There are a number of exciting programs that you should become familiar with as you formulate your ideas about science education. One of the sources of exemplary science education programs is the National Diffusion Network (NDN). The NDN is a federally funded system that makes exemplary education programs available for adoption by schools, colleges and other institutions. In order to be listed, the program must provide evaluation data showing that the program if effective in the school setting in which it was developed or field tested, and that it could be transported and used in other schools. As of 1987, about 450 programs had been approved, and 82 were receiving Federal dissemination funds to help other schools adopt them. NDN publishes booklets describing programs that work. You can obtain, for free, awareness materials (usually a brochure and/or sample activities from the exemplary curriculum). Write to the National Diffusion Network to obtain information on exemplary programs: (Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC, 20208).
You might also want to review an NSF report that evaluated about 20 middle school science programs, including many of the programs features in sections 4.8, 4.9, 4.10 and 4.11.
I have selected a number of programs that fulfill some or all of the criteria cited above. Some of the programs were developed by teachers and science education specialists at the local school or system level, while others were developed by science education research and development teams. A few of the programs described are available through the National Diffusion Network.