This article focuses on a course-embedded guided inquiry project initiated by a senior librarian and an education professor to promote an understanding of how the brain functions and to experiment with brain-targeted teaching techniques. Information literacy instruction (ILI) takes place in the electronic classroom in the Educational Resources…

Through a qualitative approach of narrative inquiry, this paper examines how Quebec's distinct society identity interacted with objectives of a Multicultural Education course in Montreal. The authors, one of whom was a teaching assistant in the course and the other a student in the course, interviewed seven students and the professor. The…

Research-based learning in a teaching environment is an effective way to help bring the excitement and experience of independent bench research to a large number of students. The program described here is the second of a two-semester biochemistry laboratory series. Here, students are empowered to design, execute and analyze their own experiments…

This paper reports on an action research project undertaken with the primary aim of investigating the extent to which situations that evoke a sense of wonder can promote scientific inquiry. Given the intense interest, curiosity, and wonder that some students had begun to develop after seeing the film "The Prestige", a science teacher…

This research study sought to identify prominent features of the nature of science (NOS) embedded in authentic scientific inquiry. Fourteen well-established scientists from different parts of the world, working in experimental or theoretical research, in both traditional fields such as astrophysics and rapidly growing research fields such as…

Fifth graders in Mrs. Caldwell's class would soon experience a "change" as they made the transition from elementary to middle school. Participation in classroom inquiry investigations and schoolwide science enrichment events had already developed students' enthusiasm for science; here was an opportunity to solidify that enthusiasm. Guest science…

In the present study we explore changes in perceptions of our class of prospective mathematics teachers (PTs) regarding their mathematical knowledge. The PTs engaged in problem posing activities in geometry, using the "What If Not?" (WIN) strategy, as part of their work on computerized inquiry-based activities. Data received from the PTs'…

We are currently at an exciting juncture in developing effective means for assessing so-called 21st-century skills in an innovative yet reliable fashion. One of these avenues leads through the world of "epistemic games" (Shaffer, 2006a), which are games designed to give learners the rich experience of professional practica within a discipline.…

Six remedial reading teachers in a large, rural school district participated in a form of professional development called Teaching as Intentional Learning, based on an inquiry process. Their topic of inquiry was formative assessment. Professional development comprised both direct instruction and inquiry learning in teachers' own classrooms. This…

The application of technology in classroom settings has equipped educators with innovative tools and techniques for effective teaching practice. Integrating digital technologies at the elementary and secondary levels helps to enrich the students' learning experience and maximize competency in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and…

By providing a variety of strategies, scenarios, examples of student writing, classroom video clips from across all science content areas, rubrics, and guidelines for designing assessment items, "Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science: The Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning Framework for Talk and Writing" provides…

The unity of knowledge represents an old idea with new manifestations. During the last decades integrated approaches in teaching and learning have become increasingly popular. Applications of integrative approaches between the arts and other school subjects exist in many countries around the world, offering insights into the problems and…

Inquiry-based teaching helps students develop a deep, applied understanding of human-environmental connections, but most high school curricula do not use inquiry-based methods. Soil science topics, which are also generally lacking from curricula, can provide hands-on model systems for learning inquiry skills. We report on the implementation of a…

Many geography and technology educators have been attracted to geospatial technologies because of the potential to help students develop and demonstrate spatial and higher order thinking skills, only to be frustrated with implementation at the school level. Even when teachers have overcome the technical hurdles of hardware, software, and data,…

This study examined the effects of professional development integrating academic literacy and biology instruction on science teachers' instructional practices and students' achievement in science and literacy. The intervention consisted of 10 days of professional development in Reading Apprenticeship, an instructional framework integrating…