"Inquiry" is a nearly ubiquitous part of recommendations for effective practice in school science worldwide. Teachers often experience difficulties, however, in engaging students in inquiry activities in which they are asked to explore physical phenomena (and energy) and, from their inquiries, derive appropriate conclusions about nature. It has…

Much has been made in recent years of inquiry approaches to science education and the promise of such instruction to alleviate some of the ills of science education, yet in some ways this construct is still unclear to many in the field. In this paper we explore one view of inquiry in science that is based on the development, use, assessment, and…

Unlike the static, set-in-stone research project, the inquiry process is an interactive cycle used to teach research in any content area. The inquiry process engages students in a way that promotes critical thinking, higher-level processing, and the use of more varied and appropriate resources. This article introduces the inquiry process and…

During the last decade, "Lesson Study", a Japanese professional development model involving a community of learners, has been spreading to countries around the world. "Lesson Study" is a systematic process of inquiry into classroom practices where teachers collaborate in planning, implementing, observing and revising lessons.…

Many chemistry educators have adopted the process-oriented guided instructional learning (POGIL) pedagogy. However, it is not clear which aspects of POGIL are the most important in terms of actual learning. We compared 354 first-year undergraduate psychology students' learning in physiological psychology using four teaching methods: control,…

This study was conducted in the light of the philosophical framework of inquiry-based science education. The research involved the presentation of experiments on basic science concepts that have been tested for validity through inquiry-based processes. The experiments were formulated firstly to determine what differences there would be in student…

Physics teachers use experimental devices to show students how scientific concepts, principles, and laws are applied to understand the real world. This paper studies question generation of secondary and under-graduate university students when they are confronted with experimental devices in different but usual teaching situations: reading about…

This study evaluated a strategy using "clickers," POGIL (process oriented guided inquiry learning), and a focused science literacy orientation in an applied science course for non-STEM undergraduates taught in large classes. The effectiveness of these interventions in improving the science literacy of students was evaluated using a…

This case study reports the effects of a cooperative learning field experience on a pre-service teacher's views of inquiry-based science and her science teaching self-efficacy. Framed by an action research model, this study examined (a) the pre-service teacher's developing understanding of inquiry-based science teaching and learning…

Problem-based learning (PBL) and inquiry learning (IL) employ extensive scaffolding that results in cognitive load reduction and allows students to learn in complex domains. Hybrid teacher professional development models (PDM) using 21st century social collaboration tools embedding PBL and IL shows promise as a systemic approach for increasing…

Disability simulations have been used to provide postsecondary students with experiential learning opportunities in many disciplines including physical education. Critics (French, 1992) suggest that it is not possible to simulate disability experience and therefore question their efficacy. The purpose of this study was to interpret the meanings…

Experiments, as we all know, are especially important in science education. However, their impact on improving thinking could be even greater when applied together with the methods of inquiry-based learning (IBL). In this paper we present our observations of a high-school laboratory class where students used computers to carry out and analyse real…

Though many national and international science organizations stress the importance of integrating scientific inquiry into classroom instruction, this is often difficult for teachers. Moreover, assessing and scaffolding inquiry skills for students can be even more of a challenge. This paper investigated the student performances in an inquiry-based,…

There is extensive research that shows how the arts provide many benefits for all students yet there is evidence that arts education offerings and experiences are decreasing across both university and school sectors. It is important that we recognize the essential role of teacher educators in preparing pre-service teachers to be aware of the…

The International Baccalaureate (IB) programme utilizes an inquiry-based multi-disciplinary approach and focuses on the teaching of critical-thinking skills. The IB programme is growing at a rapid rate within the United States, with the overall number of IB schools having more than doubled in the last five years. The purpose of the present study…