NASA CONNECT is an annual series of free integrated mathematics, science, and technology instructional distance learning programs for students in grades 5-8. This video presents the World Space Congress 2002, the meeting of the decade for space professionals. Topics discussed range from the discovery of distant planets to medical advancements,…

This project was a field research experience designed to enhance the capacity of middle and high school teachers to incorporate active research into their classroom teaching. Evaluation was designed for both formative and summative purposes. All activities in the project had the goal of using inquiry-based learning in the classroom. Teams of one…

This paper discusses recent trends in the field of after-school education and addresses how today's climate of after-school education promotes a pro-learning/anti-development stance, albeit unintentionally. It uses research from one urban after-school program to illustrate this point, framing staff and children's understanding of the developmental…

This paper argues that academic service learning at the undergraduate level provides an accessible and powerful crucible for exploring a career in teaching while also providing needed literacy experiences for children. Undergraduate service learning programs can include direct and authentic experiences that enroll, engage, and stimulate both…

This paper begins by talking about six findings from a major long-term study conducted by Judith Langer, Director of the Center for the Study of English Learning and Achievement, State University at Albany, New York--the study examined English language arts programs in schools that have been working to increase student performance. The paper…

A Nation at Risk, Goals 2000, and No Child Left Behind are examples of external factors that compel educational leaders at local schools and districts to explore reform initiatives in order to meet federally required results. Because of political mandates to improve student learning and instruction, educational leaders are searching for…

This paper subjects "A Declaration on Learning" published in the UK in 2000 to a critical review. A brief synopsis of the text is followed by a commentary discourse drawing upon critical discourse analysis (Fairclough 2001) and incorporating meta content analysis, rhetorical analysis and genre analysis. Conclusions are drawn related to the…

It is widely recognized that developing a successful teaching practice, one that is grounded in the principles that guide the current effort to reform mathematics education, requires a qualitatively different and significantly richer understanding of mathematics that most teachers in the 1990s possess. However, it is not as clear how teachers'…

Inquiry-based research is recommended as a method for helping more students understand the nature of science as well as learn the substance of scientific knowledge, yet there is much to learn about how teachers might adapt inquiry for science teaching and what teachers need to know in order to do this. This case study of an exemplary teacher's…

In this book, two teachers share their experiences as researchers to confront and address the current disagreements about whether empirical research or narrative recounting is a better research model. In the book they seek to transcend these disagreements by endorsing an integrative approach that covers all aspects of practitioner inquiry, joining…

This case study highlights how one rural elementary school, where teachers had expressed interest in changing how things were done, provided opportunities for teachers to transform traditional teaching practices into innovative ones. This involved implementing an accelerated schools philosophy (using gifted and talented strategies for all…

Using case studies in science instruction develops problem solving and enhances listening and cooperative learning skills. Unlike other disciplines such as law and medicine, the case study method is rarely used in science education to enrich the curriculum. This study investigates the use of content-based case studies as a means of developing…

This paper describes how 8th grade students are using CBR, a motion detector linked to a graphing calculator, as a way of generating mathematical ideas regarding the motions concepts that surround their action. Students were previously introduced to the calculators in the classroom and teaching experiments were then carried out afterwards with a…

A workshop to introduce teachers to scientific inquiry as described in the "National Science Education Standards" is designed. Participants were involved in brief case studies and activities, treated to an explanation of "Science as Inquiry," and recommendations for professional development were made. Workshop participants were…

This qualitative study is a critical examination of the rationales for the goal of scientific literacy for all in the United States. Eleven participants, mostly university-based science educators, were interviewed and their comments were analyzed using the methods of grounded theory (constant comparative analysis). The rationales the participants…