SCIENCE-EDUCATION REFORM - BUILDING ON THE RESEARCH BASE

Those concerned with science education are united in calling for reform, yet divided in specifying the nature of this reform. Several recent conferences (Gardner et al., 1990; Linn, 1987b; Shymansky & Kyle, 1992) have focused on reform as a joint collaborative process involving experts in cognition, science education, precollege teaching, the subject matter disciplines, teacher preparation, and curriculum design. This article (a) contrasts several perspectives on science education reform by examining recommendations for introductory science courses, (b) identifies research findings that can guide reform, (c) discusses the impact of research on national precollege curriculum reform, and (d) offers a set of recommendations to guide research and practice concerned with science education reform.