The literature highlights differing views on the efficacy of modelling lessons for teacher professional learning. In this study we draw on dissonance theory to discuss lesson modelling that seeks to transcend 'do as I do' imitation and provoke teachers' attention to intended teaching practices: a necessary pre-cursor for changes to practice. A…

Despite the widespread availability and frequency of use of technological tools in the classrooms, there is little empirical research on examining the teaching practices and how teachers use technology to support scientific inquiry. This multi-case study examined the teaching practices of two science teachers and how they used the technology to…

Background: Evidence from the research literature indicates that both audience response systems (ARS) and guided inquiry worksheets (GIW) can lead to greater student engagement, learning, and equity in the STEM classroom. We compare the use of these two tools in large enrollment STEM courses delivered in different contexts, one in biology and one…

This research project attempted to investigate the impact of applying philosophical inquiry method of teaching on classroom engagement and reasoning skills of low achievers. Low achievers are those who have the potential to succeed but lagged behind because of several factors that demotivate them to perform at their highest ability. In this study,…

Teachers play a critical role in promoting dialogic interaction in their students. The purpose of this case study was to investigate how one very effective teacher taught two, cooperative, inquiry-based science units to her Year 6 class. In particular, the case study focused on how she used different discourses to capture students' curiosity in…

This paper reviews university-level efforts to improve understanding of anthropogenic global climate change (AGCC) through curricula that enable student scientific inquiry. We examined 152 refereed publications and proceedings from academic conferences and selected 26 cases of inquiry learning that overcome specific challenges to AGCC teaching.…

Limited studies investigate the high school teachers' challenges and strategies while teaching science and mathematics in English as the target language through the content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approach. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the challenges that science and math teachers encounter and the strategies they employ…

This case-study explores the impact of a 12 week in-class intervention designed to encourage creativity, inquiry and exploration as a normal and expected part of mathematics lessons, with a particular focus on supporting the learning of highly capable and gifted students. Fred is a mathematically highly capable grade five student whose personal…

Design thinking is a way of understanding and engaging with the world that has received much attention in academic and business circles in recent years. This article examines a hands-on learning model as a vehicle for developing design thinking capacity in students. An overview of design thinking grounds the discussion of the material-based…

This paper reports on findings from a research project concerned with how electronic networking tools (e-networked tools), such as the Internet, online forums, and mobile technologies, can support authentic science inquiry in junior secondary classrooms. It focuses on three qualitative case studies involving science teachers from two high schools…

This article outlines how student teachers' experiences of a philosophical community of enquiry (PCoE) facilitated their pedagogical reflections. Although reflection occupies an important place in teacher education curricula and pedagogy, it is a contested and problematic concept. In this study, a group of second year student teachers took part in…

In physical chemistry classrooms, mathematical and graphical representations are critical tools for reasoning about chemical phenomena. However, there is abundant evidence that to be successful in understanding complex thermodynamics topics, students must go beyond rote mathematical problem solving in order to connect their understanding of…

This study set out to examine how interactions between a mathematics instructional coach and a teacher influence teacher pedagogical content knowledge, instructional practices, and a classroom culture of mathematical inquiry (CCMI). The research literature on mathematics instructional coaching was limited, but showed promise in supporting…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the creative inquiry-based science teaching on students' creative science thinking and science inquiry performance. A quasi-experimental design consisting one experimental group (N = 20) and one comparison group (N = 24) with pretest and post-test was conducted. The framework of the…

In South Africa, there is a strong curriculum imperative for South African school science teachers to not only involve learners in practical inquiry activities but also to support students in making a connection between the construction of substantive scientific knowledge to these activities. The research reported in this article investigated the…