This quantitative study investigated the relationship between Chemistry students' scientific epistemologies and their perceptions of the nature of laboratory inquiry. Seventy-two Advanced Level Chemistry students were surveyed. The students were sampled from twelve schools in three of Zimbabwe's nine administrative provinces. Students' scientific…

Elementary students make great scientists. They are natural questioners and observers. Capitalizing on this natural curiosity and wonderment, the authors have developed a method of doing inquiry investigations with students that many teachers have found practical and user friendly. Their belief is that full inquiry lessons serve as a vital method…

As education researchers who have studied the feedback patterns of teachers using an argument-based inquiry approach, the authors have found a simple way to do this: Talk less but offer better feedback. In this article, the authors discuss the use of teacher redirects as a way of improving the quality of their feedback so that students can engage…

An advanced undergraduate laboratory project is described that integrates inorganic, analytical, physical, and biochemical techniques to reveal differences in binding between cationic metal complexes and anionic DNA (herring testes). Students were guided to formulate testable hypotheses based on the title question and a list of different metal…

The authors worked with 22 middle school math and science teachers for one year with the goal of improving the quantity and quality of inquiry-based instruction implemented in the classroom. The professional development experience was framed by the 4E x 2 Instruction Model, which combines key components of inquiry instruction (Engage, Explore,…

The purpose of this investigation was to compare student attitudes toward two different science laboratory learning experiences, specifically, traditional, cookbook-style, low-inquiry level (LL) activities and a high-inquiry level (HL) investigative project. In addition, we sought to measure and compare students' science-related attitudes and…

To obtain reliable information, it is important to identify and effectively question knowledgeable informants. Two experiments examined how age and the ease of distinguishing between reliable and unreliable sources influence children's ability to effectively question those sources to solve problems. A sample of 3- to 5-year-olds was introduced to…

Using the insights of the French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, this article considers the role of the science department chair in the reform of school science education. Using Bourdieu's "thinking tools" of "field", "habitus" and "capital", we case study the work of two teachers who both actively pursue the teaching and learning of science as…

"Art-Based Research" (McNiff, 1998a) introduced the idea of using artistic expressions by researchers as ways of knowing and methods of inquiry as distinguished from approaching art made by subjects as data which are interpreted by discursive methods, a practice that has been widely used in various disciplines studying human behaviour.…

Narrative research in TESOL still remains very much in its infancy. And the predominant mode of narrative research in TESOL--following the trend in educational research, as well as in other social sciences--has clearly been that of narrative inquiry, with its concomitant privileging of autobiographical "big stories", or researcher-elicited…

Inspired by inquiry-guided learning and critical self-reflection as pedagogical approaches, we describe exercises that encourage students to develop critical thinking skills through inquiry and reflective writing. Students compile questions and reflections throughout the course and, at the end of the term, use their writings for a comprehensive…

I profile here a prospective method for assessing nature of science (NOS) knowledge, as an alternative to VNOS and similar approaches. Questions about cases in contemporary news and from history probe scientific literacy in context. Scoring targets how "well informed" the analysis is, based on identifying relevant NOS information and interpreting…

The authors conducted a test to determine whether they could incorporate a discovery box into a preschool setting was successful. It stimulated the students' natural inquiry processes while promoting understanding of healthy foods and allowing for practice of fine-motor skills. It was easily incorporated into the curriculum and classroom space.…

The authors' school's second-grade science curriculum has always focused on trees and their role in the ecosystem during the first half of the year. Curricular goals have largely emphasized what students ought to "know" by the end of the semester, such as identifying the parts of a tree, describing the process of photosynthesis, and…

Learning to teach never ends. In fact, learning to teach is no longer thought of as a one-time process of "teacher training" where student teachers are equipped with theory and methods and then sent out to "practice" teaching. Likewise, continued education for experienced teaching is no longer thought of as a process of periodic "staff…