THE EFFECTIVE USE OF QUESTIONING IN THE TEACHING OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE IS DISCUSSED IN THIS BULLETIN. SAMPLE QUESTIONS ARE USED TO ILLUSTRATE (1) WAYS IN WHICH KEY WORDS AFFECT PUPIL INVESTIGATIONS AND (2) PATTERNS OF QUESTIONING THAT RESULT IN STUDENT DECISION-MAKING AND PUPIL-DIRECTED PROCEDURES. A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE COGNITIVE AND…

THE EFFECT OF PLANNED GUIDANCE ON THE PROBLEM-SOLVING BEHAVIOR OF ELEMENTARY STUDENTS WAS INVESTIGATED. FACTORS RELATED TO CHANGES IN PROBLEM-SOLVING BEHAVIORS WERE IDENTIFIED. APPROXIMATELY 50 PERCENT OF THE SIXTH-GRADE STUDENTS INCLUDED IN THE STUDY WERE GIVEN INQUIRY TRAINING 30 TO 60 MINUTES DAILY FOR 3 WEEKS. AN INVENTORY OF SCIENCE PROCESSES…

Forty-five children, ages nine through eleven, were divided into control group and experimental groups that read or wrote hunches concerning a discrepant event involving sliding blocks. Those who generated hunches were shown to learn more in subsequent inquiry behaviors designed to explain the discrepant event. (MLH)

This discussion of heuristic learning focuses on inquiry and problem solving: their distinctions, uses, and advantages over traditional methods of science teaching. (MLH)

Found that the following variables significantly affected the students' performance of a task involving science skills: type of rule and number of attributes used in the prediction task, and whether the student was given a verbal description of the rule to be used. (MLH)

Science educators are encouraged to adopt teaching techniques to help children learn to solve problems through inquiry or discovery. Included are several sample problems and method for finding other appropriate science related problems. (SL)

Describes a study, involving 120 first grade children, which supports the hypothesis that the rate of attainment of conservation skills is significantly enhanced by experiences made possible by the first grade program of SCIS. Describes the six conservation tasks used for pre-tests and post-tests: number, liquid amount, solid amount, length,…

This is a satire on students' ability to think. Children can in fact think, but teachers often don't give them a chance or encourage them to do so. Questioning techniques are very important in getting children to think. A good starting point for children's thinking is their observations. (BR)

Briefly reviews Piagetian theory of cognitive development and discusses how this theory supports such instructional strategies as individualized activities, inquiry learning, and problem solving. (MLH)

Describes various elementary school activities using a loaf of raisin bread to promote inquiry skills. Activities include estimating the number of raisins in the loaf by constructing histograms of the number of raisins in a slice. (MLH)