In the last decades, students increasingly have been placed in the role of active learners with responsibilities for their own learning. Students have to be able to plan their learning activities and execute them in a systematic and orderly way and to monitor and to evaluate their learning and to reflect on it. All aforementioned skills are…

This paper compares two models for reforming engineering education, problem/project-based learning (PBL), and conceive-design-implement-operate (CDIO), identifying and explaining similarities and differences. PBL and CDIO are defined and contrasted in terms of their history, community, definitions, curriculum design, relation to disciplines,…

The impact of a professional development experience involving scientists and fourth to eighth grade teachers of science was explored. Teachers attended a summer program at a research facility where they had various experiences such as job shadowing and interviewing scientists. They also participated in authentic inquiry investigations and planned…

Personalized learning (PL) is spotlighted as a way to transform K-12 educational systems. PL customizes learning pace, instructional methods, and learning content to individual students. As much as PL sounds promising and complex, little guidance is available to educators and policymakers about how to effectively design PL. Five essential features…

This study aims to investigate the effects of a History and Philosophy of Chemistry-I course based on active learning applications on the level of knowledge of pre-service chemistry teachers about the history of chemistry. The views of pre-service chemistry teachers about these activities were also investigated. The study was carried out with 38…

Inquiry provides both the impetus and experience that helps students acquire problem solving and lifelong learning skills. Teachers on the Strategies for Assessment of Inquiry Learning in Science Project (SAILS) strengthened their inquiry pedagogy, through focusing on seeking assessment evidence for formative action. This paper reports on both the…

Discoveries in the learning sciences (especially in neuroscience) have yielded a rich and growing body of knowledge about how students learn, yet this knowledge is only half of the story. The other half is "know how," i.e. the application of this knowledge. For faculty members, that means applying the discoveries of the learning sciences…

This article reports on techniques of teaching abstract algebra which were developed to achieve multiple student objectives: reasoning and communication skills, deep content knowledge, student engagement, independence, and pride. The approach developed included a complementary combination of inquiry-based learning, individual (not group) homework…

In this article, the authors describe a recent project undertaken at the University of South Florida's (USF) Preschool for Creative Learning. To align with the inquiry approach of their laboratory school, the environment at the Preschool is designed so that children can learn through exploration and individual initiative. The administration and…

This article describes a three-week project-based unit on entrepreneurship conducted with students in communications classes in an Academic English context. A detailed road map of the project is given, starting with an introduction and ending with final presentations and poster sessions. Students were motivated by their own interests in business…

Three students with mild to moderate intellectual and multiple disability, enrolled in a self-contained functional curriculum class were taught to use a self-monitoring checklist and science notebook to increase independence in inquiry problem-solving skills. Using a single-subject multiple-probe design, all students acquired inquiry…

In this article, the authors report on usage of 21st-century technology, and a collaborative project that allowed middle school art students and preservice teachers to share their artwork and receive feedback in a constructivist learning environment. Middle school students often deal with issues such as bullying, divorce, and depression; they can…

This study examined the characteristics of virtual and hands-on inquiry environments for the development of blended learning in a popular domain of bio-nanotechnology: the separation of different-sized DNA fragments using gel-electrophoresis, also known as DNA-fingerprinting. Since the latest scientific developments in nano- and micro-scale tools…

The behavior of animals is an intrinsically fascinating topic for students from a wide array of backgrounds. We describe a learning experience using animal behavior that we created for middle school students as part of a graduate-student outreach program, Graduate Partners in Science Education, at Arizona State University in collaboration with a…

The literature on professional development is replete with studies that utilize survey, interview, and classroom observation data, primarily collected post professional development experience, to explore teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and actions; however, we lack a clear understanding of teachers' learning process and reflections during the…