Describes a needs assessment project that included the development and implementation of two distinctive features to aid in performance improvement: a pre-assessment planning process to educate clients about the analysis process and establish an outcomes-oriented strategic focus; and a theory-to-practice process to analyze team performance issues…

Describes and evaluates the work of an action research group established to address some of the problems associated with teaching science in elementary schools, in particular what has been described as 'science reluctance' or, in its more extreme form, 'science phobia'. Explains how an elementary school teacher replaced science teaching with…

Presents a laboratory experiment on animal metabolism that uses a guided-inquiry approach. Discusses observed behaviors and improvements in students' understanding. (YDS)

Discusses the language-inquiry approach to learning geometry and describes the use of geometry stations to promote this inquiry. (Author)

Discusses the importance of observation in science education, how to foster students' observation skills in the classroom, and how to facilitate what they observe when learning. Includes a list of components of good scientific observing. (KHR)

Describes an investigation on plant nutrition that was developed in the form of a guided inquiry learning cycle and can be implemented in a wide range of grade levels from middle school through college. Investigates the needs of plants to live. (Contains 17 references.) (YDS)

Modern teaching and teacher education "magically" transform sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The alchemy of school subjects provides a way to think about frames of reference organizing inquiry and constitutes evidence in teacher education, also obscuring the normalizing and dividing practices of teaching (including…

Analyzes the process of how the inquiry problem is revised and improved. Involves 7th grade students in the study, discussing the inquiry problem to be investigated. Reports that students always discussed the method in light of the problem, and the existence of the method of the problem affected the endurance of problem. (Author/YDS)

Analyzed elementary teachers' discussions in an inquiry group focused on the teaching of mathematics, comparing teachers' responses to four types of activities designed to create dilemmas which might prompt their reconsideration of instructional beliefs and practices. Samples of teacher talk related to each activity are presented. Only one…

Integrates story telling into a science activity on the density of liquids in order to increase student interest. Shows the relationship between mass and volume ratio and how they determine density. Includes teacher notes. (YDS)

Presents examples of a space program and the media based on it for teaching chemistry. Discusses how to use videotapes during class to facilitate class discussion of chemistry topics. (KHR)

Describes an integrated unit on bats and specifically addresses the National Science Education Standards. (Author/KHR)

Describes a collaborative teaching experience with K-12 students during four-week-long inquiry journeys into the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and reflection. (Author/KHR)

Examines problem complexity, inquiry method, learning style, and presentation method to quantify the magnitude of their effects on learning scientific inquiry in high school science curriculum. Recommends the use of collaborative learning tools to accommodate diverse learning styles in distance learning environments and proposes a paradigm for…

Defines validation as a process by which researchers evaluate the trustworthiness of a study through a tacit understanding of actual practices. Proposes an approach to validation based on the concept of exemplars--concrete models of research practice. Uses three studies of narrative--life history, oral narrative, and narrative strategy--as…