The study is based on a secondary analysis of data from the 3rd year of the Scientific Literacy Project (SLP), a federally funded research project that examines how kindergarten students learn science in inquiry settings (Mantzicopoulos, Patrick, & Samarapungavan, 2005). Videotapes of classroom lessons implemented as part of the Year 3…

Using a critical inquiry curriculum is about teaching children to read the word and the world. Early childhood teachers apply this theory by helping children question events and texts they interact with in their communities. For example, teachers can help children understand why certain events happened, including whose voices may have been…

Science fair judges provide secrets to a successful science fair. Whether students are competing in science fairs at the high school, local, district, regional, state, or international level, their success is dependent on the judges' interpretation of their work. In this article, the authors present a series of questions and answers from past…

The author presents the science and engineering practices from the recently released "A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas." He recognizes the changes implied by the new framework, and eventually a new generation of science education standards will present new perspectives for the science…

Problem-based learning can enhance reasoning and concept development among undergraduate college students by presenting content within authentic contexts. However, large lecture sections present problems and barriers to implementing PBL. This article discusses approaches used by the author to infuse PBL into large biology lecture sections, and…

The growing number of students needing additional language support requires extra time in the hectic schedule of a typical science teacher. The good news for busy teachers is that several researchers and educators have crafted methods for using "sheltered instruction" to meet the unique needs of English language learner (ELL) students:…

As one undergoes educational reform, there is a renewed emphasis on scientific inquiry as a key component of the curriculum. Likewise, school librarians center instruction upon an "inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects" (AASL 2007, 3). A great deal of congruency exists between scientific inquiry and the information…

Struck by what he saw as the complexity, artistry and cognitive achievement of historians' narrative accounts, Robin Kemp decided to explore ways of teaching his pupils to write narrative and to analyse the role of such writing in developing various kinds of historical thinking. Working with Year 8 and Year 10 he designed a research project that…

The community of inquiry (CoI) framework has commonly been used to study teaching and learning in online courses (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer 2000). This paper describes the implementation of the CoI framework in a cohort-based online EdD program, where teaching presence and cognitive presence were easier to foster than social presence. Based on…

This article describes a collaborative mentoring program in which graduate students (fellows) from a university atmospheric science research department team-taught environmental science classes with professors in a liberal arts college. The mentorship allowed fellows to develop and test the effectiveness of curriculum based on the Process Oriented…

Students of history are expected to be able to interpret visual images as a source of primary evidence for historical inquiry, yet history teachers may not always place sufficient emphasis on pedagogies that consistently and specifically target the skills of visual interpretation. Developing understanding of visual evidence is sometimes left to…

This paper focuses on deep and meaningful learning approaches and outcomes associated with online and blended communities of inquiry. Applying mixed methodology for the research design, the study used transcript analysis, learning outcomes, perceived learning, satisfaction, and interviews to assess learning processes and outcomes. The findings for…

Despite major theoretical progress in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), relatively less attention has been paid to the problem of how research advances may impact schools and classrooms. Given the global changes and educational policies for twenty-first century education, issues of how research in CSCL can be integrated with…

One key element sometimes missing from middle school science lessons is questioning designed to generate student discourse. The National Science Teachers Association recommends that the curriculum of middle school science programs includes "hands-on, minds-on" (NSTA 2003) inquiry-based science instruction, and according to Clough and Olson,…

Nature of science refers to the processes of scientific activity and the social and cultural premises involved in the creation of scientific knowledge. Having an informed view of nature of science is important in the development of scientifically literate citizens. However, students often come to the classroom with misconceptions about nature of…