Model-Based Inquiry

Journal Article | October 2010

Model-Based Inquiry (MBI) is an emergent instructional strategy that is gaining acceptance among science educators. This approach to learning realistically mirrors the work of scientists, who develop and test hypotheses…

Writing Through Inquiry

Journal Article | March 2006

The inquiry science process provides a perfect opportunity for students to practice relational meaning in language. As students design their experiments, negotiate their ideas with peers, and share their data and…

Planting the Spirit of Inquiry

Journal Article | March 2005

After a three-week unit on living things, second-grade students were asked what else they wanted to learn about plants. Their questions were a prelude to a three-week inquiry on plant growth. From question formulation…

Simplifying Inquiry Instruction

Journal Article | September 2005

Inquiry instruction is a hallmark of the current science education reform efforts. However, defining inquiry and assessing how much inquiry is supported by a particular activity or lab can be difficult and confusing.…

Inquiry-Based Instruction

Journal Article | January 2004

The term inquiry has been used to form curriculum goals, design instructional strategies, and assess learning. The term also describes what scientists do. Within the science classroom, inquiry is used to promote…

Fire Up the Inquiry

Journal Article | February 2011

Lose the routine, tweak your "cookbook lab," and reach a level of open inquiry with these strategies used during a unit on heat.

Rocketing into Adaptive Inquiry

Journal Article | December 2001

To ensure that each student achieves success, teachers can tailor activities with students’ strengths and weaknesses in mind using the process of adaptive inquiry. Adaptive inquiry is the product of the synergistic…

The Many Levels of Inquiry

Journal Article | September 2008

Elementary teachers often struggle with how to design and implement inquiry instruction with their students. For many, just understanding what inquiry is can be difficult—let alone designing activities that support high…

Defining Inquiry: Exploring the many types of inquiry in the science classroom

Journal Article | January 2002

Different types of lessons and different types of inquiry are used for specific needs in the science classroom. Understanding the different aspects of inquiry can help educators vary the types of teaching and learning…

Methods and Strategies: An Institute for Inquiry

Journal Article | December 2004

The programs at the Institute of Math, Science, and Technology Education at Texas Christian University at Fort Worth, Texas, provide an array of professional development programs and workshops to benefit area teachers…

Shifting to an Inquiry-Based Experience

Journal Article | June 2011

The authors provide a prescriptive, step-by-step method to convert a cookbook lab into an inquiry-based science experience.

Science Sampler: Engendering inquiry

Journal Article | August 2008

There is a tendency to underestimate the abilities of students to conduct inquiry due to both inferred and actual student restrictions in the traditional school setting. While some constraints exist for viable safety…

Injecting Inquiry Into Photosynthesis Investigations

Journal Article | August 2008

This is the story of how a typical middle school lab was transformed into an open-ended inquiry experience through a few small, but very powerful, changes. By allowing students to follow their own questions, the…

Inquiry, Science Workshop Style

Journal Article | September 2005

Few people are more curious about their worlds than young children. In many published programs, lessons revolve around set questions, with step-by-step directions provided for children to follow. This approach seems…