A Recipe for Inquiry: A traditional cookbook lab for determining the molar volume of a gas is modified to include inquiry

Journal Article | August 2003

Inquiry-based learning requires students to think about what they are doing before and during the experiment and provides opportunities to apply previously learned concepts to new situations. In this article, students…

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…

Schoolyard Inquiry for English Language Learners

Journal Article | February 2007

This article presents outdoor inquiry activities to help English Language Learner (ELL) students learn life science concepts. Through inductive outings, nature journaling, and multicultural gardening, beginner and…

The Early Years: Inquiry Follow-Up

Journal Article | February 2011

This column discusses resources and science topics related to students in grades preK to 2. In this month’s issue, young children go birding to observe and document their natural world. Children will not only practice…

Watching the Pot to Improve Inquiry Skills

Journal Article | September 2009

The International Boiling Point Project is an online, collaborative project for students in grades 6–12 in which they investigate the impact of four factors (room temperature, elevation, volume of water and heating…