Inquiry Descriptions

IFI Book

Inquiry Bibliography

Inquiry Education Information for the Classroom

Inquiry Education for Teacher Workshops

Inquiry Education Research

Museum Education

Inquiry Websites

Other Publications and Websites of Interest





Inquiry Bibliography:
Professional Development Design Seminar Guide to Articles and Readings


Section 1: Teaching and Learning

Teaching for Understanding
David Perkins
American Federation of Teachers, Fall 1993 p. 28-34

Putting Understanding Up Front
David Perkins and Tina Blythe
Educational Leadership, February 1994 p. 4-7

How Teaching for Understanding Changes the Rules in the Classroom
Martha Stone Wiske
Educational Leadership, February 1994 p. 19-11

On Teaching for Understanding:
A Conversation with Harold Gardner

Ron Brandt
Educational Leadership, April 1993 p. 5-7

On Thinking about Teaching:
A Conversation with Eleanor Duckworth

Anne Meek
Educational Leadership, March 1991 p. 30-34

Teacher's Guide 1: Nuffield Jr. Science
William Collins Sons & Co., Inc., London 1967 chapter 1

Teachers and Students:
Constructivists Forging New Connections

Jaqueline Grennon Brooks
Educational Leadership, February 1990 p. 68-71

Constructing Science Knowledge in the Classroom
Rosalind Driver, et al.
Educational Researcher, October 1994 p. 5-12

The Constructivist Perspective:
Implications and Teaching Strategies for Science

Walter L. Saunders
School Science and Mathematics, March 1992 Vol. 92, No, 3 p. 136-141

Beginning Without a Conclusion
Richard Frazier
The Science Teacher, May 1988 p. 39-40

Learning with Breadth and Depth
Eleanor Duckworth
The Genetic Epistemologist, July/October 1978 Vol. VII, Nos. 3-4 p. 4-15



Section 2: Inquiry

Teaching Science as Inquiry
Steven J. Rakow
Phi Kappa Delta Educational Foundation, Fastback #246 p. 7-32

Relevant Inquiry
Abour Cherif
The Science Teacher, December 1993 p. 26-17

Teaching for Conceptual Change: Confronting Children's Experience
Bruce Watson and Richard Konicek
Phi Delta Kappan, May 1990 p. 680-685

The Art of Questioning
Dennis Palmer Wolf
Academic Connections, Winter 1987 p. 1-7

How to Engage Students in Learning
Vito Perrone
Educational Leadership, February 1994 p. 11-13

The Importance of Play as the Starting Point for Inquiry
Gregg Humphrey
Vermont Elementary Science Project

Teaching Science through Inquiry
David L. Haury
March 1993 ERIC Document # ED359048 (7 pages)

Progressive Education for the 1990's
Kathe Jervis and Carol Montag
Teachers College Press p. 101-110

  • Chapter 8: Assessing "Imperfect" Conceptions
    Hubert Dyasi


Messing About in Science
David Hawkins
From The Informed Vison p. 63-75, Agathon Press, 1974

Mirrors: Finding out About Light
Bernard Zubrowski
Beech Tree Books p. 18-19 and 33-37, 1992



Section 3: Science

Things Your Teacher Never Told you About Science
K.C. Cole
Newsday, March 1986 p. 21-18

Teaching Science by Posing Problems
Jos Elstgeest
Prospects, 1970 Vol. VIII, No. 1 p. 66-72

The Teaching of Science
Wynne Harlen
David Fulton Publishers, London 1992 p. 1-18

  • Children's Learning in Science



Section 4: Aesthetics

An Interview with Frank Oppenheimer
California Confederation of the Arts Newsletter
August 1994 p. 3-6

An Aesthetic Approach to the Teaching of Science
Bernard Zubrowski
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Vol. 19 No. 5 p. 411-416 (1982)

At the Exploratorium: Teaching Art and Science
Ann Chamberlain
Journal of the College of Education, 1987 p. 3-16

Aesthetics and the 'Right Answer'
Frank Oppenheimer
California Confederation of the Arts Newsletter, fall 1985 p. 8



Section 5: Equity


Celebrating Diversity, Building Community
Ernest Boyer
Restructuring Brief, issue #7 July 1994 p. 1-8

How Culture is Like an Iceberg
IRI, May 1989

Equity, Excellence, and 'Just Plain Good Teaching'
April L. Gardner, et al.
The American Biology Teacher, February 1989 p. 72-77

Embracing Diversity

  • Inside the Classroom: Creating a Climate Supportive of Diversity
    The Building Blocks of New Teaching Approaches


Rx for Racism: Imperatives for America's Schools
Gerald J. Pine and Asa G. Hilliard III
Phi Delta Kappan, April 1990 p. 593-599

Teachers and Cultural Styles in a Pluralistic Society
Asa G. Hilliard III
National Education Association, January 1989 p. 65-69

Chechee Konnen: Scientific Sense-Making in Bilingual Education
Ann S. Rosebery, et al.
HANDS ON!, Spring 1992 p. 1 and 16-19



Section 6: Assessment


The Right Test for Hands-on Learning
George Hein
Science and Children, October 1987 p. 8-12

Inquiry Based Science: What does it look like?
Vermont Elementary Science Project
Connect, Mar-Apr 1995 p. 13

Self Assessment in the Primary School
Lee Towler and Patricia Broadfoot
Educational Review, 1992 Vol. 44 No. 2 p. 137-151

The Horse Before the Cart: Assessing for Understanding
Rebecca Simmons
Educational Leadership, February 1994 p. 22-13

The African Primary Science Program
Eleanor Duckworth
North Dakota Study Group

  • Appendix 1: What You Can Look For
    Appendix 2: How Do You Know It's Working
    Evaluation Guidelines


Continuous Assessment
Gregg Humphrey
Vermont Elementary Science Project



Section 7: Reflective Practice


What Teachers Say About Reflection
Christine Canning
Educational Leadership, March 1991 p. 18-11

The Promise of Reflective Practice
Bud Wellington
Educational Leadership, March 1991 p. 4-5

Reflecting on Practice
Sylvia Weir and Tim Barclay
HANDS ON!, Spring 1994 p. 14-17



Section 8: Staff Development


A New Perspective on Professional Development
Inverness Research Associates (1991)

Teacher Leaders as Staff Developers
Maggie Carter and Debbie Powell
Journal of Staff Development Winter 1992 Vol. 13 No. 1 p 8-12

Five Models of Staff Development for Teachers
Dennis Sparks and Susan Loucks-Horsley
Journal of Staff Develoment Fall 1989 Vol. 10 No. 4 p. 40-57



Section 9: Science Education Reform


Science for All Americans
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Chapter 13: Effective Learning and Teaching


National Science Education Standard

Excerpts from Changing Emphasis Charts


Science Standards: Promises and Dangers

Robert F. Tinker
HANDS ON!, Spring 1993 p. 2 and 17-19



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