Background/Context: Continuous improvement methods are becoming increasingly popular in education. Existing research has emphasized the technical aspects of improvement practice and has rarely focused on important social phenomena that underlie improvement work, such as the mindsets and identities of successful practitioners. To address this gap,…

How do scientists make inferences for something they cannot directly observe? The Black Box approach seems ideal to help students understand how scientists work. Black Boxes are sealed units; their interior is not accessible. The effort to determine their possible content (internal structure) demands successive modifications in hypothesis,…

The present study examined to what extent inquiry-based investigation as an instructional approach associated with students' overall science achievement and achievement in cognitive domains, including knowing science facts, applying scientific principles, and reasoning with scientific concepts to solve problems. Using TIMSS 2007 science…

"Sickle cell anemia: tracking down a mutation" is a full-day, inquiry-based, biology experience for high school students enrolled in genetics or advanced biology courses. In the experience, students use restriction endonuclease digestion, cellulose acetate gel electrophoresis, and microscopy to discover which of three putative patients…

Symmetry properties of molecules are generally introduced in second-year or third-year-level inorganic or physical chemistry courses. Students generally adapt readily to understanding and applying the operations of rotation (C[subscript n]), reflection (s), and inversion (i). However, the two-step operation of improper rotation-reflection…

Single photon experiments involving a Mach-Zehnder interferometer can illustrate the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics, e.g., the wave-particle duality of a single photon, single photon interference, and the probabilistic nature of quantum measurement involving single photons. These experiments explicitly make the connection between the…

Recent publications have documented positive attitudinal shifts on the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) among students enrolled in courses with an explicit epistemological focus. We now report positive attitudinal shifts in classes using the "Physics by Inquiry" ("PbI") curriculum, which has only an…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how WebQuests can be used in physics classes for teaching specific concepts. The study had three stages. The first stage was to develop a WebQuest on Newton's second law. The second stage involved developing a lesson plan to implement the WebQuest in class. In the final stage, the WebQuest was…

Teacher research--often called "action research"--is an intentional and systematic inquiry into one's own classroom practice with the goal of improved student learning (Cochran-Smith and Lytle 1993). In this article, the authors present a teacher research project undertaken to improve student understanding of the gas laws in a high…

This document introduces "Blue's Clues", a television science program and its development process. Blue's Clues is a series on Nickelodeon and currently telecasts five days a week. Childhood development theory states that young children learn skills through repetition; therefore, the same episode is presented on five consecutive days. This study…

NASA CONNECT is an annual series of free integrated mathematics, science, and technology instructional distance learning programs for students in grades 5-8. This video presents the World Space Congress 2002, the meeting of the decade for space professionals. Topics discussed range from the discovery of distant planets to medical advancements,…

Discussed are two contrasting views about the nature of scientific thinking including Pearson's and Collingwood's. The contexts of questions, methods, problems, experiments, and history are described as contexts of inquiry. The physical thoughts of scientists from pre-Aristotelian times to the present are outlined in relation to contexts of…

Consistent with the current reform movement in science education, the purpose of this study was to examine how the introduction of an innovative curriculum influenced teachers' beliefs. Six teachers each implemented an Acids & Bases Curriculum Unit in a variety of middle school settings. The teachers were interviewed regarding their beliefs…

Explains the implementation of forensic science in an integrated curriculum and discusses the advantages of this approach. Lists the forensic science course syllabi studied in three high schools. Discusses the unit on polymers in detail. (YDS)

This report presents a literature review of elementary science and design technology education research. The review is intended to provide direction to the elementary science working groups charged with the responsibility to revise the "Alberta Elementary Science Program" (1996) by reflecting current ideas reported in research…