This article explores the mixed fortunes of historical inquiry as a method in educational studies and exposes evidence for the neglect of this method in religious education research in particular. It argues that historical inquiry, as a counterpart to other research methods, can add depth and range to our understanding of education, including…

Do our genes exclusively control us, or are other factors at play? Epigenetics can provide a means for students to use inquiry-based methods to understand a complex biological concept. Students research and design an experiment testing whether dietary supplements affect the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster over multiple generations.

This study is based on survey research conducted in 2010 and 2011, involving graduate students using a 3D immersive environment for their coursework. Investigators examined students' perceptions of community and presence via coursework offered in the immersive world. Utilizing the Sense of Community II index and the Communities of Inquiry survey,…

This paper presents an innovative, interdisciplinary, design-and-build course created to improve placement, content, and pedagogy for introductory engineering design education. Infused at the freshman level, the course aims to promote expert design thinking by using problem-based learning (PBL) as the mode of delivery. The course is structured to…

The PISA performance of Hong Kong has prompted this study to investigate if scientific literacy (SL) of Hong Kong students can be improved further through a high school biology course employing the STSE approach. A STSE course was developed in accordance to the contexts of Hong Kong and a framework for the assessment of scientific literacy was…

This paper proposes both theoretical and empirical approaches to differentiating the community of inquiry (CoI) in online classes at individual and group levels. Following the example of research on organizational climate, it assesses the strength of shared perceptions of teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. The paper…

This study offers a new way to assess TPACK within the context of a graduate program revitalized to focus on new literacies. Whereas previous studies have focused on teacher lesson planning or modeling best practices, our research examines TPACK by exploring the Creative Synthesis Projects of graduates from our program. These projects reveal the…

This study reports on a content course for science immersion teacher candidates that emphasized authentic practice of science and thinking scientifically in the context of introductory astrophysics. We explore how 122 science teacher candidates spanning three cohorts did and did not reason scientifically and how this evolved in our program. Our…

This paper examines how mathematical understandings might emerge through student-centred inquiry. Data is drawn from a research project on student-centred curriculum integration that situated mathematics within authentic problem-solving contexts and involved students in collaboratively constructed curriculum. The project involved case studies in…

The conflict between the amount of material to be addressed in high school science classes, the need to prepare students for standardized tests, and the amount of time available forces science educators to make difficult pedagogical decisions on a daily basis. Hands-on and inquiry-based learning offer students more authentic learning experiences…

Within the field of science education, there remains little agreement as to the definition and characteristics of classroom inquiry. The emerging emphasis on scientific practices in science education reform discourse is underpinned by a need to better articulate the constituent elements of inquiry-based science. While a small number of…

The purpose of the study was to assess elementary students' science process skills, content knowledge, and concept knowledge after one year of participation in an elementary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program. This study documented the effects of the combination of intensive professional development and the use of…

As an aspect of the confluence between schooling and lived experiences, children develop literate identities and build personal theories of literacy. The purpose of this study was to explore the construction or children's literate identity in different contexts. Four children, two from Canada and two from the United States, were interviewed and…

Gene expression is a highly theoretical concept that requires advanced reasoning skills to comprehend. Often, students receive instruction but fail to replace prior conceptions and thus do not benefit. In order to investigate the reason for this failure, we used a directed inquiry activity that uses concrete analogies in both majors and non-majors…

Mobile technologies can support learning across different contexts as their portability enables them to be used by the learner in whichever context she or he is in. They can be particularly beneficial in informal and semiformal contexts where learners have more control over their learning goals and where motivation is often high. Inquiries in…