The use of investigations in science teaching is both common and commonly advocated for in science education literature. We suggest that the use of investigations should differ depending on the complexity of the subject matter. That complexity can vary depending on both the nature of the information and students' expertise levels. The present…

A multi-perspective, exploratory framework applicable to all critical thinking, creative and communication acts, 3D-Briefing synthesizes meticulous enquiry questions with a user-focused, equitable stance toward meaning production. It scaffolds identification, interpretation, evaluation, reflection and action in a user-empowered, three step process…

We examined student performance in a computer-supported learning environment after students undertook, among others, a graphing task within an inquiry context. Students were assigned in two conditions: (a) Students were given one variable, and they had to select the second one to construct their graph; (b) students were given four variables, and…

A problem sequence is presented developing the basic properties of the set of natural numbers (including associativity and commutativity of addition and multiplication, among others) from the Peano axioms, with the last portion using von Neumann's construction to provide a model satisfying these axioms. This sequence is appropriate for…

Southern Cross University (SCU) educators and local teachers have developed a five-lesson instructional sequence built around fluke identification as a way of resolving the question: How fast do humpback whales travel up the east coast of Australia?

Introducing Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NST) topics into school science curricula is considered useful for an in-depth understanding of the content, processes and nature of science and technology, and also for negotiating the social aspects of science. This study examines (a) the development of an inquiry-based Teaching-Learning Sequence (TLS)…

An invitation to be part of a small research project with science teacher educators focusing on the Australian Curriculum--Science as a Human Endeavour strand provided an opportunity for professional learning in science for an early career teacher working with Year 1-2 students. This article explores how the use of students' photography of local…

This study focuses on the design of a learning program to introduce complexometric titration as a method for determining water hardness in a high school chemistry laboratory. Students are introduced to the different properties and reactions of hard water in a stepwise manner so that they gain the necessary chemical knowledge and conceptual…

Science teaching and learning require knowledge about how learning takes place (cognition) and how learners interact with their surroundings (affective and sociocultural factors). The study reported on focussed on learning for understanding of Newton's second law of motion from a cognitive perspective that takes social factors into account. A…

This study reports on targeted science courses for undergraduate childhood education majors. We describe an inquiry-oriented, three-course sequence spanning physical, life, and environmental science. All three courses are hands-on and are designed to reflect the content and pedagogy most important to future elementary school teachers.

This is the start of a road map for the effective introduction of inquiry-based learning in chemistry. Advantages of inquiry-based approaches to the development of scientific literacy are widely discussed in the literature. However, unless chemistry educators take account of teachers' reservations and identified disadvantages such approaches will…

One notable line of inquiry, aspects of which date back to the early 1980s, involves the design and implementation not of long-term curricula, but of topic-oriented sequences for teaching science. One distinguishing characteristic of a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) is its inclusion in a gradual research-based volutionary process aiming at…

The interdisciplinary social studies materials for sequential use in grades nine through twelve and designed to help each student develop into an independent thinker and a responsible citizen are assessed. Most class activities are organized around directed discussion working toward the objectives of inquiry skills, knowledge, values, and…

The content-process approach described in this k-12 teaching guide focuses upon knowledge as a basis for understanding and explaining that which is being investigated and, when practical, for predicting what may happen in the future as a result. A curriculum based upon this sequential interdisciplinary content process approach helps students to…

A rationale for interdisciplinary elementary social studies materials produced and field tested by the Project Social Studies Curriculum Center is presented in this document. World change is taken into account in courses which focus on understanding culture, valuing human dignity, freedom of choice, and the individual. This emphasis leads to the…