rk over a period of time. Describing problems students encounter as they engage in inquiry and finding ways to ameliorate those problems has received considerable attention recently (Hmelo & Williams, [Special Issue, JLS], 1998; McGilly, 1994, Blumenfeld et al, 1998). In this paper, we describe inquiry in more detail, discuss ways to aid students via instructional, curriculum, and 1 . In Minstell, J. Van Zee, E. (Eds.) Inquiry into inquiry: Science learning and Teaching, American Association for the Advancement of Science Press, Washington, D.C. (in press). 2 The authors would like to thank Ann Rivet from the University of Michigan for her helpful editorial comments. 11/4/98 page 2 technological supports, and then illustrate how these have been applied to specific phases on inquiry where students encounter difficulties. What Is Inquiry And Why Use It? Broadly conceived inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which scientists stu

ABSTRACT: One of the primary challenges facing designers today is how to design curricular innovations that are appealing and useful to teachers and at the same time bring about transformative practices. While we as a learning sciences community are relatively adept at facilitating innovative case examples, we need more empirical work that examines how curricular innovations become implemented across multiple classrooms. In this paper we examine a series of four teachers implementing our technology-rich, project-based curriculum. We then analyze and discuss each of the four cases across two themes by (a) examining how the project-level question was contextualized to meet local needs and (b) examining the cultural context that surrounded the implementation of the curriculum. Our interpretations suggest that contextualizing the curriculum is ultimately a local phenomenon that arises as a result of a number of factors, including students ’ needs, students ’ goals, teachers ’ goals, local constraints, and teacher’s pedagogical values. These cases illuminate the importance of school and classroom cultures in the learning process. Ultimately, curriculum designers need to acknowledge that their designs are not self-sufficient entities; instead, during

Professional development for science teachers is widely recognized as a key element for successful standards-based systemic reform, yet there is little empirical evidence to justify design decisions for professional development. This paper presents both a theoretical model of teacher learning and an analytical framework that employs the model to link professional development to both student and teacher learning. Our approach begins with an analysis of relevant content standards for science learning, and then uses evidence of student performance to gauge areas where focus is needed in professional development. The success of our professional development designs is evaluated using a combination of teacher reflection, classroom observation, and ultimately the re-assessment of student performance. This process is used to inform a continual process of design and re-design. We present two examples of this process in use. The first example describes teacher learning about the use of modeling software by students. The second example is about teacher learning related to helping students master map reading skills related to watersheds. We argue that this form of empirically-based assessment of professional development, linking teacher and student learning, is a key to the eventual success of standards-based systemic reform efforts.

0227557 respectively. Any opinions expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent either those of the funding agency or the University of Michigan. Context-Specific vs. Generic Scaffolds A student’s success at performing a scientific inquiry practice requires both domain specific knowledge and knowledge of the general practice. In this study, we investigated whether providing students with written curricular scaffolds that focus on the content and task (context-specific) or on the practice of constructing a scientific explanation (generic) better supported middle school student in writing scientific explanation where they justified their claims with appropriate evidence and reasoning. To address this research question, we collected data with six teachers and 578 middle school students during the 2004-2005 school year. All six teachers enacted an 8-week standards-based chemistry curriculum, How can I make new stuff from old stuff?, designed to support 7 th grade students in their understanding of chemistry content and scientific inquiry practices. We created two versions of the curriculum, one with context-specific scaffolds and one with generic explanation scaffolds. We then randomly

One of the most difficult challenges in research on teacher learning is identifying and documenting linkages between teacher learning, classroom practice, and student learning (Loucks-Horsley & Matsumoto, 1999; Wilson & Berne, 1999). Demonstrating convincing evidence of this proposed linkage is important, especially in a policy climate that emphasizes accountability in terms of student test performance (e.g., U.S. Department of Education, 2001). The development of rigorous academic standards (e.g., American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993) and an increased emphasis on systemic reform (Smith & O'Day, 1991) as a means of fostering educational change pre-date the current accountability emphasis, but operate in combination with accountability to create a greater demand for high-quality teachers of science. Professional development is frequently cited as the cornerstone of any reform effort that hopes to create systemic changes leading to improved student performance on academic standards (Committee on Science and Mathematics Teacher Preparation, 2001), and many recent funding efforts have sought to focus attention on teacher learning and its role in fostering improved student learning. Though it has long been assumed that improving teachers ’ knowledge leads to

This paper shares results from interviews with three categories of users: teachers, staff `explainers', and visitors. Several recurring issues and themes emerged from our analyses such as users' sense of isolation and user attempts to make a seamless experience between real-place and virtual contexts. Teachers, in particular, felt the mobile web content would be more useful as learning activities before and after museum visits. While majority of users expressed a concern that the handheld would interfere with exhibit play, these users also reported positive feedback about the mobile web content and demonstrated new ways in which this resource motivated new ways to think and play with exhibits. Additional insights are provided regarding the role of mobile web content in mediating user interactions including a framework under development for organizing interactions with handhelds

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... this paper we present a design framework for the creation of learning activities that draw on interest as their primary source of motivation. of learning activities that draw on, framework is the embodiment of a theory that addresses two challenges to the large-scale implementation of interest-driven learning. addresses two challen coverage, the di iculty o motivating the wide range o learning objectives valued by our educational system with interest, and stakaI)l the variation over time and across learners o the motivational strength o interest in a particular topic or activity. o,RzG:A,MHbbjj,.G:,MHRTjj,. ramework is based on a novel categorization o motivational constructs into interest and context-based motivators.

development organization, provides learning opportunities for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working on youth issues at the national, state, and local levels. AYPF’s goal is to provide participants with information, insights, and networks on issues related to the development of healthy and successful young people, productive workers, and participating citizens in a democratic society. Our work focuses on: secondary and postsecondary education, out-of-school and atrisk youth, juvenile justice, national and community service, service-learning, and related forms of youth development, transition to careers and career development, training, and preparation for employment. Since 1993, AYPF has conducted an average of 40 events per year for thousands of policymakers, including lunchtime forums, out-of-town field trips, and foreign study missions with a thematic focus. Forum participants include Congressional staff, officials of various federal agencies, state and local government officials, policymakers from national non-profit and advocacy associations, and members of the media who report on youth issues. AYPF publishes a wide variety of policy reports and material on youth and youth policy issues. Many of these publications may be found on our website at www.aypf.org.