitudes toward computer use. Participating teachers said that the program met its stated objectives and helped them obtain needed skills. Only 33 percent of these teachers, however, reported using computers one year after the training. In June 1986, the BSCS initiated a follow up to the ENLIST Micros curriculum to develop, evaluate, and disseminate a complete model of teacher enhancement for educational computing in the sciences. In that project, we use the ENLIST Micros curriculum as the first step in a training process. The project includes seminars that introduce additional skills: It contains provisions for sharing among participants, monitors use of computers in participants' classrooms, provides structured coaching of participants' use of computers in their classrooms, and offers planned observations of peers using computers in their science teaching.

Creationism, the Courts, and the First Amendment

During the past sixty years, religious fundamentalists have regularly asked the courts to legitimize their campaign against the teaching of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in the pub lic schools. In their view, Darwinian theory is inconsistent with the inerrant word of God with regard to explaining human kind's creation. At first, the courts were sympathetic as in the Scopes monkey trial where the nation's first anti-evolution law was upheld by the Tennessee Supreme Court.1 Although implementation of anti-evolution policies was sometimes con tested, the controversy remained relatively dormant until de mands were made for improved science instruction after the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union. Following the adoption of recommendations by the federally funded Biological Science Curriculum Study to emphasize evolution in high school text books, courts were again called upon to decide whether remain ing anti-evolution laws were constitutional.2 In Epperson v. Arkansas,3 the United States Supreme Court held that prohibit ing the teaching of evolution was an impermissible establish ment of religion. Even before this decision, fundamentalists had stopped seek ing legislative bans on the teaching of evolution. Rather, they urged the states to provide equal time for the biblical view of creation. Epperson, however, suggested that this approach would violate the Establishment Clause. A new strategy was needed, one that could not be construed as promoting religious

20 Years of Progress 1946-1965: A Presidential View

William V. Mayer William V. Mayer (1920-1989) was professor emeritus of biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, CO 80302 and editor-inchief of Bookwatch. He held an A.B. in zoology from the University of California and a Ph.D. in biology from Stanford University. Mayer served as associate director and director of Biological Sciences Curriculum Study in Colorado Springs, CO, and was a past president and honorary member of NABT. The chairman of NABT's 50th anniversary committee and editor of Scientific Integrity, he authored more than 300 books, articles and reviews on biology and biological education.

Genetics & the Quality of Life

Research Article| May 01 1989 Genetics & the Quality of Life Joseph D. McInerney Joseph D. McInerney Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The American Biology Teacher (1989) 51 (5): 264–268. https://doi.org/10.2307/4448923 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Joseph D. McInerney; Genetics & the Quality of Life. The American Biology Teacher 1 May 1989; 51 (5): 264–268. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/4448923 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1989 National Association of Biology Teachers Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Biology Textbooks: Whose Business?

Joseph D. McInerney Joseph D. McInerney is director of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, The Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO 80903. Since joining the BSCS staff in 1977, McInerney has worked primarily on programs in human genetics education and on education and science, technology and society. McInerney is co-chair of the National Association of Biology Teachers/National Science Teachers Association Biology Test Committee.

When "Conservation" Became "Ecology"

Carol L. Stone In 1968, Carol Stone was Rand McNally's editor for the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study Green Version, second edition. Now living and working in California, she owns the Stone Cottage, a science writing and editing service for educational publishers. She recently received a Ph.D. in Education from Stanford Univ., where she did the textbook research on which this paper is based. In addition, she has a B.A. in Biology from Kalamazoo College and an M.A. in Human Ecology from Governors State Univ.

BSCS Programs: Just How Effective Were They?

Public support for science education decreased progressively during the '70s and hit rock bottom in the early months of 1982 when the Science Education Directorate of the National Science Foundation came perilously close to extinction. Contributing to this demise of science education was the perceived ineffectiveness of the science programs developed with public monies in the '60s and early '70s. The general sentiment was that the new science programs were a waste of money and were the cause of declines in student scores in science and math throughout the '70s. But were the new programs ineffective? On what evidence were these conclusions based? We recently completed a quantitative synthesis, or meta-analysis, of 25 years of research comparing student performance in the new science programs to that in the more traditional courses. We found the new science programs to be consistently more effective than their traditional counterparts. Moreover, we found Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) biology to be the most effective of all the new high school programs. In this report we will present the details of the BSCS research synthesis, showing how the BSCS programs compare to each other and to other science programs and how various student groups performed. We think these data are especially valuable in view of the recent swing in support of science education precipitated by the documented shortage of qualified science and math teachers for our elementary and secondary schools. Though huge investments in another round of curriculum development are not anticipated, policymakers and science educators will be looking at the interaction of teacher materials in an effort to come up with a working model for improved science instruction. We feel elements of programs such as BSCS should be considered in this search.