This study investigates the phases of development of synchronous and asynchronous virtual communication produced in a community of inquiry (CoI) by analyzing the internal structure of each intervention in the forum and each chat session to determine the evolution of their social, cognitive and teaching character. It also analyzes the participating…

Background: Inquiry-based science education (IBSE) is suitable to teach scientific contents as well as to foster scientific skills. Similar conclusions are drawn by studies with respect to scientific literacy, motivational aspects, vocabulary knowledge, conceptual understandings, critical thinking, and attitudes toward science. Nevertheless, IBSE…

Mass incarceration in America is a moral, economic, and societal crisis with serious implications for many men of color and high school non-completers who are incarcerated at proportionally higher rates than Whites or college graduates. For the formerly incarcerated, engagement in adult learning, whether high school equivalency (HSE) or college,…

Scientific argumentation is an essential activity for the development and refinement of scientific knowledge. Additionally, fostering argumentation related to scientific concepts can help students engage in a variety of essential scientific practices and enhance their science content knowledge. With the increasing prevalence and emphasis on…

Research on predictors of achievement in science is often targeted on more traditional content-based assessments and single student characteristics. At the same time, the development of skills in the field of scientific inquiry constitutes a focal point of interest for science education. Against this background, the purpose of this study was to…

This study explores the narratives behind how academics in formal leadership positions perceive their roles as leaders and their leadership development. Fifteen leaders in their varying capacities as managers of research in their universities participated to illustrate the complexities and challenges associated with their roles. Using narrative…

This study reports teachers' insights and challenges after one year of adopting a curricular material designed to move students through carefully engineered, small steps and encourage learners through success and accessible challenges. The analysis of interviews showed that teachers 'followed' the material in different ways, not necessary in-line…

Abundant educational research has integrated Albert Bandura's concepts of self-efficacy and collective efficacy within educational settings. In this phenomenological case study, the investigation sought to capture the manifestation of self-efficacy and collective efficacy within inquiry-based science laboratory courses. Qualitative data was…

To graduate high school fully prepared for college and the workforce, students need more than basic literacy skills. They need to master the distinct approaches to literacy that are used in academic disciplines such as science, mathematics, and history--as well as Career Technical Education courses. Many students still struggle to master more…

This paper concerns communities of learners and teachers that are formed, develop and interact in university mathematics environments through the theoretical lens of "Communities of Practice." From this perspective, learning is described as a process of participation and reification in a community in which individuals belong and form…

United States science scores have remained stable over the past 12 years, and as a result secondary school students have been deemed less proficient than international peers. Additionally, there has been increased pressure for accountability from both teachers and students. This highly competitive performance-based classroom environment has…

Education for transformation and social justice calls for critical, reflective, imaginative and independent thinkers with enquiring minds and a strong sense of curiosity--the ends and means of what Jonathan Jansen calls a "pedagogy to disrupt" and Gert Biesta a "pedagogy of interruption". For this reason, I introduced an…

Every year, high school students hunch over microscopes and peer at a plethora of tiny creatures. Swimming single-celled protists and whirling multicellular rotifers often steal the show, preventing students from noticing the static algae. However, these frequently overlooked, ordinary algae are inspiring research all over the world as scientists…

The goal of formal education is student learning. By emphasizing experimentation in the classroom or lab, students learn about the results of a particular inquiry. But more importantly, they learn to refine their approach to learning by creating new knowledge rather than merely remembering what they have been told. An inquiry approach where…

Alex Ford was thrilled by the prospect of freedom offered to history departments in England by the abolition of level descriptions within the National Curriculum. After analysing the range of competing purposes that the level descriptions were previously forced to serve, Ford argues that the three distinct tasks of measuring current attainment,…