Argues that literature provides a vehicle for inquiry-based teaching that can encourage reflective thinking and help students to learn to make informed decisions by carefully thinking through ill-structured, realistic dilemmas that have no right or wrong answer. Describes strategies that promote carefully structured investigation of such dilemmas,…

Defines inquiry and inquiry-based instruction. Indicates the importance of inquiry in science education. (YDS)

Describes an activity for high school students on household plastic wraps to introduce polymer science. Tests wraps for added plasticizers and stress and strain properties. Suggests focus points for student evaluation. (YDS)

Explains the results of research on formative assessment which focuses on improving student learning. Presents a model for a targeted learning model and lists the components of the model. (YDS)

Discusses the use of museum collections for scientific inquiry and describes a project that investigated ways in which museum Web sites can be expanded to support learning through scientific inquiry. Describes a content analysis of museum Web sites and the development of a Web site to provide access to museum collection items. (LRW)

Observes that the tendency to question pushes some gifted students toward self-directed inquiry and supports their academic talent. Considers ways to nurture all students, especially the ones who don't question much on their own. Explores the author's experience in guiding her students toward becoming self-directed learners and guiding them to…

Introduces an inquiry-based lab design in which students try to find evidence on a particular problem. Investigates the effects of decreases in the pH level on the environment. Includes students' hypotheses and research results. (YDS)

Introduces the activity of making ice by boiling water with no external heat applied. Uses a vacuum chamber for the activity and explains the kinetic molecular theory of matter. (YDS)

Describes the sociocultural theory motivating strategy "transformative communication" as well as a specific dialogue sequence that can be used as a cultural tool for accompanying such interaction. Illustrates the utility of the dialogue sequence in four key episodes within and inquiry-based high school earth science class. (Author/SAH)

Stern and Barley's article in this same "Administrative Science Quarterly" issue gives too much attention to work appearing in the core organization journals and not enough to findings reported in broader and more specialized social-science journals and the book literature. Surveying this broader domain suggests that organizational…

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…