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: The work presented builds on a multiyear effort to study the implementation and adaptation of Kids as Global Scientists (KGS), an inquiry-based, technology-rich middle school learning environment enacted simultaneously in hundreds of classrooms across the nation. Two groups of teachers participated in this study. One group consists of “maverick ” teachers: those distributed across the nation that find us and customize our program to their needs without systematic professional development. This group of teachers tends to work in schools with a relatively rich fund of resources and supports. Another group—urban teachers—resulted from a recent partnership between KGS and teachers from a large, high-poverty urban school district. We provide these teachers with targeted professional development to help them overcome constraints common to their schools. This study provides profiles of both maverick and urban teachers, and then examines teacher and student data from five focus classrooms that were successful in implementing KGS. In all cases, successful classrooms were defined as those where students made significant positive gains on open-ended and multiple-choice assessments. The focus classrooms consisted of three classrooms from urban teachers in high-poverty environments and two classrooms from maverick teachers in middle-class suburban environments. The paper discusses the need for research that provides multiple exemplars of classroom science inquiry that are realized through large-scale enactments responsive to diverse learning environments.

Abstract not found

Over the last decade, numerous national reports have called for reform in

The Kids as Global Scientists (KGS) project engages students in the study of atmospheric science through the use of current imagery and on-line communication in a reform-minded, inquiry-based curricular program. This article presents case study data on one sixth-grade classroom of KGS participants during the 8-week program. Six students representing three motivation levels were selected for intensive study to help illustrate how different students view learning science and the use of technology both before and after a technology-rich program. Pre- and postassessment scores were analyzed for the entire class, and the six students' comments from individual interviews served as one example of voices for each motivation group. Results indicated that students made significant gains in weather content knowledge as measured by written assessments, and interviews revealed a high level of student motivation and satisfaction with the project. We conclude with a discussion of the program characteristics we believe are important for creating a learning environment that fosters the motivation and achievement we observed. 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 459--479, 2000.