A central goal of science education reform is for students to participate in scientific sense making rather than to merely acquire science facts. However, even in classrooms utilizing reform-based pedagogies, students are typically allowed to construct knowledge only insofar as they construct expected knowledge. In this report and reflection, 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…

Guessing is seen in all forms to be a creative and critical process which has practical and scientific utility. The goal of science in early childhood is viewed as having children make better guesses. Ways of instruction that create and develop an atmosphere for guessing are detailed. (MP)

Describes the history, definition, advantages, and objections to discovery learning methods in science. Includes alternatives to these methods. (DS)

Argues that there should be no equation between modern methods of teaching science and discovery methods, suggesting that the emphasis on discovery has resulted from confused thinking among science educators. Also, describes research-based developments promising better theoretical/practical perspectives for improved science teaching, focusing on…

The field of instructional technology is characterized by its products, such as instructional media, and its processes, such as instructional design. The process of instructional technology has been shaped by advances in learning and instructional theory over the past 50 years. Much of the development work of the field to date has been on direct…

The goal of this paper is to sketch the epistemological roots of constructivism, to clarify certain implications of Piaget's constructivist theory for science education, and to explicate the issues surrounding a specific research study and its replication. Constructivist epistemology is described in terms of its emergence from rationalist,…

The use of the inquiry approach in the teaching of elementary science is examined and advocated in this publication. The position that an inquiry approach is the best way to teach and learn science is upheld and its influence on the development of positive attitudes towards science is stressed. Section titles include: (1) "A Tale of Two Teachers"…

Describes a self-managed learning approach designed to help engineering students take charge of their own learning. Discusses marker events, exploratory learning versus linear instruction, knowledge through self-discovery, information retrieval, production through writing and speaking, and promoting a mature response. (TW)

Five instructional techniques for increasing the meaningfulness of technical or scientific information are summarized: (1) organization of prose; (2) use of concrete analogy and advance organizers; (3) use of inserted questions in prose; (4) elaboration activities such as note taking; and (5) discovery learning. Research on each technique is…

This paper reviews the literature supporting a discovery- or inquiry-based learning approach to science and describes its benefits for students and teachers. The creation and evaluation of a website related to discovery-based learning is also described. (Contains 20 references.) (WRM)

Previous research has shown a relationship between formal reasoning ability and science process skill attainment. It has been hypothesized that an increased emphasis on teaching process skills might enhance the formal thinking abilities of students. A variety of strategies have been proposed to better accomplish this task, most notable, the…

This collection of 17 papers relating behavioral science theory to the process of experimental education grew out of a 1963 National Education Association symposium on research in programed instruction. Perspectives and the technology of programing are described in this updated and supplemental successor to the source book, "Teaching Machines…