Children's inquiry is a pedagogical approach that positions young learners as active investigators who co-construct understandings through sustained exploration with materials, peers, kaiako, whanau, and local communities. It nurtures creativity and critical thinking while inviting children to engage deeply with people, places, and ideas. Grounded…

Chemistry labs are often taught using a rote mechanical approach without much explicit scaffolding for academic reflection by the students. Reflection, however, can play an essential role in learning because it is an evidence-based learning process that generates, deepens, critiques, and documents learning. By moving away from traditional teaching…

In 2021, I completed an instructional redesign of an online section of a general education (GE) course titled "Criticizing Television." The redesign focused on utilizing Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TiLT) to create more meaningful engagement and deeper learning opportunities through discussion boards. Using the action research…

This meta-analysis synthesized 18 qualified studies, resulting in 29 effect sizes. This study involved a total sample of 1,280 students to evaluate the effectiveness of Engineering Design Process (EDP)-based instructional approaches in STEM education. Eligible studies were systematically selected through inclusion and exclusion criteria following…

Syntheses of analogues of historical indigo and Maya blue pigments using an inquiry-based approach are presented. Derivatives of indigo were synthesized (in particular Tyrian purple) and used as vat dyes for dyeing cotton or wool fabrics or mixed with a sepiolite clay to create new hues or colors of Maya blues using a green chemistry hydrothermal…

Inquiry as a strategy for science teaching has become widespread in the classroom and has various applications. But whether teachers are sufficiently trained to carry it out in pre-university classrooms would need to be determined. The objective of this study is to determine the inquiry knowledge of preservice primary teachers and their ability to…

As science education shifts toward integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) approaches, guidelines for designing teaching and learning episodes that integrate curricular content and procedures from multiple disciplines become increasingly in demand. The existing plethora of conceptualizations of STEM makes difficult such…

In this paper, we present an argument for Practitioner Inquiry (PI). We briefly introduce PI, and we indicate how PI recasts the professional and political role of the Early Years Practitioner (practitioner). At the core of this article is the work of the early childhood pioneer, Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852). Froebel provided principles to…

This qualitative study uses the dialogical self theory to explore teacher educators' voices as they speak on the issue of teacher identity positioning, specifically when it comes to the position of teachers as inquirers. A content analysis of self-reports from 18 teacher educators yielded 3 primary teacher core I-positions. The results showed that…

This paper proposes a novel educational approach to epistemic vice rehabilitation. Its authors Gerry Dunne and Alkis Kotsonis note that, like Quassim Cassam, they remain optimistic about the possibility of improvement with regard to epistemic vice. However, unlike Cassam, who places the burden of minimizing or overcoming epistemic vices and their…

Qualitative research is valuable in medicine because of the deep insights it offers into the social and cultural dimensions of healthcare. Historically, qualitative methods have been influenced by critical theory and have shared its constructivist epistemology and orientation towards social justice. It can be challenging to teach such critical…

This paper, delivered as a provocative keynote address to the Collaborative Action Research Network (CARN) conference in Manchester on 28th October 2023, explores the question if action research might have a sweet spot. A sweet spot is defined as an ideal location, area or combination of factors for a particular activity or purpose. It draws on…

Background: Inquiry-based instruction is a prominent teaching strategy in science education that is assumed to be an effective means to foster not only students' understanding of science content but also their procedural and epistemic knowledge concerning inquiry processes. Empirical studies have repeatedly shown that inquiry-related activities…

Science education researchers and curriculum documents have advocated scientific inquiry for more than six decades; however, inconsistent findings concerning its effects on students' learning outcomes have been revealed in recent analyses of large-scale international assessment data (e.g., the Programme for International Student Assessment…

This qualitative research study explored how undergraduate students at a public four-year land grant university can co-create a sense of belonging through an appreciative inquiry (AI) process. The study employed a strengths-based and generative approach to investigate the experiences of students within the same student organization, focusing on…