The author of this paper submits that humans have a natural inquisitiveness; hence, mathematicians (as well as other humans) must be active in learning. Thus, we must commit to conjecture and prove or disprove said conjecture. Ergo, the purpose of the paper is to submit the thesis that learning requires doing; only through inquiry is learning…

The "Realms of Meaning" by Philip H. Phenix emphasizes several key ideas that schools should address in their curriculum planning and implementation. Ethical educators would benefit from this text because it is a timeless work of art that speaks to past and current educational issues. With the federal 2001 No Child Left Behind mandate to…

This resource manual, built around 1,200 classroom activities, was created by elementary, middle, and high school teachers for teachers who wish to engage in an inquiry-based approach to historical knowledge and historical understanding. The teaching examples are offered as sample activities and are not considered to be a complete curriculum. The…

This paper describes a course for education majors, Educational Inquiry, in which students completed action research investigations in their public school classrooms. The primary responsibility of designing, implementing, and sharing study results belonged to the college students rather than their cooperating teachers. Action research based on new…

This issue of "ENC Focus" focuses on teaching in the standards-based classroom. Contents include: (1) "Creating Ideals and Making Them Real" (Annette Thorson); (2) "ENC Partners: Eisenhower National Clearinghouse Sites" (Juyong Pae); (3) "Innovators' Forum"; (4) "Using the Internet: Connecting Students…

Though there have been many efforts to reform science teaching at the K-12 level over the past decade so that all students can engage in meaningful science activity and become scientifically literate, colleges and universities are just beginning to redesign their science curriculum and instruction. This paper examines the structures, practices,…

This paper describes major changes undertaken in two undergraduate physics courses from traditional lecture method to an inquiry-based method that facilitates active student engagement and changes in the modeling approach to learning. Students' conceptual understanding of physics concepts were evaluated by quasi-experimental design, and the Reform…

The Mathematics, Science, and Technology Educators and Researchers of The Ohio State University (MSaTERs-OSU) is a student organization that grew out of the former Ohio State University Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OSU-CTM). Papers from the fourth annual conference include: (1) "Technology Education Curriculum Models in Michigan…

This study investigates science teachers' attitudes toward inquiry-based teaching and the influence of student participation in science activities on these attitudes. There were 45 teacher participants who taught upper elementary through high school. The three guiding questions of the study were: What are teachers' views of science inquiry? What…

A brief and selective overview of historical evidence of females' involvement in mathematics precedes a review of developments in research on gender and mathematics learning. Gender equity concerns have attracted considerable research attention by mathematics educators in many countries, and over time the body of work on gender and mathematics…

For more than a decade, there has been a call for reform in science education. This effort stresses the creation of a scientifically literate population. Required in this effort to create a more scientifically literate populace is an understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS) on the part of the average citizen. This call for reform recognizes…

This book explores individual cognitive processes and the psychology of scientific discovery. Nine studies are presented that investigate childrens' and adults' attempts to make scientific discoveries from a theoretical perspective. Contents include: (1) "Investigating Scientific Thinking: Why and How"; (2) "Scientific Discovery as Problem…

The development of a scientifically literate society is dependent upon effective communication. Accordingly, the Benchmarks for Science Literacy, which defines science literacy goals for United States students K-12, contains an entire section on communication skills. One of the skills described in the Benchmarks is that "students should be able to…

This paper provides a critical analysis of a professional development model that proposes to improve inquiry science instruction by addressing two components of teacher knowledge: pedagogy and science content. Although this represents an improvement over professional development models that focus on a single area of teacher knowledge, this paper…

This study compared preservice teachers' beliefs (taken from journal reflections) about inquiry before, during, and after their field placement experiences. The subjects of the study were preservice students (n=48) enrolled in an elementary science methods course at a large midwestern university during the spring semester of 2001. Most of the…