Museums are public resources that can offer rich extensions to classroom educational experiences, from tours through botanical gardens to searching for family records in the archives of a local historical society. With clarity and a touch of humor, Quinn presents ideas and examples of ways that teachers can use museums to support student…

This paper will describe a guided inquiry activity for teaching ligand field theory. Previous research suggests the guided inquiry approach is highly effective for student learning. This activity familiarizes students with the key concepts of molecular orbital theory applied to coordination complexes. Students will learn to identify factors that…

Family Math and Science Nights engage students and parents in active investigations tied to the curriculum in a fun, informal environment. Through this program, families actively explore math and science ideas, discover together through guided inquiry, and apply their discoveries to solve a problem at the end. All activities are hands-on, use…

A WebQuest is an inquiry-based lesson plan that uses the Internet. This article explains what a WebQuest is, shows how to create one, and provides an example. When engaged in a WebQuest, students use technology to experience cooperative learning and discovery learning while honing their research, writing, and presentation skills. It has been found…

Designed as a follow-up activity for gifted and talented classes that have been using learning centers, this contract directs students in building their own learning centers. Six sections cover choosing a subject, researching, setting objectives for the learning center, developing activities for the center, writing directions and collecting…

The progression from simple interest to compound interest leads naturally and quickly to the number e, involving mathematical discovery learning through writing programs. Several programs are given, with suggestions for a teaching sequence. (MNS)

Some examples for investigating shapes in the environment are given. Circular objects, triangulation, symmetrical designs, and further investigations are listed. (MNS)

Goals of the Children's Museum of Boston are to encourage curiosity, skepticism, and realism while providing opportunities for discoveries and new insights. The museum addresses the needs of young children through adolescents by providing a multicultural environment and participatory learning centers. (JDD)

The inquiry approach of Discovery Place of Birmingham, Inc., in Birmingham, Alabama, invites children of all ages to explore the excitement of science, technology, art, and humanities. The educational resource center provides interactive exhibits, hands-on materials, teacher workshops, and family programs. (JDD)

Illustrates exploration of composition of functions, translations, and inverse functions on a graphing calculator. Includes reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

Eleanor Duckworth's teaching techniques, based on Jean Piaget's learning theories and the Elementary Science Study, are applied to teaching deaf students. The method calls for painstaking explorations that enable pupils to be confident they really know something and are not just parroting facts. (JDD)

A way that allows students to discover a strategy for determining the area of rectangles, squares, parallelograms, triangles, and trapezoids is described. Students use grid paper and scissors to determine the number of square units that cover a specified space. (KR)

Children are naturally curious about their bodies and how they work. This book utilizes this natural interest to usher children into an age-appropriate study of the human body. The guided discovery lesson plans in this book consist of four parts: the question, the discovery process, the summary of what scientists know, and a real-life application.…

This guide was developed to assist teachers in achieving goals related to the development of computer awareness in students in grades 4-6 in the Canadian province of Manitoba. An overview of the program describes a set of basic concepts, skills, and attitudes relating to computer technology, and provides information on activities that can be used…

Graph theory is promoted as a vehicle for using the discovery method. A lesson is presented to illustrate the method, and activities and questions for further exploration are provided. (MNS)