Editor’s Note: A Year of Inquiry

Journal Article | August 2010

The importance of developing the abilities to conduct and understand inquiry cannot be overstated. Acquisition of inquiry strategies will prepare students to encounter and solve problems and questions throughout their…

Inquiry dot Com: Web-based activities promote scientific inquiry learning

Journal Article | November 2002

Inquiry-based activities found on the Web provide opportunities for students to learn science and may be used to promote inquiry learning. The Web permits students to approach larger, more authentic scientific problems…

Inquiry in the Community: Students practice scientific inquiry by investigating local environmental issues

Journal Article | March 2005

Projects based in the community give students the opportunity to engage in investigation as scientists and apply their work to make a difference at home. In the community project described in this article, students…

Blow-by-Blow Inquiry: Students use their minds and lungs in this engaging inquiry activity

Journal Article | January 2000

To promote the spirit of science as inquiry, this article presents an engaging activity that capitalized on students’ interest in the homerun-hitting race between professional baseball players Mark McGwire and Sammy…

Editor’s Roundtable: Developing inquiry skills

Journal Article | August 2008

Inquiry skills cannot be taught in only one grade or taught only at the start of the year; and they cannot be taught by having students memorize a set of procedures and definitions for a pencil-and-paper test on “the…

Science Sampler: First-class inquiry

Journal Article | January 2005

In this scientific inquiry-based activity, students explore how variables in a first-class lever, specifically arm length, position of the fulcrum, and placement of the load, affect the effort needed to lift the load.

Editor’s Note: Inquiry—Process Skills

Journal Article | September 2010

We take for granted that students have some abilities in questioning, observing, predicting, planning an investigation, collecting data, interpreting information, and communicating their ideas. But, this is more than…

Commentary: Seven Steps to Teaching With Inquiry

Journal Article | October 2009

Science is more than a collection of facts—it is a way of thinking and exploring our world that leads to understanding about what is happening around us. This month’s Commentary presents seven steps that are designed to…

Tried and True: Inquiry-based dissolving

Journal Article | September 2009

This project highlights a dissolving unit that was part of an eighth-grade, semester-long investigation into matter. During the dissolving unit, students explored the concepts of mixture, solution, dissolving,…

Teacher’s Toolkit: A blueprint for cultivating inquiry

Journal Article | August 2008

Scientific inquiry, a methodology that can trace its roots back to the time and teachings of Socrates, has been an elusive and evolving part of our education lexicon for many years. The Socratic approach to teaching, in…

From "Adding Inquiry" to "Doing Science"

Journal Article | February 2011

Students get outside and wonder about trees. This leads to many questions, and one particularly interesting one: "Why do leaves change color?" Student inquiry guides and empowers this investigation!

Idea Bank: Inquiry and the Collapsing Can

Journal Article | March 2006

The Collapsing Can demonstration has reached classic status for illustrating pressure and properties of gases for students of all ages. But how effective is this demonstration for promoting learning? How can it be…