REPORT RESUMES ED 011 860 SE 001 661 COURSE AND CURRICULUM IMPROVEMENT PROTECTSMATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, ENGINEERING. BY- FONTAINE, THOMAS D. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, WASHINGTON C.C. REPORT NUMBER NSF -66 -22 PUB DATE SEP 66 EDRS PRICE MF -$0.i$ HC -$5.00 125P. DESCRIPTORS- *COLLEGE SCIENCE, *CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT, *ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE, *SCIENCE COURSE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, *SECONDARY SCHOOL SCIENCE, BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, COLLEGE MATHEMATICS, ENGINEERING, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS, EARTH SCIENCE, PSYCHOLOGY, PHYSICS, SECONDARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS, SOCIAL SCIENCES, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, EARTH SCIENCE CURRICULUM PROJECT, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES CURRICULUM STUDY, CHEMICAL BOND APPROACH ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, AND COLLEGE LEVEL SCIENCE COURSE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS ARE DESCRIBED. INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS ARE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL AND ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE. MANY OF THE PROJECTS REPRESENT COMPLETE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND INCLUDE SUCH MATERIALS AS STUDENT TEXTBOOKS, LABORATORY MANUALS, SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS, TEACHER GUIDES, FILMS, AND OTHER AUDIOVISUAL AIDS. OTHERS ARE NARROWER IN SCOPE AND INVOLVE SUCH ACTIVITIES AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF VISUAL AIDS, LABORATORY EXERCISES, AND DEMONSTRATION EQUIPMENT. INFORMATION CONCERNING THE PROJECTS INCLUDES (1) THE PROJECT TITLE,(2) THE NAME OF THE PROJECT DIRECTOR, (3) THE RATIONALE OF THE PROGRAM,(4) A BRIEF HISTORY OF ITS DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING ITS CURRENT STATUS AND ANTICIPATED FUTURE ACTIVITIES,(5) A LIST OF MATERIALS THAT HAVE BEEN PREPARED BY THE PROJECT STAFF, AND (6) BIBLIOGRAPHIES. THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20402, FOR $0.65.(AG) COURSE AND CURRICULUM IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS MATHEMATICS SCIENCE ENGINEERING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SECONDARY SCHOOL COLLEG & UNIVERSITY U.S.DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY ASRECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS r STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIALOFFICE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION COURSE AND CURRICULUM IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS MATHEMATICS SCIENCE ENGINEERING Curriculum Studies Textbooks Laboratory Guides Resource Materials for Teachers Supplementary Materials for Students Equipment Development Films Sept. 1966 This volume is dedicated to thememory of Richard E. Paulson 1918 -1966 The principal architect of theprogram of which these projectsare the embodiment. For sale by the Superintendent of DOeiinients U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 ice 65 cents Foreword IN VERY MANY WAYS the plans and expectations of Americans, andindeed of people everywhere, depend upona strong and growing science and technology. The in- creasing importance of science toour Nation and the world creates pressing edu- cational demands.Literacy in science is becoming essential for all citizenswho wish to comprehend the world they live and work in andto participate in the increasing number of local and national decisions,some of gravest import, that require an under- standing of science.Further, more and more students must be attractedto scientific and technical pursuits, and these studentsmust be prepared to work with increasingly sophisticated ideas and techniques. Very practical considerations compelus to give attention to the strengthening of science education. But there is anotheraspect of the matter, namely, the principle held by those taking part in the reform of science educationthat more emphasis should be given to disciplined, creative, intellectual activityas a noble enterprise and to intellec- tual achievement as a worthy end in itself.There is a desire to allow each student to experience some of the excitement, beauty, and intellectualsatisfaction that scientific pursuits afford. Similar movements also aimedat giving the student experiences and points of view heretofore largely limited to professionalsin a field are beginning to go forward in the humanities and the arts. These experiences, it is hoped, will leadmany to enter scholarly professions and others to adoptsome of the scholarly and artistic modes of thought in their work and their avocations. Good teachers and good schools have always workedindividually to give students the best educational fare they could. Nowadays,however, the task of bringing the best that has been thought to all studentsinways appropriate to their varied interests, abilities, and future livesrequiresnew strategy and tactics.We live in an age of explosive growth of knowledge.More scientific and technological discoveries have been made in the past fifteenyears than in all previous recorded time.Powerful new insights are being gained into the fundamentalstructure of major areas of inquiry. Moreover, traditional assumptions about what studentsat given levels of development can learn are increasingly found to be misl3ading in manyways.Finally, society can no longer afford to wait for a generation ormore for new knowledge to make its gradual way into school and collegeprograms. In the last few years, mathematicians, scientists, engineers,and educators have taken up these new educational challenges with great vigor. Working together, and aided by increasing public and private support for educational research anddevelopment, they have undertaken a number of fresh approachesto the improvement of school instruction in mathematics and science. In colleges and universities, researchscientists have been taking an increasing interest in undergraduate instruction.The aim has been to wee that instruction presents contemporary knowledgeas well as contemporary viewpoints on knowledge established earlier. In many cases it has seemed best to startanew rather than merely to patch up oldercourses. A distinctive feature of many projects Is the effort made to go beyond the presentation of what is known andto provide students with experience in theprocesses by which new facts, principles, and techniques are developed. iii The purpose of thepresent edition of this booklet,as of the earlier editions, is to provide a readily available guide to curriculum improvement projectssupported by the National Science Foundation.Decisions on what to teachremain, in the healthy American tradition, the exclusiveresponsibility of individual schoolsand teachers. The National Science Foundationdoes not recommend the adoptionof any specific book, film, piece ofapparatus, course, or curriculum.It is hoped, however, that the products of these projects will prove to merit serious consideration by allconcerned with education atevery level from primary to graduate. THOMAS D. FONTAINE Associate Director (Education) Table of Contents Foreword iii Introduction 1 I. General Projects 3 H. Elementary and Secondary SchoolProjects A. Multidisciplinary 5 B. Astronomy, Atmospheric and EarthSciences 10 C. Biology 13 D. Chemistry 16 E. Mathematics 19 F. Physics (includes Engineering) 29 G. Social Sciences 32 III. College and University Projects A. Multidisciplinary 36 B. Agriculture 39 C. Anthropology 40 D. Biology 43 E. Chemistry 52 F. Engineering Multidisciplinary Engineering 59 Aeronautical Engineering 66 Chemical Engineering; Metallurgy;Ceramic Engineering 68 Civil and Sanitary Engineering 69 Electrical and Electronic Engineering 73 Industrial Engineering 79 Materials Science; Materials Engineering 80 Mechanical Engineering; Solid and FluidMechanics 82 Nuclear Engineering 88 G. Geography 88 H. Geology 89 I. Mathematics 92 J. Meteorology 100 K. Physics 100 L. Psychology 114 M. Sociology 117 Appendix List of Commercial Publishers, Film andTelevision Producers, and Apparatus Manufacturers Cited in Project Descriptionsin this Publication 118 Introduction ,HE Science Course Improvement Programs of the director's institution; and the periodcovered by Foun- National Science Foundation haveas their objec- dation support. tive'the improvement of the substance of courses The projects are classified by in mathematics, science, and engineeringat all educa- institutional levels elementary and secondary school tional levels.Outstanding scientists, mathematicians, or college and univer- sityand by academic discipline where and engineers take responsibility forpreparing new appropriate. Within each discipline, the projects and innovative materials whichpresent modern science are arranged in order of decreasing breadth of in chaNnging but comprehensible form.Course im- interestfrom projects of discipline-wide interest through provement activities include a wide diversity of projects projects concerned with a particularcourse to projects dealing with the ranging from curriculum conferences throughdevelop- development of a specific instrument ment of new or improved instructional apparatus to the or device.Since many projects are of interest to more than production of completecourses that may include new one disci- pline, a partial cross-reference is provided laboratory experiments, laboratory guides, educational at the be- ginning of each section. films, and teachers' guides,as well as textbook materials. Many readers will find it 1 profitable to spendsome time looking through the Foundation support is limited to the design anddevelop- projects of related areasas well as reviewing the more ment of these new materials.No grant fundsmay be detailed study of the projects in the discipline expended for promotionalpurposes, and the final prod- in which they have a primary interest. ucts must gain acceptance on their own merits. In addition, the