Introduces the integrated/coordinated science (ICS) curriculum used by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Discusses the effects of ICS on student achievement. (YDS)

Analyzes the practices of two skilled and experienced middle level teachers with regard to research-based criteria for cognitive scaffolding in support of inquiry-oriented teaching. Research questions include: (1) what do skilled, experienced teachers do when scaffolding inquiry-oriented instruction; and (2) in what ways do they align with…

Introduces an activity on the rock cycle. Sets 11 stages representing the transitions of an earth material in the rock cycle. Builds six-sided die for each station, and students move to the stations depending on the rolling side of the die. Evaluates students by discussing several questions in the classroom. Provides instructional information for…

A learning module for nursing attempts to prepare nurses to understand philosophical inquiry and develop critical thinking skills. Teaching strategies used included exercises involving verbal disagreement and ambiguity and critical examination of publications. (Contains 42 references.) (SK)

Discusses training success and describes the inquiry process that provides an opportunity for developing problem-solving skills by learning to structure problems through effective questioning. Considers beneficial outcomes, including gathering and organizing information as part of an active social process; and provides an example of the inquiry…

Presents strategies to use rainsticks with middle grade students. Teaches scientific inquiry using a rainstick activity that challenges students to explore posing, probing, and persuasion and represents the National Science Standards. Allows for the integration of different disciplines. Provides instructions on how to make a rainstick. (YDS)

Points out difficulties with a change from traditional teaching methods to a more inquiry-centered approach. Presents theoretical and empirical foundations for the Networking for Leadership, Inquiry, and Systemic Thinking (NLIST) initiative sponsored by the Council of State Science Supervisors (CSSS) and NASA, describes its progress, and outlines…

Traces a systematic, respectful process for using narrative materials in teachers' professional development. One high school teacher wrote a series of stories about school experiences, using them to facilitate discussion, thinking, and writing about her ongoing practice. Outlines the methods of narrative inquiry used to safeguard the teachers'…

Examines the longstanding argument between advocates of curriculum development and critical curriculum studies from the perspective of democratic inquiry artistry, highlighting the curriculum perspectives of Wraga (1999) and Pinar (1999). Suggests that the daily enactment of democratic inquiry artistry can help educational researchers by informing…

Uses an inquiry-based, instructor guided teaching approach and presents the activity "Selectivity/Reactivity Principle in Terms of Hammond's Postulate". Includes 17 references. (YDS)

Explains the inquiry teaching strategy and how the learning process occurs with inquiry-based instruction. Discusses how teachers can facilitate the development of science understanding and maintain inquiry-oriented classrooms. (Contains 31 references.) (YDS)

Shares the results of a yearlong project of staff development where teachers kept a personal inquiry journal and participated in group activities. Finds the teachers grew together as a cohesive staff in learning to appreciate the inquiry process, to value the interests of their colleagues, to develop meaningful curriculum, and to enjoy the beauty…

Explores the nature of praxis and its impact on scholars' status in community and university. Recommends that researchers endorse standards consistent with enlightenment and modernist goals and engage in democratically transformative activism in conjunction with their scholarly careers. (Contains 103 references.) (Author/SLD)

Presents a science activity on modeling a bridge to teach about the forces of tension versus compression. The activity is designed for middle school students. (YDS)

Introduces a high school science curriculum that embodies inquiry-based genetics, evolution, and astronomy. Presents two astronomy units of scientific modeling. The first activity involves a black box to explain a hidden mechanism's effect on the outflow of water. The second activity involves the development of celestial motion models to explain…