An electronic newsletter for
the science education community
January/February 2005
In this issue
I. Mapping
for Curriculum Coherence
When Project
2061 researchers used conceptual strand
maps to aid their evaluation of high
school biology textbooks, they learned
the value of explicitly attending to
the connections among ideas that bring
coherence to students’ learning
of science. A new online resource, High
School Biology Textbooks: A Benchmarks-Based
Evaluation, provides access to
the maps that Project 2061 reviewers
used to guide their analyses and
to record their findings. Read
the full story.
II.
PRISMS to Identify Quality Phenomena and Representations for Teaching
With support from the National Science
Foundation’s digital libraries
program, Project 2061 is collaborating
with the Maine Mathematics and Science
Alliance in a new three-year project.
Phenomena and Representations for the
Instruction of Science in Middle Schools
(PRISMS) will use Project 2061’s
curriculum-materials analysis procedure
to identify Web-based resources that
are aligned to content standards and
provide instructional support to teachers.
Read
more.
III. Science Literacy Campaign
Connects Informal Science Learning
to Educational Goals
With a “Science. It's Everywhere” theme, the Partnership for Science
Literacy continues to promote the importance of science learning to families
and communities. Its latest work involves showing specific ways that science
centers can help students achieve their school’s learning goals. Learn
more.