Audiotaped, transcribed, and coded initial problem identification interviews of 41 consultant-consultee dyads. Hypothesized that open-ended questions, inference questions, and accepted questions were positively related to consultees' evaluation of consultant effectiveness. Results suggest that asking inference questions and questions accepted by…

Describes the use of simple terraria and aquaria to illustrate basic ecosystem processes and the interrelationships between them. Involves an inquiry-based format which helps students come to an intuitive understanding of how ecosystems are put together and how they function. (JRH)

Analyzes videotape data of a summer science camp for elementary school children and characterizes students' orientations when exploring natural phenomena as modes of engagement. Reports that the six frequently observed orientations toward phenomena include exploration mode, engineering mode, pet care mode, procedural mode, performance mode, and…

The Multiple Menu Model is a practical set of planning guides that teachers can use to design indepth curriculum units. This model differs from traditional approaches by balancing content and process, involving students as inquirers, and exploring knowledge's structure and interconnectedness. Components include menus for knowledge, instructional…

Describes and explains three types of models: a student-centered model for the processes involved in gaining and demonstrating proficiencies in information literacy; a student-centered authoring cycle model which is applied to a framework for reading; and student-created models that help in the inquiry process. (LRW)

Provides an outline of a rubric for assessing instructional materials of inquiry-based activities. Discusses the strength of this rubric and how to apply it. (KHR)

Describes a philosophical community of inquiry as a controlled, communal form of wondering that focuses on the larger meaning of human experience. Suggests that, using familiar stories as texts, and facilitated by a leader sensitive to young children's philosophical preoccupations and ways of thinking and talking, young children are both…

Explores an American high school chemistry teacher's perspective on the meaning of student questions that originate from curiosity and engagement with the subject matter. Uses ethnographic analysis of a teacher's reflective processes and decision making approach and suggests that questions hold contradictory meaning as powerful, conflicting…

Examines the long-term impact of the Summer Science Exploration Program (SSEP), a two-week, inquiry-based science camp conducted at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA from 1992-1994. Aims to stimulate greater interest in science and scientific careers among middle-school students. (Contains 26 references.) (Author/YDS)

Using movie scenes about being trapped in quicksand as a starting point, this inquiry-oriented lesson engages students in a novel study of density. Students collect and graph data collected on a variety of objects placed in a mixture of sand and water. From their findings, students consider misconceptions about quicksand and its real dangers. (DLH)

Attempts to strengthen the connection between theory and practice in the inquiry discussion. Presents three curricular perspectives prevalent today and situates inquiry curriculum among these perspectives. Addresses several critiques of inquiry curriculum. Provides scenarios and identifies the beliefs underlying these opposing perspectives in an…

Examines the historical and theoretical foundations of the factory model of education and contrasts it to the more recently developed inquiry model. Argues that the factory model of education is no longer useful since democracy in the twenty-first century requires citizens who are able to think critically and use learning and language flexibly to…

Addresses the concept of "Standardized Tests as Quality Control." Discusses the types of assessment used in today's schools and the need for a new perspective concerning assessment. Outlines a different perspective for assessment, one based on reflective inquiry rather than measurement. Explains the characteristics that have helped…

Considers how nonfiction is the genre most likely to spur children's passion and wonder for learning. Describes how educators teach students that their best writing teachers are the authors they love, not the encyclopedias they need for beginning research. (SG)

Explores the possibility of using inquiry as a way of understanding and assessing learning, reviewing assessment literature; discussing the meaning of learning, knowing, and teaching; considering notions of learning that seem to be excluded from current assessment practices; and uncovering similarities between learning, knowing, and inquiring that…