One of the goals of developing a new chemistry courses is to foster positive student attitudes toward chemistry and to capitalize on both positive and negative experience in helping students to see how teachers can influence students' interests in science with inquiry-based and discovery learning. Additionally the courses are conclusively helpful…

Teaching how to implement an authentic inquiry is one of the most enduring claims for better teaching method in science classrooms, and for teachers it remains as a practical matter of classroom lessons. The practical matter is that teachers might want students to get involved in their own inquiry on the one hand, and one the other hand teachers…

Early childhood is a time of discovery when learning occurs at every turn. The task that early childhood teachers face is how to teach a class full of students who fall at each end of the learning spectrum (and every place in between). This article describes an easy and effective way to address widely diverse needs among young learners--to empower…

The growth in science understanding and reasoning of 12 children is being traced through their primary school years. The paper reports findings concerning children's growing understandings of evaporation, and their changing responses to exploration activities, that show the complexity and coherence of learning pathways. Children's responses to…

Traditionally, early childhood educators address the gaping hole in their planning books under the "social studies" header by teaching a smattering of thematic units. Most early childhood educators now know the importance of planning experiences for social studies, or any other content area, that are integrated, meaningful, and of high interest.…

In a special interview, Vice Director Zhu Muju of the Basic Education Department of the Ministry of Education in China, talks of environmental education. In this interview, the director discusses: (1) how environmental education classes are offered in elementary and middle school; (2) environmental education teaching materials should be designed…

Students encounter many obstacles during scientific discovery learning with computer-based simulations. It is hypothesized that an effective type of support, that does not interfere with the scientific discovery learning process, should be delivered on a "just-in-time" base. This study explores the effect of facilitating access to…

This exploratory study expanded Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) by incorporating the personal variable of racial ideology (Sellers, Rowley, Chavous, Shelton, & Smith, 1997). The association of racial ideology (i.e., nationalist, humanist, assimilationist, and oppressed minority) to self-efficacy variables,…

In the present study, a semantic perspective on e-learning theory is advanced and a modelling approach is used. This modelling approach towards the new learning theory is based on the four SECI phases of knowledge conversion: Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination and Internalisation, introduced by Nonaka in 1994, and involving two levels of…

Problem solving and exploratory activities using technology as a tool continue to receive attention in recommendations for school mathematics. This article presents an experience in pre-college level type of teaching aiming at familiarizing students with the process of mathematical research. Students discovered a result based on a computer…

Students' interest and involvement in social studies may be increased by motivating them to write about important topics which relate to their own life experiences. This article presents a general approach to writing instruction which may heighten students' curiosity to discover important topics in social studies as a relevant outgrowth of their…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an experiential form of learning centered around the collaborative investigation and resolution of "messy, real-world" problems. This book offers opportunities to learn about problem-based learning from the perspectives of teachers, students, parents, administrators, and curriculum developers. Chapter 1 tells…

The role of block building in children's learning was studied by a student teacher who observed a teacher's block building curriculum in a combined first and second grade class. The purpose was to clarify the linkage between thinking and doing, spoken intention and actual consequences, and planning and spontaneity in the curriculum. The cycle of…

Based on reviews of 10 examples of multimedia design, this paper presents an introductory framework for reflecting on the issues involved in the design of interactive multimedia instructional programs for discovery learning. High school students, junior and senior high school teachers, and Center for Technology in Education (CTE) staff reviewed…

Information on the values of woodworking for young children and ways to introduce and manage a carpentry center for them are provided in this guide. The following topics are included: (1) the values of woodworking on child development; (2) how the teacher can use the center to provide for the integration, discovery, and development of woodworking…