In this lesson, students use Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans--a "wild" candy written about in the Harry Potter books and now available in stores--to learn about classification and dichotomous keys. In these activities, students sort jelly beans according to a key and then construct a key for a "new" flavor of beans. Students then build on their…

As science teachers, they understand the importance of gaining student interest to promote learning. They know how challenging it is to spark the curiosity to truly engage students in the processes of "doing science." One often-used method of motivation is the demonstration of science in action. Demonstrations such as "discrepant events". They are…

Based on a naturalistic study of an intergenerational art program at a colocated child and long-term care facility, the purpose of this article is to discuss the implications of the program's learning opportunities, primarily for young children, in light of current conceptualizations of childhood, aging and disability. Through a critical,…

To what extent can a large-scale national teacher-enhancement project help science teachers employ new pedagogical methods in the science classroom? In this study, data from 13 high school physics teachers who taught 23 classes with 401 students were examined to determine the extent to which a teacher-enhancement project can alter teachers'…

Preservice elementary teachers in a conceptual physics course were given multiple resources to use during several inquiry activities in order to investigate how materials were chosen, used, and valued. These students performed significantly better on assessment items related to the inquiry physics activities than on items related to traditional…

Riparian ecosystems are an exciting and dynamic subject for study. These areas are valuable lands and important wildlife habitats, and they contribute greatly to the environmental health of an area. Definitions for the term "riparian" vary, but in this curriculum, the land called the "Green Zone" lies between flowing water and upland ecosystems.…

Research has shown that technology-enhanced visualizations can improve inquiry learning in science when they are designed to support knowledge integration. Visualizations play an especially important role in supporting science learning at elementary and middle school levels because they can make unseen and complex processes visible. We identify 4…

Action Learning is now a well established strategy for reflective inquiry in healthcare. Whilst a great deal is know about action learning there has been inadequate research on the process of learning that takes place, and the impact that this holds for individuals, groups or organisations. This article reports on the findings of 15-month action…

The Technology Enhanced Elementary and Middle School Science II project (TEEMSS), funded by the National Science Foundation, produced 15 inquiry-based instructional science units for teaching in grades 3-8. Each unit uses computers and probeware to support students' investigations of real-world phenomena using probes (e.g., for temperature or…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. The following papers are included in the 2013 proceedings: (1) Teaching About Asia in a Social Science Education Program (Cyndi Mottola Poole and Joshua L. Kenna); (2) Teaching Students about…

No one graduating from school can any longer have the illusion to have completed her or his learning career, nor to live in a monocultural society. Quite on the contrary, learning will be the major business of the professional future of anyone who now leaves school. Moreover, the multicultural nature of current societies constitutes an additional…

In adopting the "Education White Paper 6. Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System" of 2001, the South African education system mandates teachers and schools to address the various intersecting factors that act as barriers to learning for all learners. Using drawings and metaphors with a group of…

In this Research Review, various models of research found in a recent publication from ArtsConnection, New York, are discussed. The researchers for the first study look at research from each person's unique perspective and value the descriptive and analytical process of inquiry. The researchers in the second study focus on research as a heuristic…

A recent survey of 400 Leading American Corporations by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills notes that managers consider 70 percent of high school graduates lacking professionalism and work ethic skills. A 2005 survey by the American Society for Training and Development reached similar conclusions. Ever since the education secretary's…