The author proposes a middle ground in the debate between research and teaching in higher education. He defines them as specialized, but complementary, forms of inquiry which are both essential to intellectual life. (SJL)

Survey validity is seen to be dependent on a high rate of response. Practical advice from successful National Geographic Society surveys is provided including presurvey contacts, postsurvey follow-ups, incentives, and letters and questionnaires designed to encourage response. Response bias is not seen as insurmountable. (MLW)

Reviews the major principles and techniques from the literature on rhetorical invention that bear on honest inquiry in the framework of Graham Wallace's four stages of the creative process. (DD)

Audiotaped, transcribed, and coded initial problem identification interviews of 41 consultant-consultee dyads. Hypothesized that open-ended questions, inference questions, and accepted questions were positively related to consultees' evaluation of consultant effectiveness. Results suggest that asking inference questions and questions accepted by…

Describes the use of simple terraria and aquaria to illustrate basic ecosystem processes and the interrelationships between them. Involves an inquiry-based format which helps students come to an intuitive understanding of how ecosystems are put together and how they function. (JRH)

Analyzes videotape data of a summer science camp for elementary school children and characterizes students' orientations when exploring natural phenomena as modes of engagement. Reports that the six frequently observed orientations toward phenomena include exploration mode, engineering mode, pet care mode, procedural mode, performance mode, and…

The Multiple Menu Model is a practical set of planning guides that teachers can use to design indepth curriculum units. This model differs from traditional approaches by balancing content and process, involving students as inquirers, and exploring knowledge's structure and interconnectedness. Components include menus for knowledge, instructional…

Describes and explains three types of models: a student-centered model for the processes involved in gaining and demonstrating proficiencies in information literacy; a student-centered authoring cycle model which is applied to a framework for reading; and student-created models that help in the inquiry process. (LRW)

Provides an outline of a rubric for assessing instructional materials of inquiry-based activities. Discusses the strength of this rubric and how to apply it. (KHR)

Describes a philosophical community of inquiry as a controlled, communal form of wondering that focuses on the larger meaning of human experience. Suggests that, using familiar stories as texts, and facilitated by a leader sensitive to young children's philosophical preoccupations and ways of thinking and talking, young children are both…

Explores an American high school chemistry teacher's perspective on the meaning of student questions that originate from curiosity and engagement with the subject matter. Uses ethnographic analysis of a teacher's reflective processes and decision making approach and suggests that questions hold contradictory meaning as powerful, conflicting…

Examines the long-term impact of the Summer Science Exploration Program (SSEP), a two-week, inquiry-based science camp conducted at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA from 1992-1994. Aims to stimulate greater interest in science and scientific careers among middle-school students. (Contains 26 references.) (Author/YDS)

Using movie scenes about being trapped in quicksand as a starting point, this inquiry-oriented lesson engages students in a novel study of density. Students collect and graph data collected on a variety of objects placed in a mixture of sand and water. From their findings, students consider misconceptions about quicksand and its real dangers. (DLH)

Attempts to strengthen the connection between theory and practice in the inquiry discussion. Presents three curricular perspectives prevalent today and situates inquiry curriculum among these perspectives. Addresses several critiques of inquiry curriculum. Provides scenarios and identifies the beliefs underlying these opposing perspectives in an…

Examines the historical and theoretical foundations of the factory model of education and contrasts it to the more recently developed inquiry model. Argues that the factory model of education is no longer useful since democracy in the twenty-first century requires citizens who are able to think critically and use learning and language flexibly to…