Science and the below Average Student

Science curriculum materials designed to improve the attitudes of below average students were developed from guidelines based on a survey of the strengths and weaknesses of these students. Materials developed to reflect these guidelines were administered to ninth and tenth grade students in three physical science classes. Students in these classes had I. Q. scores of less than 100, reading achievement below grade placement, and eighth grade science averages of C or below. A control group of three physical science classes was employed. The attitudes of these students toward science class, science laboratory, school, science teacher, and the topic of the materials were measured using five forms of the Semantic Differential, which was administered as a pretest and posttest. The students who received the materials demonstrated significant improvement in attitudes toward science class and science laboratory.