As science education shifts toward integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) approaches, guidelines for designing teaching and learning episodes that integrate curricular content and procedures from multiple disciplines become increasingly in demand. The existing plethora of conceptualizations of STEM makes difficult such…

This study explored the research question: How can project-based inquiry (PBI) in STEM teaching be designed, planned, and implemented in two preschool settings? A case study was conducted, using a collaborative action research approach. This research was conducted with 11 teachers and 300 children from 11 classes at two preschools in Taiwan. The…

In this study, we reflected on the process of designing and implementing a civics curriculum model focused on increasing upper-grade secondary students' involvement in local civic activity. We prioritized examining the challenges and possibilities of institutionalizing partnerships between teachers, students, community leaders, and local…

Educators are now moving classroom instructional objectives away from "what content do we need to know" towards "how can we support learners in the process of inquiry." Consequently, an increasing number of schools have revamped their curricula to support students. One such example of modified curricula is the rising trend of…

Following professional development (PD), implementation of contemporary topics into high school biology requires teachers to make critical decisions regarding integration of novel content into existing course scope and sequence. Often exciting topics, such as neuroscience, do not perfectly align with standards. Despite commitment to enacting what…

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, a research-based seminal work, provides a structure for integrating a collaborative constructivist approach in course design, implementation, and evaluation. The CoI framework suggests that by fostering three essential elements -- social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence -- a community of…

The implementation of student-centred learning programs can improve student outcomes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) domains. The required approaches to teaching and learning in such programs, however, are only slowly being adopted in the Asia-Pacific region. This article focuses on a STEM module, 'Water in the 21st…

Socioscientific Inquiry (SSI) represents an instructional approach designed to target interest and knowledge in science. In this context, students consider scientific issues that have social implications and comprise a range of trade-offs, concepts, and considerations in order to arrive at informed conclusions (Sadler, 2004, 2011). Given the…

A randomized trial study, conducted over two school years in 18 high schools in Washington, finds that "An Inquiry Approach," a three-year, educative curriculum for high school science, has a positive impact on student achievement, teacher practice, and fidelity of implementation of the curriculum when the curriculum is paired with…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) challenges science teachers to think beyond specific content standards when considering how to design and implement curriculum. This lesson, "Windmills by Design," is an insightful lesson in how science teachers can create and implement a cross-cutting lesson to teach the concepts…

The first author re-entered the middle grades classroom to teach a new National Science Foundation (NSF) physical science curriculum that was designed to foster conceptual change through a scientific approach. The curriculum design met the need and call for reform in science education through its focus on inquiry, evidence-based reasoning, peer…

This study investigated the design, enactment, and impact of an undergraduate, inquiry-based astronomy laboratory learning environment. The professor, Richard, adopted laboratory materials from the Center for Astronomy and Physics Education Research [CAPER] which were described by the group as inquiry-based. Students worked through these…

In this article, we tell the story of inquiring about, designing, implementing and studying our enactment of non-traditional assessment practices in our elementary education university methods course. We organized this article using a theater playbill metaphor, starting with a prologue, followed by three acts and an intermission, and concluding…

The papers in this collection provide compelling arguments that the use of Adapted Primary Literature (APL) in science education holds great promise for enriching inquiry science instruction at the secondary level. The integration of this genre of written text into science curricula illustrates the ways in which reasoning in reading and reasoning…

For more than 50 years, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has been instrumental in developing an analytical model for understanding the relationships between educational policy (the intended curriculum), classroom and instructional practices (the implemented curriculum), and educational learning…