This book provides guidance to teachers on the integration of inquiry into teaching, creating meaningful challenges, and opportunities to experience scientific methodology. The book is divided into three sections: (1) "Lighting the Fire: Getting Inquiry Under Way"; (2) "Tending the Fire: Sustaining Inquiry Throughout the Year"; and (3)…

Alabama Science in Motion (ASIM) is a statewide in-service and outreach program designed to provide inservice training for teachers in technology and content knowledge. ASIM is also designed to increase student interest in science and future science careers. The goals of ASIM are to complement, enhance, and facilitate implementation of the…

This book gives elementary and middle school teachers a set of physical science activities to help teach major concepts in the study of matter. The activities were developed to lend themselves to a guided inquiry approach for use with grades 3-8. To be effective over such a wide grade range, activities are designed to cover basic concepts but have…

The value of children's drawing and writing in science lies in its potential to assist children in making observations, remembering events, and communicating understandings. However, a neglected aspect of children's representations is that they can serve the teacher as guide to children's understandings and as a diagnostic tool. By creating their…

Recent science education reforms have advocated inquiry-based instruction in which teachers engage students in scientific investigations and problem-solving situations as an important strategy. This study describes the background and beliefs of a preservice teacher who appears above average in her ability to create and carry out inquiry-based…

Mental models of metallic bonding held by learners' from three academic levels, secondary school (year-12), undergraduate and postgraduate, were probed using semi-structured interviews including the use of Interview about Events focus card depicting metallic properties and cards containing depictions of models from curriculum material. Learners…

This paper presents a comparative analysis of three teacher educators using a curriculum--Developing Mathematical Ideas--designed to serve elementary school teachers in an inquiry group setting. The aim of the study was to examine the processes and demands of supporting teachers' learning and their efforts to reform their practices. Data…

In this paper, two arts education instructors engage in a dialogue about their emerging identities to further knowledge for pre-service educators in teacher education programs. Thus, the paper provides a forum about the conduct and theory of arts-based research in education. It also provides examples and critiques of theories of practice and…

Cognitive Scaffolding is what a teacher does when working with a student to solve a problem, carry out a task, or achieve a goal which would be beyond his unassisted efforts. As a psychological construct, it refers to the interaction between the knowledge and skills of teacher and student. A computer, textbook, or laboratory materials may serve as…

This paper indicates the increasing interest and importance of research on the effects of attitudes toward learning, and examines the differences in attitudes by gender, ethnicity, and grade level among middle school students toward science. It was concluded that sex differences provide a constant influence on attitudes toward science, and that…

A researcher who is also a college teacher reflects on the personal meaning of research and the relationship between researcher and subject. As teacher-researchers embark on the process of discovery, they engage in relationships with informants. Developing these relationships requires implicit moral and ethical responsibility, mutual respect, and…

The Wright State University Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Franchise has developed a project to fill the need for direct, strong connections linking science, mathematics and technology to classroom curriculum and students' learning of integrated, relevant content. GLOBE is an international project that involves…

The combination of biblical scholarship and pedagogical inquiry of the Biblical "wisdom" texts (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom of Solomon, and the Synoptic Gospels) are the focus of this book. Inferences about teaching and learning that can be drawn from these texts are discussed. Acknowledging that the practices of…

This study seeks answers for the questions: How do young children express wonder and curiosity in the classroom culture? and How do teachers of young children foster wonder and curiosity? Teacher behavior has an effect on students, fostering students' curiosity and wonder or the opposite. This study also explores the efficiency of an observation…

Action research affords preservice teachers both opportunity and perspective to investigate practical needs and critical issues in classroom practice. A one-semester Educational Inquiry course enabled students to pose important questions as part of a required 2-hour experimental research course in a field-based teacher education program. This…