Computer simulations were employed by high school biology students in an attempt to enhance their problem solving skills. The simulations were administered under two conditions: (a) unguided discovery and (b) guided discovery. In addition, a control group received no simulations. To ascertain the effectiveness of the simulations in enhancing problem solving abilities, performance was compared on (a) subsequent unit pretests, (b) standardized tests measuring scientific thought processes, and (c) a standardized test of critical thinking. The results indicate that (a) the students using the simulations met the unit objectives at least as well as the control students, and (b) the students using the guided version of the simulations surpassed the other students on the subsequent simulation pretests, on the tests of scientific thinking, and on the test of critical thinking. The authors discuss the apparent usefulness of the programs in terms of the opportunities they provide students (a) to be actively involved in the learning process and (b) to repeatedly practice applying principles that would otherwise be practiced much less often.

Although the participation by females in upper-level occupations and positions has expanded considerably in recent years, science is still considered a masculine career field. The results of this study show that only the physical sciences in particular (not science in general) are clearly viewed as masculine academic areas.. Furthermore, the results suggest that the perception by girls of the physical sciences as masculine is much more likely to occur in coed classes than in all-female classes. The results can best be explained by two factors: (1) the attitudes conveyed by teachers and by society may predispose students toward a greater acceptance of women in biology than in the physical sciences; and (2) when girls perceive themselves as a deviant minority in physical science classes, their performance and preference for the physical sciences is reduced, perhaps because of competition and comparison with males. In all-female classes, however, girls are not a deviant minority, and therefore they are able to perform and develop preferences without inhibition. Sex-Role Stereotyping by High School Females in ScienceDuring the last fifty years, women have entered several upper-level occupations and positions from which they were once largely excluded, and their general level of involvement in the labor force has risen. However their participation in the occupations of highest ranksuch as law, medicine, college teaching, and the sciences-has not kept pace with these developments, even though social changes and technological advancement have led t o a general expansion in women's employment. The American labor force is still divided into many fields considered primarily "male" and others considered "female." One of the career fields in which women have been largely underrepresented is the scientific profession.Sex-stereotyped perceptions of careers and occupations are formed at an early age. For example, recent studies by Looft (1971) and Siege1 (1973) have found that clear occupational stereotypes are already held by first and second graders.Schlossberg and Goodman (1972) discovered the same patterns with kindergarteners and sixth graders, and Slocum and Bowles (1968) made similar findings with juniors and seniors in high school. The general development of role differences from birth to old age is extensively covered in the sociological, psychological, and educational research literature as reported by Maccoby and Jacklin (1974). Since the schools are one of our culture's basic institutions for teaching society's norms and values, it is an important area for examining the processes of female occupational choice.

This study of first-time juvenile status offenders showed a significant decrease in court appearances of two groups who received special treatment compared to the control group. Treatment included intervention counseling, informal unofficial probation, and appropriate referrals to other community agencies.

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Little research exists concerning substitute teachers, with the result that they are frequently employed and assigned on the basis of mere guess- work. Some con siderations and some approaches that would allow school systems to upgrade the use of substitutes are offered here.