The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in the achievement levels of second grade students when twenty-one students experienced instruction on the bio-ecosystems where the learning activities were primarily outdoors along a nature trail and a comparable group of twenty-three students experienced instruction on the same bio-ecosystems where the learning activities were located indoors. An emphasis on literature approach was utilized to teach a set of sixteen objectives centering around an environmental theme. Each group received instruction for-45 minutes daily for a period of three weeks and experienced equivalent "hands-on" learning activities.A gain score was determined by computing the difference between each student's pre-test and post-test achievement raw scores. A t test score of 1.31 resulted and it was concluded that there was no significant difference in achievement levels of a group of comparable students receiving instruction on bio-ecosystems outdoors and a group of students experiencing the same instructions indoors.

It would appear that examination of student and teacher perceptions of classroom practices might provide information useful in explaining the descrepancies among what teachers think they are doing and what the students see them doing, the achievement and attainment levels of the student, and the application of process oriented science and traditional textbook science. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to determine if a discrepancy exist between student and teacher perceptions of classroom practices in Duval County junior high schools. Specifically, this project attempted to answer the question: Do the perceptions of Advanced Ninth-Grade Biology students in Duval County parallel those of their teachers with respect to the strategies being used, the treatment of text and related materials, the laboratory assignments and the follow-up to them, and the level and kind of overall student and teacher participation in the classroom?

This curriculum project reviews the current research on laboratory activity formats and their effectiveness. The literature concerning laboratory safety and teacher liability is also reviewed. The revision of Florida state high school science requirements is presented and the curriculum developed corresponds to these revisions. The project includes laboratory activities that correspond to the course student performance standards as designated by the state of Florida for the Physics I course and strives to aid teachers in fulfilling the 72 hour laboratory time requirement to meet eligibility requirements for additional state funding. The criteria for selecting activities and materials are also included in this project. A sample evaluation form is included, as well as a summary of these teacher evaluations of the developed curriculum.

This paper addresses the problem of the minimal presence of activity-based science in the intermediate grades. The author presents a project integrating a hands-on science curriculum. Students at the fourth-grade level were given demonstrations and activities in the area of science. Discussions, written assignments, readings, listening activities, and reports were correlated with hands-on activities in the development of an integrated curriculum. This qualitative study lasted the school year and was evaluated by use of the teacher's ongoing journal and student-submitted evaluations of the curriculum at the close of the study. The author found the project produced positive results in stimulating discussion, critical thinking, and student involvement. The author concludes that such a curriculum is beneficial because it elevates an often neglected, yet stimulating, curriculum and integrates it into the language arts curriculum which occupies a great deal of student/teacher time and effort.

The instructional materials prepared for this project are based on outdoor activities that correlate with the Duval County, Florida, Performance Objectives for Life Science in the seventh grade. Special emphasis is placed on hands-on, sensory experiences and observations, and sequencing of instruction within lessons. The review of related literature includes the philosophy of outdoor/environmental education, a historical perspective of outdoor/environmental education, and learning theory as it applies to the principles and practices of an outdoor approach to education.

Environmental education is becoming an increasingly important component of secondary science education as our society attempts to minimize the exploitations and damaging actions of humankind on the earth. Environmental education has evolved primarily from environmental consciousness in the 1960s to an environmentally active focus in the 1990s. This project examined the effectiveness of an environmental education curriculum that focuses on improving environmental behaviors and attitudes as well as knowledge. The review of the literature for this project indicates that responsible environmental behaviors are linked to four types of environmental education categories. These categories are hierarchical and include: 1) ecological concepts, 2) conceptual awareness, 3) issue investigation and evaluation, and 4) environmental action skills (Disinger, 1993). A review of environmental education curricula provides a wide variety of activities in all four of the above listed categories. Information documenting the relationship between the acquisition of environmental knowledge and behav~ural change as a result of participating in community based environmental activities is less evident. Therefore, this project attempted to investigate the relationships between participation in community-based environmental activities and tenth-grade students' knowledge and attitudes toward environmental issues. During the spring semester of 1995 forty-five tenth-grade biology students at a private urban high school were pretested to assess their initial environmental concept knowledge and their initial environmental attitudes. These students were subsequently exposed to a three-week introduction to environmental concepts and to techniques for investigating environmental issues. Students were simultaneously given a variety of issues to investigate. An additional four hours of time were required of each student to participate in a community service related to an environmental concern. They submitted a written report of their work which included background research, method of participation, results and conclusions on the effect of their project on the environment. Following these experiences, a posttest was administered to assess any change in students' environmental knowledge or attitudes. Effective environmental education encourages the active participation of students in environmental improvement. The results of this investigation could assist educators in the selection of appropriate environmental activities for use with high school students.

Teachers for generations have struggled with the challenge of motivating students to learn in their classes. Literature suggests that a positive way to increase student motivation and academic achievement in science is with the laboratory experience. With the lack of adequate laboratory space in our schools, teachers are having to "make do" in science classes with limited space and budget. A need exists for 9th grade Earth Science laboratory activities that meet county course objectives and yet are simple enough to be used in a classroom setting, thereby eliminating the need for extra expenses for the science department. This project has developed a set of laboratory experiences appropriate for 9th grade Earth Science courses in Duval County.

The assumptions of this project imply that concepts concerning the relationships among living organisms can be assimilated by the child only if his experiences include exploration of his environment and the opportunity to discover these relationships himself. In order to help him progress, an interested, informed teacher who will encourage and help him is of prime importance. Because progress needs to be started as early as possible, kindergarten age children will be the focus of this project. Here the school should use the opportunity to begin developing the environmentally aware citizen. Unfortunately, few texts and guides in environmental education have been developed for teachers working in the kindergarten. A beginning curriculum utilizing the curiosity in the children and the order of the environment is needed. This project will be an example of a way to fulfill this need. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to develop a series of activities into a curriculum guide in environmental education for use by teachers in kindergarten. Specifically, this will be a kindergarten environmental education curriculum guide for approximately sixty students in three classes at Melrose Community School in Melrose, Putnam County, Florida.

Science is taught at all grade levels, yet there exists a deficiency in the amount of emphasis placed on science training for elementary teachers. As a result, teachers often feel inadequate in their knowledge of scientific areas and in their ability to develop science process skills in their students. As a result in this lack of training, a need exists to provide programs to increase skill and confidence of elementary teachers not only in teaching science concepts but science process skills as well. One means of meeting this need was the development of an activity-based, process-oriented inservice curriculum designed specifically for elementary science. The curriculum was designed as an inservice component of 60 hours that emphasized process skills as well as updating science concepts. The curriculum was designed for use in grades 1-6 and stressed "hands-on" experiences using readily available materials and a minimum of specialized equipment. The curriculum was field tested as a component of the Clay county, Florida Summer Inservice Institute. Thirty eight teachers, whose teaching assignments ranged from kindergarten to sixth grade, participated in the field test. At the beginning of the Institute, no participant scored 80% or better on a pretest of knowledge of concepts and process skills. Each participant completed each 'activity in the role of a student, including forming a hypothesis, collecting data, and drawing a conclusion. Activities were then discussed stressing process skills used and an indepth review of concepts involved. On the final day of the Institute, 84% of the participants scored 80% or better on the posttest. Furthermore, evaluations of the component by particiPants indicated a marked improvement in confidence in and enthusiasm for teaching science process skills. Overall the curriculum met the objective of increasing elementary teachers' ability and willingness to teach science process skills as well as science concepts.

The foregoing fable casts much doubt on some elements of the instructional process. All children cannot fit in the same shoe size just as all children cannot learn the same things at the same rate, following the same teaching strategies. These individual differences should be taken into consideration. The situation is not at all helped by attaching labels to the students. Children are not cows that we herd from one grade to another, all needing the same nutritional requirements. They should be compared more to various species of plants. Some may be like the cactus which only needs water once a month, and too much water would kill it. Other plants may need watering every day. Likewise, all students are individuals and have many different needs.The problem to be examined here concerns the “gifted feet" which were put into the "red shoes". The word "gifted", in referring to students, seems to imply that these students are all geniuses, and, therefore, the term needs some clarification. For the purpose of this paper, the term "gifted" is broadened to also include the "talented" and/or “highly motivated.” For the sake of simplicity, the term "talented" will be used throughout the rest of this paper, but with the understanding that the other two terms are included in the meaning.