Science Education News, October 1973: International Science ...

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ED 093 592 TITLE INSTITUTION PUB DATE NOTE AVAILABLE FROM EDRS PRICE DESCRIPTORS IDENTIFIERS DOCUMENT RESUME SE 016 900 Science Education News, October 1973: International Science Education. American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C. Oct 73 8p, AAAS, 1515 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Wasjtington, D.C. 20005 MF-$0.75 HC-$1.50 PLUS POSTAGE Educational Objectives; *Environmental Educaticn; *International Education; Newsletters; Program Descriptions; *Science Education Africa; Australia; Britain; Thailand; Nest Indies ABSTRACT This issue of the newsletter of the American Association for the Advancement of Science has as its theme International Science Education. It contains reports from five science education projects located in Great Britain, the West Indies, Africa, Thailand, and Australia. Also included is an article by Dr. Albert V. Baez, Chairman of the AAAS Commission on Science Education. This article is entitled "Educational Goals for the Seventies." (PEB)

Transcript of Science Education News, October 1973: International Science ...

ED 093 592

TITLE

INSTITUTION

PUB DATENOTEAVAILABLE FROM

EDRS PRICEDESCRIPTORS

IDENTIFIERS

DOCUMENT RESUME

SE 016 900

Science Education News, October 1973: InternationalScience Education.American Association for the Advancement of Science,Washington, D.C.Oct 738p,AAAS, 1515 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Wasjtington,D.C. 20005

MF-$0.75 HC-$1.50 PLUS POSTAGEEducational Objectives; *Environmental Educaticn;*International Education; Newsletters; ProgramDescriptions; *Science EducationAfrica; Australia; Britain; Thailand; Nest Indies

ABSTRACTThis issue of the newsletter of the American

Association for the Advancement of Science has as its themeInternational Science Education. It contains reports from fivescience education projects located in Great Britain, the West Indies,Africa, Thailand, and Australia. Also included is an article by Dr.Albert V. Baez, Chairman of the AAAS Commission on Science Education.This article is entitled "Educational Goals for the Seventies."(PEB)

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process of creative design to generate improvement inman-made things. Why should we not rind ways toimbue all of education with the spirit of changethrough creative design? All man-made things, artisticand literary as well as material, could be improved ifwe could infuse students with the spirit of creativity.

Competence. There is a difference between under-standing the theory of a jet engine and the ability tobuild one and make it work. The mechanic who canput the engine together has a special type of compe-tence associated with knowledge and skill, lie need notunderstand Newton's laws of motion to do so. But 1should like to extend the concept of competence to in-clude the ability exemplified by an artist, a musician, ateacher, a writer, an electronic technician, and a watch-maker. I suppose it can extend to all walks of life.What is required is the skill born of knowledge andexperience to perform certain tasks well. Yet, on otheroccasions, I have linked competence with the idea ofbringing into being something new and useful thathad not existed previously and hence associated it withthe concept of design. I am groping for a definition ofcompetence that is more sophisticated than that exem-plified by a plumber or an electrician but which impliesthe ability to make an imaginative jump from presentfact to future possibilities. So, I guess it must beclosely related to creativity. Regardless of the shade ofmeaning we give to competence it is clear that educa-tion, in the past, has not always generated competence,Perhaps it can in the future.

Compassion. Weisskopf suggests that there is asecond complementarity between curiosity and compas-sion. He says, "Science cannot develop unless it is pur-sued for the sake of pure knowledge and insight. Butit will not survive unless it is used intensely and wiselyfor the betterment of humanity and not as an instru-ment of domination by one group over another. Thereare two powerful elements in human existence; com-passion and curiosity. Curiosity without compassion isinhuman; compassion without curiosity is ineffectual."'

The way I am using the word compassion implies aconcern for the well-being of other people.

In the world of the future, burdened by thr four Fs,surely scientists and engineers should be imbued withthe spirit of brotherhood that engenders concern andsocial responsibility. But so should everyone else. Itshould be a universal guideline for education.

How to imbue education with the four C's? That isthe key question to which I do not have an easy answer,I feel that the four C's will be needed to pull us outof the mess we are in. But we will need pioneers whoare already endowed with the four C's to invent waysof injecting theM into the education of the future. Ibelieve We must find ways to experiment with new formsof education that exemplify the four C's. If we Secceed,we will all be the gainers and science education willbenefit as well.-7--ALtiRr V. 'BAEZ,' Cluzieman, dIAASCommission on Science Education.

' Victor F. Weisskopf, The Significance of Science. Sci-ence 176:138, April 14, 1972

Centre for Edneationni DevelopmentOvt.rseas (CF,1)0)

CEDO was created in 1970 to assist developing coun-tries with modernization and innovation in education byproviding a source of information, advice, and help.CEDO is concerned with curricula in the widest sense,with the techniques of teaching, with all aspects of edu-cational technology and with related problems of edu-cational organization. CEI)O is active in the fields offormal and informal education and with all levels ofeducation. There are three divisions in CEDOAudio-Visual, Broadcasting, and Curriculumtogether withan Information and Research Department. CE DO issupported by funds from the British governmentthrough the Overseas Development Administration ofthe Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but also hasfunds from private organizations. It is assisted in itsactivities overseas by the representatives of the BritishCouncil.

In science education the Curriculum Division is in-volved at primary and secondary levels in many de-veloping countries throughout the world. Recent in-terest has given rise to projects in integrated scienceat the junior secondary level, particularly in the Carib-bean, in Sierra Leone and in Botswana, Lesotho, andSwaziland in southern Africa. In the case of the Carib-bean and the southern African territories the interesthas centered around adaptations of the Scottish inte-grated science project for the junior secondary level;that is, for grades 6 through 9. British consultants areworking in these regions under bilateral aid schemesand together with teams of local teachers and advisorsthe projects are proceeding by means of trials of lo-cally produced materials in a limited number of schools.

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In the Caribbean, for instance, there are now some 80schools in 15 territories involved in the trials with about7,000 children in each of the three years of the project.

In the separate sciences REDO Is concerned withadaptations of Nuffield biology, chemistry, and physicsin the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania, andUganda and in Malaysia. In East Africa courses at thesecondary school level of four years' duration have been

2Science Education News, October 1973

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devised following trials in schools in each of the terri-tories. These courses have given rise to new examina-tions at the end of the secondary course, which are ad-ministered by a recently established East African Ex-aminations Council. I t Malaysia the adaptations areconcentrated at the upper secondary level (grades 10and 11) following the introduction of an integrated sci-ence course for grades 6 through 9 which itself is basedon the Scottish Integrated Science Scheme.

CEDO is also involved in undertaking consultanciesfor international organizations such as UNESCO andUNICEF. For example, two members of the staff fromthe Curriculum Division of CEDO were invited byUNICEF and the government of India in 1970 and1971 to advise on the implementation of a large-scaleUNICEF -aided project to improve the teaching of sci-ence at primary and middle school levels throughoutIndia. Although much of CEDO's efforts are directedtoward Commonwealth countries, CEDO is also operat-ing in Latin America, notably Colombia and Mexicoat the present time, in the Middle East (Egypt andLebanon) and in the Far East (Thailand and Indo-nesia).

The Curriculum Division of CEDO Is collaboratingwith the Science Teaching Center of the University ofMaryland and with the Division of Pre-University Sci-

Same Education News, October 1973

spar 6Farr 3

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ence and Technology Education of UNESCO in main-taining a comprehensive collection of science curricu-lum materials from all over the world and in keepingin touch with the latest projects. Liaison has also beenestablished with the Science and Mathematics Center ofERIC in Columbus, Ohio.

This article is concerned only with the science adu-cation work of the Curriculum Division of CEDO butreaders may like to know that at the headquarters ofCEDO training facilities exist for students from over-seas who wish to join courses in educational television,educational radio and audio-visual aids. There is alsoan Educational Resources Centre where there is a li-brary, and curriculum materials from various countriesand audio-visual aids made overseas are on display.Visitors to the United Kingdom wishing to see some-thing of CEDO's training facilities or to inspect thecurriculum materials, or to learn about the work of theCentre as a whole are invited to write to the Directorof the Information and Research Department fromwhom copies of general brochures about CEDO andthe training courses can be obtained on request.D. C. CRISMAN, Deputy Director, Curriculum Division,CEDO, Tavistock House South, Tavisteck Square, Lon-don, W.C.i, England.

'Fite (.E1)0/Mll Cori ldwan RegionalScience Projcet ((ASP)

CRSP started in September 1970 and has now com-pleted the first phase of its operations. The broad aimof the project was to improve the standard of scienceeducation at the junior secondary level (roughly 11-11year olds) in the English-speaking Caribbean terri-tories, through the introduction of a pupil-activity/discovery-based, integrated science curriculum, Financefor the project comes mainly from the British OverseasDevelopment Administration and the Centre for Edu-cational Development Overseas in London, A profes-sional base is provided by the University of the WestIndies, at its Cave Hill campus in Barbados. The newcurriculum was to supersede formal "chalk-and-talk"general science in some schools, and in others to intro-duce science into the school curriculum. In selectingthe curriculum to be used, the following points wereconsidered:

1. The science taught should form a part of the gen-eral education of all pupils, and the curriculum must beuseful to the early school leaver, as well as to the pupilwho goes on to specialize,

2. The project was to include 15 territories lying ona 4000 - kilometer crescent across the Caribbean: Belize,Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, BritishVirgin Islands, St. Kitts-Nevis, Anguilla, Antigua,Montserre, Dominica, St. Lucia, Barbados, St, Vincent,Grenada, and Guyana. While displaying marked geo-graphical, social, and economic differences, these terri-tories do share a common educational tradition, so thatthe task of providing one basic curriculum that suitedthem all was not unrealistic.

3. The background of the teachers was also veryvariedfrom professionally trained graduates, to teach-ers with only a minimal education in science themselves,and no teacher training. The few well-qualified teach-ers were generally specialists in one or at most two ofthe traditional disciplines of science. In almost all casesthe teachers' experience of science education had beenvery formal, and the new curriculum would involve adistinctly new approach.

4. There would be no opportunity within the projectfor a full preservice training program. (This task hassubsequently been taken up by a UNESCO project,RLA 142.) Teacher preparation would be limited to atwo-week induction course, plus a maximum (seldomrealized) of six one-day briefings each year.

5. The project was to start with only one full-timeregional consultant (P. S. Adey), based in Barbados,and a part-time visiting senior consultant (A. J. Mee),based in the United Kingdom. We were able to enlistthe help of two other consultants in Jamaica (Miss J. F.Reay and Dr. A. D. Turner) who fitted in CRSP workwith their many other commitments. During the lastnine months of the project, another full-time consultant,L Jones was appointed to work in Jamaica,

This shortage of staff, plus the difficulties and highcost of travel in the region, meant that pilot schoolswere not visited as often as one would have liked.

4

6. Pilot schools in the project were provided wherenecessary with a set of modern equipment; most hadadequate science rooms with gas and water providedby their local ministries of education.

Consideration of all these factorsespecially items2 through 5suggested that the material to be pio-vided must offer the teacher a great deal of supportand advice both in science content and teaching method,

A curriculum which offered such material had alreadybeen initiated in Trinidad where conditions were simi-lar to (but not the same as) those outlined above. Thiscurriculum was known as WISCIPthe West IndianScience Curriculum Innovation Project.

The foundation of WISCIP is a highly detailed teach-ers guide, which not only defines the curriculum, butprovides lesson-by-lesson notes for the whole three-yearcourse. This highly structured course has some obviousdisadvantages, but in the context of this project hasproved successful, and most teachers have welcomedthe confidence and relief from long-term planning thatthe guide provides.

For the CRSP the Trinidad WISCIP was first revisedby a curriculum committee in Barbados and some pupils'worksheets were prepared. The result, known asWISCIP/B, was introduced to pilot schools throughoutthe region. An elaborate system of feedback allows

Science Education News, October 19 3

teacherseven in remote areas--to submit detailed in-formation of the progress of the course in their schools.This feedback system not only supplements the con-sultants' own observations on the teaching activities,but gives every teacher the opportunity to become di-rectly involved in the curriculum development process.We believe that this is particularly important for ahighly structured course like WISCIP, where the moreinnovative teacher may otherwise feel that he is havinga curriculum imposed on him without his firsthand class-room experience being considered.

Each year a writing session is held at which the con-sultants and a small group of teachers rewrite the year'swork on the basis of feedback received. WISCIP/C,the result of this rewrite, is then put into the schoolsand once again feedback is received on its progress,

WISCIP /C is now being used in their three juniorsecondary years by 73 schools in the Caribbean. A fur-ther 8 schools have already made a start with it intheir first two years, involving a total of 211 teachersand over 20,000 pupils. The numbers of inquiries re-ceived during tiis summer vacation indicate that inSeptember 1973 many more schools will start to useN% ISCIP, so that in the eastern Caribbean project ter-ritories at least, virtually every secondary and juniorsecondary school with suitable facilities will be teachingWISCIP.

The obvious popularity of WISCIP with teachers andministries of education is supported by the results ofan evaluation exercise carried out in 1972 and 1973.Pupils following WISCIP were shown to perform sig-nificantly better than similar pupils following othercourses on a test of scientific comprehension, applica-tion, and higher abilities.

Future plans include the production of a "final" ver-sion of the curriculum, probably to be known as IVISC,and its publication together with pupils' workbooks.PIIII,1P ADEY, CEDOIUWI Caribbean Regional ScienceProject, School of Education, University of the WestIndies, Care Hill, P. 0. Box 64, Bridgetown, Barbados.

Selene(' Programmefor Africa (SEPA)

Science education in Africa is characterized by intenseinterest and commitment by African governments, pro-fessional educators, and small, scattered, and under-manned programs proceeding mostly in isolation fromone another. Expertise, manpower, and funds are al-most nowhere sufficient. One solution to the problemis to combine, relate, exchange, and coordinate avail-able personnel, materials, and efforts to improve effi-ciency and effectiveness while making thrustful inno-vations. This is the purpose of the Science EducationProgramme for Africa (SEPA).

SEPA is an independent international education de-velopment and nonprofit organization of African statesestablished in 1970 to:

1, facilitate science education development in Africathrough workshops, conferences, publications andinnovative programming;

Science 14-Mutation News, October 1973

2. encourage and support production of excellentrelevant instructional materials and scientificequipment for schools from locally availablematerials; and

3. support national and regional education institu-tions.

Before 1970 the African Primary Science Programme(APSP) under the administration and direction of theEducation Development Center had developed scienceeducation materials for primary schools, establishedscience curriculum development centers, and built somemanpower resources.

SEPA members are: Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana,Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, andZambia. Associate members include Botswana, Lesotho,Swaziland, and Tanzania. As a catalyst and as a toolto extend the frontiers of science education in Africa,SEPA makes individual countries its starting pointsand focuses on the efficient utilization of existing cen-ters and on creating additional human resources. Pri-mary education is a priority. Science is viewed broadlyas a medium for young people to develop appreciationand understanding of local environments and the totalcontext of man in the biosphere. The primary focusis the learner; the approach is inquiry; the strategy isproblem-solving and decision-making while exploringthe total environment.

Over 50 teachers' guides and children's books weredeveloped at international workshops. They cover ac-tivities for lower primary classes; biological, physical,chemical, and earth sciences; and cultural and ruraleducation. SEPA helps each member to adapt them toits particular needs and to extend their range. Fivefilms produced to date reinforce the written materials.

With the introduction of new learning strategies andapproaches SEPA has created programs for the preparation and continuing education of teachers. SEPAfurnishes science education specialists for four to sixweeks as resource staff during workshops for teachersand teacher educators in each country. Staff members

are drawn from other African countries, Europe, andthe United States. Many teachers and teacher candi-dates have thus received excellent education. SEPAalso supplies educational materials to its members andassists them to utilize their local resources. Scienceteachers associations receive publicity in SEPA's pub-lications devoted to their work, Utilizing the leadershipof local centers, SEPA has enabled scholars and stu-dents to confer and exchange views on the developmentneeds of their country and to share them with counter-parts in other African countries.

hi 1971 an international workshop for the develop-ment of materials for teacher training colleges involv-ing 55 science educators, teachers, teacher educators,school children, and laymen produced guidelines forenvironmental education, fundamental issues in teachereducation, educational evaluation, structure of science,and children's ways of learning. They form a base forwork in individual countries and have led to two inter-national professional meetings focusing on problems ofteacher educators, strategies for attacking the probleMs,and on exemplary case studies.

Special weaknesses exist in the stalling of curriculumcenters, educational evaluation and supervision, and inthe education of teacher educators. SEPA responded byrunning a six-month course for curriculum developersin 1972.1 It will be established on a permanent basisin 1974. A pilot project, also in 1972, conducted feasi-bility activities on the training of educational evalua-tors, research into appropriate evaluation instrumentsand techniques, and on consultant services for SEPAmembers. The International Center for EducationalEvaluation has since been established.2

Financial support comes from African governments,Carnegie Corporation of New York, Centre for Educa-tional Development Overseas (UK), and UNESCO. Newprojects include a university-based -project for the edu-cation of teacher educators; a coordinated research nro-.gram on key cultural contexts whose psychological con-comitance can be effectively utilized in educational de-velopment- and on how they can be so utilized; estab-lishment of comprehensive fellowship and staff exchangeprograms to enable each country to bulld a sufficient in-frastructure to bear the strain of rapid and massiveeducational growth; and acceleration and diversifica.tion of secondary school curriculum development--Ifni-1mi M. DYAst, Executive Director, St P& P. 0.Box M. 188, Accra, Ghana.

InAilute for the Promotion of Teachingof Science and Technology (1PST)

During the two-year preparatory phase (1971-72) theInstitute for the Promotion of Teaching of Science andTechnology (IPST) was established through cooperativeaction of the Royal Thai Government, the United Na-tions Development Program (UMW) and its executing

funds from Education Development Center.'Funds from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

6

agency, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific,and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). At the begin-ning of 1972 the Institute was granted the official statusof a semi-autonomous body within the Ministry of Edu-cation. It is administered by a Governing Board whichis chaired by the Under Secretary of State for Educa-tion and its membership is made up of the DirectorsGeneral of those departments of the Ministry with col-leges and schools under their responsibility, the Secre-tary General of the National Education Committee, theRector of Chulalongkorn University, the President ofthe College of Education, the Secretary General of theNational Research Council and a professor from the De-partment of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University. TheDirector of the Institute, Sanan Sumitra also acts asSecretary to the Board.

The objectives of the Institute are to promote thedevelopment of modern science and mathematics cur-ricula, and the teaching practices congruent with mod-em approaches to teaching and learning science andmathematics, for the schools of Thailand.

I.

Curriculum development in the Institute is carriedout by various "design teams" working in close coopera-tion with one another. There are eight design teamsand their interrelationship is shown in the diagrambelow.

Science

Curriculum Development

Biology Chemistry110...11.1Physics

Mathe-matics

[Teacher Training Equipment Design] Fvaluationj

The membership of each design team consists of arepresentative cross section of teachers, supervisors,College of Education instructors, and university lec-turers; and, in addition to a full complement of com-petent nationals, most teams are assisted by a UNESCOadvisor.

Science. Education News, October 1873

The initial decisions concerning the overall organiza-tion and philosophies of the new curricula were madeafter intensive studies of materials that have alreadybeen produced in other countries. The curricula, how-ever, have not followed any particular curriculum fromanother country but writers have drawn from most inattempting to develop Thai-oriented modern scienceand mathematics programs for the lower and uppersecondary schools. The students' books, teachers' guides,and supplementary materials are written in the nationallanguage. Some of the major decisions made by the"subject teams" are listed below.

General Science. Use a unit approach similar to theexisting syllabus but different in its effort to draw fromall sciences and integrate science process skills with themajor concepts of science. Design science equipmentand experiences that can literally be performed on thesmall writing tablet attached to the school chairs.

BiolOgy. Adept an activities-centered approach. Em-phasize the biology of Thailand. Use data collected inThailand and focus attention on developing instructionthat will get the student to examine the biology of hisimmediate environment.

Chen istry. Integrate text and laboratory manual inan effort to encourage teachers to teach chemistry as alearner-centered inquiry involving both theory and prac-tice. Develop experiments and an inexpensive kit thatcan contain most of the equipment ,:ceded to perform

Science Education NewsOctober 1973

Published by theCommission on Science Education

American Association for the

Advancement of Science

1515 Massachusotts Avenue, N.W.Washington, 11, O. 20005

WILLIAM BEVAN, Executive Officer

JOHN R. MAYOR, Director of education

ARTHUR IL LIVERMORE,Deputy Director of Education

ORIN MCCARLEY, Ala/wino Editor

A AAS Misc. Pub. No. 73-16.Partial support for publication of

Science Education News is provided by theNational Science Foundation.

aliM110=.1111

the experiments. Introduce a study of Thai chemicalindustries and chemical problems that are relevant tothe Thai society.

Physics. Present physics as a single unified coursecontaining mechanics, heat, light and sound, electricityand magnetism, and laboratory experiments. Developinexpensive equipment that can be manufactured locally.

Mathematics. Design a "modern maths" approach tomathematics suitable for Thailand. Introduce "modernmaths" simultaneously at four different levels: grade 1,grade 5, grade 8, and grade 11.

The curricula for chemistry, physics and biology forthe upper secondary schools (grades 11.12) were intro-duced simultaneously into ten trial schools in May 1973.Teachers from the trial schools have worked very closelywith the design teams during all of the productionphases. Many of these teachers have spent every schoolvacation of the last two years at the Institute studyingthe new materials. The trial program for general sci-ence (grades 8-10) will begin in 1974.

A massive inservice education program that will pro-vide several weeks of intensive training will precedefull-scale implementation. Full-scale national imple-mentation is scheduled to begin in 197; at which timegrade 8 general science and grade 11 biology, chemistry,and physics will be introduced. Implementation ofmathematics curricula will follow sequentially in 1977.

This study has been made possible by the UNESCO!UNDP local fellowship program.Sanan Di-rector, 1PST, Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok, Thailand.

Science to',4itteation Project (ASEP)

ASEP is already well known to many science educatorsthroughout the world as information about the projectand its products has been widely disseminated. Aus-tralian science eduators have talked about ASEP inmany countries and the project has had a steady streamof visitors from overseas and from within Australia.Within Australia it has proved to be a focal point foreducation in general and for science education in par-ticular. Following many requests, arising from interestshown in the project, inspection sets of project trialmaterials have been sent to over 100 centers in Aus-tralia and about 50 centers in the world.

ASEP's task has been the development of materialsfor use in science teaching in grades 7 to 10 in Aus-tralian schools. A modular approach has been used and40 classroom units are being developed, each designedto take about 15-20 hours of class time. An inquiryapproach is used and students work at their own rates,choosing among options offered. A special feature of thematerials is their presentation at three Piagetian de-veloprnental levelsv)ncrete, transitional, and formal.

The materials are in the form of printed books sup-plemented by charts, transparencies, 8 mm and 16 mmfilms. The main printed book for each unit is the stu-dent book, which has a corresponding teacher edition.

Science Education News, October 1973 7

31any units have student record books for notes, dia-grams and answers to questions. Diagnostic tests areincluded in most units.

NAThe ASEP materials will be published and distributed

within Australia by The Stores Branch, Education De-partment of Victoria, Melbourne, from where all in-formation on costs and availability can be obtained.Keen interest in the publication of overseas editionshas been shown by publishers in the United Kingdom,Canada, and the United States. It is expected that thefirst Australian published materials will become avail-able early in 1974 and the first printing should be com-plete by the end of 1979.

All ASEP materials Were given rigorous classroomtrial and evaluation prior to preparation for publica-tion. First trials were conducted in schools close toproject headquarters, with competent teacher volun-teers, who visited the project for discussions with unitdevelopers and who, in turn, were visited in their class-rooms, Second trials were on it national basis, each unitbeing tried in 24; classrooms throughout Australia andNew Zealand, The national trials, which involved over500 teachers, served a two-fold purpose in that, aswell as providing evaluation feedback to the project,they were used as the beginning of teacher educationin the use of the materials. By recycling the trial ver-sion materials and by using teachers who conductedearlier trials as team leaders for later trials, an effec-tive teacher education program was initiated,

Ab-EP has been an experiment in Australian educa-tion as it is the first large curriculum project of itskind.: Fortunately, the experiment has been successfuland it is exnected that funds will become available forfurther similar projects in other subject areas. ASEP'swork is scheduled to finish in March 1974, but its im-pact on Australian education will be felt for many yearsto tome.---L. G. DAM Deputy Director, ASEP, II Glen-ben* Road, Toorak, Victoria, Australia 3142.

flitc(1 \nl ions En% ironinuntal Program

An intriguing environmental education project hasbeen developed that provides for noLformal communityenlightenment, as well as classroom instruction in anatmosphere warmed by greater regard for the educator.

Seventeen teachersespecially of science and socialstudies--selected for special qualifications, includingcamera skill, will be conducted on a private diplomaticmission to East Africa, following a send-off at the UNPlaza, December 22. They will report to the UnitedNations Environmental Secretariat in Nairobi, conferwith world leaders, engage in cultural exchanges andintensively field-study ecological problems of concernto Africans and Americans. To help make these vividto students and community groups, the educators willbe given special instruction in candid and wildlife pho-tography and recording, and taught how to producesound-slide documentaries to quality standards.

While in Africa, the group will select a natural re-source conservation project through which Americansmay express their environmental concern, in cooperationwith Africans. Thus, the "Cameraides" will be able tooffer students and adult audiences concrete opportuni-ties for involvement in protecting the ecosphere.

As educators voluntarily engaged on behalf of theUN and world understanding, Cameraides will receiveunusual attention from the mass media. To make themost of this in furthering their professional aspira-tions, they will be given public relations counsel for ayear following return.

The project is sponsored by Friends of Africa inAmerica, 330 South Broadway, Tarrytown, New York10591.

1111111MIONIMINNONMINIV

American Associationfor the Advancement of Science

1515 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W.Washington, D. C. 20005

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDWashington, D.C.Permit No.1309

SScience Education News, October 1913