In a typical chemistry instrumentation laboratory, students learn analytical techniques through a well-developed procedure. Such an approach, however, does not engage students in a creative endeavor. To foster the intrinsic motivation of students' desire to learn, improve their confidence in self-directed learning activities and enhance their…

We sometimes struggle with the question of whether our primary goal is for students to recall or understand answers to questions, or for students to do science and improve their "scientific temper". This article describes how an enquiry-based laboratory experiment was carried out in which the stress was on the latter. The students…

The necessity of using inquiry-based learning (IBL) was recently recommended by studies and reports made for the European Commission. Several European projects are devoted to the widespread use of IBL methods. The effects of using IBL are studied worldwide. In the framework of the Seventh Framework Program (FP7) project PRIMAS, a series of…

Too often the discourse of the mathematics classroom is defined as the teacher asking the questions and the students answering them--or trying to. Certainly teachers should not be prohibited from asking questions, but if students are always placed in the position of responding rather than initiating, then one can hardly be surprised if at times…

This study aims to provide teachers with ways and means to facilitate learners to develop nomenclature knowledge of family trees through the establishment of resource-based learning environments (RBLEs). It discusses the design of an RBLE in the classroom by selecting an appropriate context with the assistance of computer-mediated learning…

Educational administration instructors seek methods that will engage students' interest in the subject matter and also link educational theory to realities experienced on the job. An equally important goal and a most important lesson to impart to aspiring education administrators are the competencies exhibited in ISLLC Standard 5, act with…

This publication is offered as a resource guide for teachers rather than as a prescriptive syllabus. No course of study is delineated and no course objectives are spelled out. Instead there are illustrative examples for applying discovery techniques to the study of Latin America, suggestions of various themes useful in organizing a course of study…

Describes a project in which an inquiry approach to learning and teaching in an urban first-grade classroom resulted in a student-created database. Illustrates how computer integration in reading/language arts instruction caused students to participate more in group inquiry, using their individual abilities to contribute to group projects; it also…

The availability of user-friendly tools for designing learning environments resulted in an innovative shift of design focus. This shift has been noticed from a user-centred, although passive and reactive, design approach to a participatory, at responsibility and self-directedness directed, design approach. This latter innovative and promising…