Collaborative inquiry is an instructional approach that encourages student groups to engage in scientific inquiry processes, thereby enhancing their critical thinking and exploratory skills. The effective classroom implementation of this method requires ensuring student engagement in each inquiry stage, where technological tools and activity…

Based on quantitative survey data collected from an inquiry-based general chemistry laboratory course, the current study used marginal models to evaluate changes in students' teamwork and problem-solving skills, attitudes to teamwork, and willingness to explore new issues before and after the course. The results suggest that introductory-level…

This paper builds on previous research which outlined the development of a framework of scientific enquiry within a play-based curriculum for early childhood. For this paper, in order to help to mediate children's observation and exploration as part of their play, we propose that practitioners need to have well-developed skills to ask open-ended…

In this article we propose that educational game design should work to create games as objects-to-think-with--games that engage players in the exploration of and experimentation with personally interesting questions around domain-relevant representations. We argue that this design focuses on developing tools and interactions that the player can…

This article describes how a farm-based class in the Great Lakes region investigated how plants and animals prepare for winter. Two groups of children, ranging in ages from three to five years old, had a farm, pasture, gardens, forest, and a pond available for exploration. A low teacher-to-child ratio was maintained, with one teacher to…

The National Research Council's "Framework for K-12 Science Education" (2011) presents a new vision for science education that calls for the integration of the three dimensions of science learning: science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. Unlike previous conceptions of science learning that…

This study investigates how individual differences in 7- to 9-year-olds' curiosity relate to the inquiry-learning process and outcomes in environments differing in structure. The focus on curiosity as individual differences variable was motivated by the importance of curiosity in science education, and uncertainty being central to both the…

A laboratory experiment was designed for undergraduate students, in which the outcome of an easy single-step organic synthesis with well-defined conditions was not elucidated until the end of the exercise. In class, students predict and discuss the possible products using their knowledge of reaction mechanisms. In the laboratory, they learn how to…

October 6, 2012: 109 adults simultaneously threw their heads back and shouted "I discovered!" at the top of their lungs. Slightly mangled bright-green paper helicopters littered the floor. The class was six minutes into a daylong journey of discovery, during which this group of volunteer trainers would learn to facilitate a curriculum…

In this response to Hewson and Ogunniyi's paper on indigenous knowledge (IK) and science teaching in South Africa, I seek to broaden the debate by setting the enterprise of integrating IK into science education in its cultural and socio-political context. I begin by exploring the multiple meanings of indigenous knowledge in Africa, next consider…

A number of studies have shown that spending time in nature produces cognitive benefits. What if a child's exposure to the out-of-doors is considered not just a beneficial extracurricular activity, but a fundamental building block to an elementary education in math and science? The Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot School operates a 9:30 a.m.…

Although teachers in principle are prepared to make use of science centers, such excursions often fail to facilitate learning processes. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the link between science centers and schools. The design and evaluation of valuable outreach projects may enhance students' out-of-school science learning. In our study, we…

The impulse to investigate the natural world is deeply rooted in our earliest childhood experiences. This notion has long guided researchers to uncover the cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of scientific reasoning in children. Until recently, however, research in cognitive development and education followed largely independent…

Every schoolyard presents a wealth of opportunities for science exploration. To capitalize on this resource, the authors developed an activity in which students assessed whether their schoolyard could provide a viable habitat for treefrogs. This inquiry-based module was composed of three lessons: A Hoppin' Treefrog Adventure, Field Research Means…