This case study describes a classroom-based questionnaire that was carried out with a group of 36 high school students (17-18 years old) in Catalonia. The aim was to examine the usefulness of questionnaires focused on scientific inquiry, both to evaluate students' inquiry abilities and for their potential as tools to improve the understanding of…

It is commonly agreed that experiments play a central role in teaching and learning physics. Recently, Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) has been introduced into science teaching in many countries, thus giving another boost for experiments. From a didactical point of view, experiments can serve a number of different goals in teaching and learning…

Educational research and policy suggest inquiry as one of the most prominent ways of promoting effective science education. However, traditional approaches towards inquiry learning are not always sufficiently motivating for all learners. The EU-funded project, TEMI--Teaching Enquiry with Mysteries Incorporated, suggests that mysterious scientific…

The aim of this study was to investigate how career-related instruction implemented in secondary school chemistry education concerning water issues influences students' career awareness and their interest towards science learning. This case study is part of a larger design-based research study for the EU-MultiCO project, which focuses on promoting…

This study describes a teacher-researcher's experience of scaffolding his business English learners in identifying, formulating, and exploring language learning puzzles using the principles of exploratory practice. Adopting both qualitative and quantitative methods, the teacher-researcher reflected upon the learner-initiated and learner-centred…

This paper relates most closely to David Raffe's writing on "policy borrowing" across countries and across time and his illumination for policy purposes of transition concepts such as "pathways". The discussion makes the point that concepts can both illuminate empirical reality as well as distort it. The paper then moves on to…

This paper presents an enrichment case study to showcase a possible avenue for attending to the needs of academically strong mathematics students. We report on a group of university students who were presented with the opportunity of exploring a specific first year mathematics topic deeper, using an inquiry-based learning approach as part of an…

An important stage in any research inquiry is the development of research questions that need to be answered. The strategies to develop research questions should be defined and described, but few studies have considered this process in greater detail. This study explores pre-service science teachers' research questions and the strategies they can…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible associations between preservice science teachers' understanding of nature of science and their learner characteristics; understanding of nature of scientific inquiry, science teaching self-efficacy beliefs, metacognitive awareness level, and faith/worldview schemas. The sample of the…

A supportive online learning environment entails teachers using effective pedagogical practices to meet the needs of their students and developing a positive teacher-student relationship to foster learner motivation and engagement. This paper reports a study investigating how 32 secondary teachers in New Zealand taught their online distance…

Background: Asking questions is an important scientific practice, and students around the world are expected to learn how to ask their own research questions while performing inquiry. In contrast to authentic scientific inquiry, in most simple inquiry tasks that are carried out in schools, the research questions are given to the students. Here, we…

Research has indicated that both context- and inquiry-based approaches could increase student interest in learning sciences. This case study aims to present a context- and inquiry-based combined teaching approach, using a three-step teaching model developed by the PROFILES project, and investigates Swedish students' responses to the activity. A…

This study describes an investigation of a research apprenticeship program that we developed for diverse high-school students often underrepresented in similar programs and in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions. Through the apprenticeship program, students spent 2 weeks in the summer engaged in biofuels-related research…

This article outlines how student teachers' experiences of a philosophical community of enquiry (PCoE) facilitated their pedagogical reflections. Although reflection occupies an important place in teacher education curricula and pedagogy, it is a contested and problematic concept. In this study, a group of second year student teachers took part in…

This article draws on a pedagogical case study in order to reflect on the value of using a Humanities disciplinary practice (the "close reading" of literary studies) as a method of educational enquiry and to provide a worked example of this approach. We explore the introduction of a pedagogic strategy--students writing abstracts for…