There is strong evidence that professional learning in schools can positively impact learner experience and outcomes. This conceptual paper draws on key literature focused on understandings of high-quality professional learning and what makes an excellent environment in which to learn. This literature informed and spoke to the sense-making of our…

Providing engaging, rigorous social studies education at the elementary level is a challenge faced by school districts across the country. In K-12 schools nationwide, social studies education is often neglected so that more time can be devoted to ELA and math, both of which have annual standardized tests associated with them that often carry high…

Inquiry-based working contributes to teacher professionalization and educational improvements. This article presents the key findings of a qualitative case study carried out in three primary schools in the Netherlands. That study focused on the inquiry-based working of school boards, school leaders and teachers, with the goal of better…

Educational practitioners in the 21st century must respond to the availability of a wide array of data relating to student outcomes and student achievement. To make effective use of this data as well as be able to respond to the growing needs of the field, educational practitioners must be able to apply the knowledge they gain in the graduate…

A quantitative nonexperimental survey study was developed to investigate Northeast Tennessee K-8 educators' perceptions of STEM education. This study was an examination of current perceptions of STEM education. Perceived need, current implementation practices, access to STEM resources, definition of STEM, and the current condition of STEM in…

This study involved a meta-analysis of 10 cases of inquiry-based learning (IBL) in undergraduate education to determine the factors which both enable and constrain its use. The enabling factors were found to include: teacher attributes--being student-centred, reflective but rebellious; course design attributes--questions stimulating learning,…

There are unique moments in curriculum development when an opportunity for a fresh start or a major turn in design fleetingly presents itself. These moments opened up in different locations across McMaster University at different times and eventually led to several quite different initiatives in inquiry-guided learning (IGL). Well-travelled…

Inquiry-based learning is one approach to improving the quality of undergraduate education by moving toward more student-directed, interactive methods of learning while focusing on learning how to learn. This paper deals with a missing component in the inquiry-related literature--the extra-pedagogical challenges of introducing and maintaining…