Explains how to develop lesson plans to help students become effective researchers using electronic searching tools. Uses a unit developed for Kansas landmarks to discuss information skills, competency standards, inquiry, technology use, information literacy and process skills, finding information, and an example of a research log. (LRW)

Discusses strategies to facilitate children's explorations that include supporting open-ended inquiry, supervising safely, seizing the moment, offering a place for discovery, providing access to information, sharing respect for life, seeking community involvement, and celebrating wonder. (JRH)

Highlights promising practices in global education (the tendency of global educators to emphasize interdisciplinary concepts, to model inquisitiveness and skepticism, and to stress participatory learning). The promising practices are examined in the context of classroom life at the Shoreline Foreign Language/International Studies magnet school (a…

Student performance in U.S. history is poor because most history teachers have not studied history and textbooks present history as an incontrovertible story. The bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition provides an opportunity for interdisciplinary history education that emphasizes inquiry and critical thinking. Primary documents, local…

Reports on Try Science, a program designed to investigate the learning experiences and outcomes of teachers engaged in a unique collaboration--a master's degree program in science education for elementary and middle school teachers conducted entirely online. Discusses the learning experiences, degree of understanding of meaning of inquiry in…

Describes a study that examined perceptions and patterns of technology use among graduate students enrolled in an online education course. Results showed specific patterns of technology use, learning preferences, and benefits of an online university environment, including action research and inquiry-based projects. The online course evaluation…

Barnes, an educator and textbook author, was a pioneer in the use of inquiry to teach secondary school history. Her work is criticized for the indoctrination it entailed and for its failure to encourage students to identify and examine the spiritual and political premises underlying the historical framework Barnes presented. (IAH)

Investigates the effect of a directed-inquiry approach to learning science process skills and scientific problem solving in the high school biology laboratory. Reports no main effect of the approach but an interaction effect of the approach and cognitive development. (Author/YP)

Describes how to organize a student-directed laboratory investigation which is based on amphibian metamorphosis, lasts for nearly a term, and involves extensive group effort. Explains the assignment, student response and opinion, formal paper, and instructor responsibilities. (RT)

In this article, the reflective practitioner is first defined conceptually and operationally. Implications for structuring teacher preparation programs that enable reflectivity are then discussed. (Author/IAH)

According to information from a 1994 conference that explored the work of teachers conducting inquiry, the purposes of teacher-led inquiry are to improve teaching and learning and to inform and transform the work of schooling. Implications of teacher-led inquiry for the education of teachers are examined. (SM)

Reviews four influential books on action research that highlight the self-reflective process of examining contradictions in personal beliefs to improve practice, noting that personal beliefs and experiences underlie action research, and those conducting the research live it as they consider whether the ideals match with their actions. (SM)

Discusses language across the curriculum movement and its impact on current social studies teaching. Asserts that social studies as a form of literacy means being able to understand the world from multiple perspectives. Recommends that social studies teachers implement inquiry and language principles across the curriculum. (CFR)

Examines the importance of learning environments as sites for change in science education, describing work with elementary teachers in which researchers are designing learning environments featuring guided inquiry. After explaining how to plan and enact guided inquiry instruction in science, the paper reflects on experiences implementing it in…

Investigated the appropriateness of microcomputer-based laboratories (MBLs) for elementary school students. Reports that children expanded their repertoire of graph-making and interpreting skills and MBLs supported scientific inquiry for and by the children. (28 references) (Author/JRH)