In this investigation, students with mental retardation were observed over a two-year period in order to determine how the characteristics of mental retardation manifested themselves in the context of an inquiry-oriented, hands-on science curriculum. Implications for teaching science to students with mental retardation are provided. (LZ)

Describes a heuristic inquiry process attempting to better understand and appreciate a major aspect of religion influenced culture in the southern United States which has an impact on science education. Examines the intellectual and emotional viewpoints of scientists, science educators, and science teachers regarding the relationship between their…

Examines the relationship between the development of authority and the voice in which it is expressed in ethnographic writing. Argues that ethnographic research provides a way of helping students gain the authority that comes from the inquiry process. (FMW)

Argues that the literacy sought for both students and teachers appreciates cultural diversity, sees richness and inclusiveness where others might see strangeness and exclusion, and releases energy for the construction of learning through inquiry, thereby releasing the long-silenced voices of those heretofore considered strange and strengthening…

A conceptual framework for home economics asks the questions What is the purpose of home economics? What is the field's structure? What are model cases of the field's actions? and What arguments explain and evaluate the field? The framework can clarify understanding of home economics' mission and enable practitioners to interpret subject matter.…

Discussion of basic instructional methods highlights four in particular: didactic, Socratic, inquiry, and discovery. Examples and descriptions of each method are given for elementary, secondary, and higher education; applications of each method are examined; and what teachers can do is considered. (eight references) (LRW)

Presents a science activity that illustrates the need to collaborate in scientific inquiry. The example utilized describes the methods used by the Roman doctor Galen to treat epilepsy. (MDH)

Discusses how the dimensions of the inquiry process--and applying this process to early-childhood teacher education--shape the challenge for early-childhood teacher educators to create a meaningful context for promoting inquiry as a lifelong endeavor for their students. Reviews several strategies to promote an inquiring and caring teacher/learning…

Identifies the social dimensions of learning. Advocates a teaching approach that is sensitive to the various barriers encountered by a diverse body of students seeking to negotiate access into the subculture of school science. (Author/CCM)

Describes a project on culturing shrimp. Presents observational labs and the experimentation procedure. Provides general information about shrimp, their life span, optimum temperatures, and other important information. (YDS)

Focuses on problem-based learning (PBL). Explains ill-defined problems of PBL and compares PBL with the typical problem solving approach. Lists 10 steps to involve students in constructing understanding for use with PBL. (YDS)

Describes a study conducted among 10-year old students at a Finnish elementary school that examined the relations and possible interaction of students' motivational orientation and the quality of their inquiry in computer-supported collaborative learning. Topics include social interaction during CSLIE (Computer-Supported Intentional Learning…

Argues that skepticism is the force that keeps inquiry in motion. Describes how two fourth-grade classes' ongoing investigations of birds fostered a skeptical stance. Relates stories from these classrooms to illustrate three strategies that support learning to be skeptics: examining knowledge in context; challenging the assumptions of models; and…

Presents a model of creative and critical thinking in which analogical reasoning is used to link planes of thought and generate ideas that are then tested by employing an "if/and/then" pattern of reasoning. Presents data suggesting that such thinking skills develop first in familiar and observable contexts before they can be used in less familiar…

Presents a four-phase, theoretically based model for supervision co-constructed and shared by members of a professional-development school community and influenced by four bodies of literature. The four phases include building of readiness, directed supervision, reflective supervision, and teacher inquiry. Benefits of collaborative supervision are…