In looking at successful inquiry activities, patterns in pedagogical approach emerge (Meyer et al. 2011). This article discusses one such approach--the design challenge. A design challenge can be defined as an activity in which students are given an explicit task to create a product that meets a defined goal. However, simply asking students to…

Too often, teachers scratch their heads and ask, "What were my students thinking?" then answer, "I don't want to know." But teachers should want to know, and students should question their own thinking, as well. Critical thinking involves not just problem solving, creativity, analysis, and synthesis but also self-awareness of learning and learning…

Although science is a creative endeavor (NRC 1996, p. 46), many students think they are not encouraged--or even allowed--to be creative in the laboratory. When students think there is only one correct way to do a lab, their creativity is inhibited. Park and Seung (2008) argue for the importance of creativity in science classrooms and for the…

Describes a curriculum designed around a series of investigative, macroscopic problems that enable students to learn the big picture of modern biology for themselves. Presents a hands-on investigative activity that gives students an accurate, easily grasped analogy for DNA expression. (JRH)

Demonstrates how teachers can move their students from the novice into the expert range of problem-solving strategies. Utilizes a problem-solving model that follows how such skills develop. (DDR)

Describes the Science Enrichment Program (SEP), a multicultural summer program that aims at helping participants identify their special aptitudes and develop their particular interests through a multitude of hands-on experiences so that they can identify with an area of science. (JRH)

Defines action research in terms of science education, delineates the process, provides the rationale for research into practice, and gives an example of putting this process into action. Includes some tips for data collection and analysis. (DDR)

Explores the issue of how to make chemistry more personally meaningful to students who have no interest in continuing the study of science. Describes two projects that each have an interview, research, and presentation format. (DDR)

Defines approaches to inquiry-based science teaching and describes many ways in which to conduct this kind of science instruction. Argues that with science reform underway, opportunities exist to transform classrooms into environments with active learners engaged in inquiry. (DDR)

Presents the topic of linking the presence of life on Earth with the chemical evolution of the universe as a whole. The approach involves examining issues related to the biochemical unity of living matter and the chemical evolution of the galaxy. (DDR)

Describes how students use paper-strip molecules in hands-on activities to show the synthesis of larger organic molecules from smaller molecules. Focuses initially on condensation molecules involving the functional groups in alcohol and carboxylic acids. (DDR)

Describes the Critical Issues Forum, a multidisciplinary program designed to encompass computer technology, current global issues, and effective teaching and learning practices. Features open-ended, collaborative activities that deal with current, real-world issues. Discusses analysis of the issues and integrating technology. (JRH)