While appreciative inquiry (AI) has its origins in organizational development, this article considers the application of AI within a course evaluation in higher education. An AI process was deemed appropriate given its concern for peak performance or life-centric experiences. Former students of a particular course, along with current students,…

This article describes a one-semester anatomy and physiology course that is currently offered through the concurrent enrollment program at the University of Minnesota. The article explains how high school teachers are prepared to teach the course and describes efforts to promote program quality, student inquiry, and experiential learning.…

Teachers often have difficulty implementing inquiry-based activities, leading to the arousal of negative emotions. In this multicase study of beginning physics teachers in Australia, we were interested in the extent to which their expectations were realized and how their classroom experiences while implementing extended experimental investigations…

A major criticism of the Community of Practice theory is that it mainly focuses on the inward induction process of learning while neglecting the outbound trajectory. Yet, this criticism still remains at the hypothetical level in most of the literature. This paper aims to advance the theory by addressing this criticism on an empirical basis. The…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine teachers' perceptions about struggling readers who do not qualify for special services, their perceptions of these students' ability to learn to read, and their perceptions of their ability to instruct these students in their general education classrooms. Participants for this study were eight…

In light of the many social, medical, and political viewpoints on obesity, little is known of the weight loss maintenance experience and the impact on learning processes and outcomes among adults. The purpose of this study was two-fold: a) to explore the experience and meaning-making processes of individuals who have maintained a weight loss and…

This article examines whether models of cross-curricular, context-based learning are more effective in engaging learners through generating conditions which interest, motivate, engage and inspire pupils through a variety of effective pedagogies. This article reports on a case study of two cohorts of primary PGCE trainee teachers (292) over two…

Inquiry-focused professional development and conceptions of inquiry held by eight professional development leaders were investigated within the context of a state science teacher conference. The prominent session format involved session leaders modeling classroom experiences. In all sessions, classroom inquiry was portrayed as a teacher-guided…

This paper examines the concept of authenticity and its relevance in education, from a philosophical perspective. Under the heading of educational authenticity (EA), I critique Fred Newmann's views on authentic pedagogy and intellectual work. I argue against the notion that authentic engagement is usefully analyzed in terms of a relationship…

We shall structure this rejoinder around two main sections. In the first, we address three underlying assumptions of our work that Osborne has identified. We indicate points of agreement, disagreement, and clarification. In the second section, we discuss briefly and add our clarifications to three understandings of his that Osborne introduces into…

New Zealand schools increasingly use inquiry to understand and address complex and persistent issues. This requires schools to have committed Lead Teachers with deep knowledge about inquiry. The collection of studies in this book have been compiled by the research team at the Woolf Fisher Research Centre, University of Auckland, to illustrate the…

This paper, which draws on action research methodology, explores the use of inquiry-based learning (IBL) in the teaching of mathematics to students with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). The year-long study was conducted in a Form 3 secondary class that grouped 13 male students with SEBD in a Maltese secondary school. After…

Over the last decade, WebQuests have grown in popularity in educational environments. In order to effectively implement a WebQuest in the classroom, best pedagogical practices must be employed; however, these best WebQuest practices should reflect the exigent 21st century skills students need to be successful, productive members of the global…

The purpose of this research is to explore a new computer-based interactive learning approach to assess the impact on student learning and attitudes toward science in a large university ecology classroom. A comparison was done with an established program to measure the relative impact of the new approach. The first inquiry project, BearCam, gives…

A new national curriculum has recently been implemented across Australia. This paper reports on a case study of a regional Western Australia government school as they re-wrote and taught the phase one learning areas: maths, English, science and HASS. Results showed what it is like to work in an environment where continual change is not only…