A study was undertaken to derive, demonstrate, and appraise a form for pragmatic studies of schoolteaching--a form defined as eclectic deliberation on a practical problem in schoolteaching. The exploration of the pragmatic form addressed the problem of beginning the year in the introductory biology courses of a high school. The analysis framed the schoolteacher's task as a fourfold problem involving: (1) the teacher's responsibility; (2) the subject matter regarded as a set of valuables to be placed in reach of students; (3) the students regarded as experienced actors in the class; and (4) the class regarded as an organization with properties of its own. Within that framework, eight arguments from educational theory and research were employed to interpret the teaching problem. The analysis was completed with a deliberation, conducted in terms of the assembled arguments, on the relative merits of two procedures for starting the year. This paper, which describes the study, draws on precedents for considering educational design as a form of educational inquiry, outlines the analysis of the problem of beginning the year in introductory biology, and concludes with an appraisal of the form of inquiry. A list of 68 references is included. (Author/JD)