Reviews the development phase of a collaborative inquiry initiative undertaken among staff in the Center for Distance Education, Athabasca University, Canada, to identify competencies required of master's-level experts in distance education. The competencies are clustered in four skill sets, and basic procedures for developing a taxonomy of…

Argues that current models of art criticism distort the actual discourse of critics and force educators to rely upon a problematic instructional method: classroom recitation. Suggests that critical inquiry, rather than critical discourse, is a more fruitful concept for structuring art criticism instruction and proposes a model based on this…

Discussion of the triarchic theory of intelligence focuses on a study of ninth graders that explored the relationships between student abilities and the cognitive and attitudinal outcomes that resulted from student immersion in a computer-based inquiry environment. Examines outcome variables related to content understanding, problem solving, and…

Explains an online introductory biology course that applies the inquiry approach to hands-on laboratories. Evaluates learning objectives such as the knowledge of biology, reasoning, attitudes, and graphing skills. (YDS)

Contends that picture story books meet the goals of social studies, promote social inquiry, and are compatible with social studies curriculum standards. Describes the use of picture story books in the classroom. Includes an annotated bibliography, and discussion of the bibliography, that is meant to encourage social consciousness in students five-…

Simply carving up a large comprehensive high school into several smaller schools does not guarantee improvement. In this article, the authors find that key lessons garnered from numerous small-school conversions can guide school leaders through the cultural changes that must accompany the structural ones if small schools are to fulfill their…

This paper set emerged from an international symposium that aimed to shed light on issues associated with the enactment of inquiry both as means (i.e., inquiry as an instructional approach) and as ends (i.e., inquiry as a learning outcome) in precollege science classrooms. The symposium contributors were charged with providing perspectives from…

Secondary science methods students' thinking on coteaching practice was studied for the development of conscious elements of practical teacher knowledge supporting the use of structured inquiry. Reflective dialogue on practice in an electronic forum was analyzed for elements of formal learning and biography (past and present) that informed…

This paper focuses on an early stage of developing curricular materials to support students' learning of scientific inquiry. The materials being developed and tested, called Classroom FeederWatch (CFW), aimed to support science inquiry and were developed by a collaborative team of private curriculum developers and scientists (ornithologists).…

This investigation examines the difficulties encountered by one graduate teaching assistant as she taught "Physics for Elementary Education," a large-enrollment, inquiry-based science course taught at a public Midwestern university. The methodological approach of hermeneutic phenomenology served as the lens to investigate the research question,…

Because preparation of principals has not kept pace with changes in the larger world of schooling, graduates of principal-preparation programs have been left ill equipped for the challenges and opportunities posed by an era of accountability. Principals receive limited training in the use of data, research, technology, the hiring or termination of…

Science education has moved from the traditional lecture-and-demonstration model toward a student inquiry model. Inquiry activities allow students to discover many relationships of science for themselves. However beneficial this shift may be, former assessment methods used in the traditional model may no longer effectively determine student…

Two astronomy professors, using the Decoding the Disciplines process, help their students use abstract theories to analyze light and to visualize the enormous scale of astronomical concepts. (Contains 5 figures.)

Through a series of fictionalized diary entries based on Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer's own writings, this case recounts the "discovery" in South Africa in 1938 of a fish believed to be extinct for over 70 million years. The case was developed for use in an introductory freshman biology course. In this setting, it could be used as a…

This study explores the extent to which small group argumentation and discussion was used as part of a series of three practical inquiry-based science lessons in each of two Year 8 (age 12-13) classes. The actions and talk of the teacher and two target groups of students in each class were recorded using video-recorders and audiorecorders.…