This set of botany demonstrations is a continuation of the inquiry-based lecture activities that provide realistic connections to the history and nature of science and employ technology in data collection. The demonstrations also provide examples of inquiry-based teaching practices in the life sciences. (Contains 5 figures.) [For Part 1, see…

The neural processes of a person comprehending or creating music have intrigued neuroscientists and prompted them to examine the processing of information and emotion with some of the most recent and sophisticated techniques in the brain sciences (see, for example, Zatorre and his colleagues' work). These techniques and the excitement of studying…

This article provides basic information on how a common species of earthworm, "Eisenia fetida," can be used in the biology classroom as well as a discussion of how to establish and care for a vermicompost bin. We discuss ideas for inquiry activities with the organism and provide a sample-guided inquiry that demonstrates how a long-term,…

The mix of guided-inquiry and design based experiments is feasible to do in introductory organic chemistry lab courses. It can provide students with experience in two parts of experimental chemistry such as the significance and careful analysis of experimental data and the design of experiments.

When students design and build their own versions of instruments, they appreciate them more--and are more likely to appreciate how experimentation plays a critical role in explaining the world around them (NRC 1999). In this activity, students learn how science is done by becoming active participants. They use free lenses to build simple…

Guided-inquiry experiments also known as discovery-based experiments, which combine the pedagogical advantages of open-inquiry methods with the practical advantages of expository experiments, are described. Unlike open-inquiry or problem-based experiments, guided-inquiry experiments could be readily adapted to large laboratory sections and induces…

The "International Society for the Social Studies (ISSS) Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. The following papers are included in the 2014 proceedings: (1) Legal Profession in the Technological Era with Special Reference to Women Lawyers in…

In an attempt to better support the mathematics and science learning experiences of preservice teacher candidates, a new course of study was created as part of a teacher certification program at a mid-Atlantic liberal art university. Entitled Investigations in Science and Mathematics, the two semester course adopted an integrated inquiry and…

A postal survey of high school astronomy teachers strongly confirms many results of an earlier electronic survey. Additional and new results include a measure of the level of inquiry (more structured inquiry and teacher-led) in the classroom as well as data showing that more emphasis is given to traditional topics than to contemporary astronomy…

School change efforts to develop schools as learning communities result in schools that are constantly learning and thus changing. This collective case study of four schools involved in a 4-year reform effort begins to examine the ongoing sustainability of a learning community. The study draws insights about the sustainability of learning…

In this paper, two beginning qualitative researchers describe the challenges and successes of conducting a collaborative self-study. For two academic years, the authors wrote and analyzed personal narratives related to their experiences as a lesbian and a gay man, respectively, in educational contexts. This article addresses the data analysis…

This article is a follow-up on a previous quantitative study (Steyn, 2007) which explored key aspects that influenced the effective implementation of Invitational Education (IE) in schools in the United States of America (US) and Hong Kong (HK). This is a qualitative study in which an appreciative inquiry (AI) is used to explain staff's positive…

As part of a curriculum development project entitled Crossing Boundaries, these authors designed an inquiry-based activity that introduces students to landscape change and potential impacts on associated biological communities. Using pairs of current and historical satellite images, students explore landscape change in a variety of U.S. and…

The field of youth studies appears to have increasingly taken on a self-consciously "international" orientation, characterized by grappling with how to represent local youth identities and social practices within international, transnational, or global contexts. This challenge is repeated across many different types of study and worked…

This study determined the effects of the Explicit Inquiry Routine (EIR), a teaching routine, on the math performance of 14 middle-school students with math learning disabilities. The routine integrates validated mathematical teaching practices from general education (inquiry, dialogue) and special education (intensive, explicit instruction) to…