When children actively engage with classroom content, they are generally more interested and better invested in what they are learning, and better learning outcomes will likely ensue. However, it is challenging to design classroom activities that scaffold scientific reasoning while meaningfully and significantly involving students. In this…

Young children thrive in classrooms that allow them to explore and discover their environment and interests and also support them in this learning. Because children learn best when they are interested and excited, early-childhood educators should offer children play-based, integrated mathematical experiences (NRC 2009). In this article, the…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are composed of three intertwined dimensions--disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts--that provide a foundation for what students should know and be able to do at various grade levels. The eight science practices outlined in the NGSS are critical components…

All writing begins with ideas, but young students often need visual cues to help them organize their thoughts before beginning to write. For this reason, many elementary teachers use graphic organizers or thinking maps to help students visualize patterns and organize their ideas within the different genres of writing. Graphic organizers such as…

Using an exploration-explanation sequence of science instruction helps teachers unveil students' prior knowledge about circuits and engage them in minds-on science learning. In these lessons, fourth grade students make predictions and test their ideas about circuits in series through hands-on investigations. The teacher helps students make…

Many elementary teachers encounter science lessons with a hands-on component that requires very little engaged thinking by the students. The good news is that any teacher can create successful minds-on inquiry opportunities by adding key instructional strategies to a typical "cookbook" activity. The authors discuss some of these strategies using a…

This book provides a landscape of learning that helps teachers recognize, support, and celebrate their students' capacity to structure their worlds algebraically. It identifies the models, contexts, and landmarks that facilitate algebraic thinking in young students and provides insightful and practical methods for teachers, math supervisors, and…

The purpose of this research was to investigate instructional conditions aimed at improving future teachers' reflective thinking, to systematically trace how features of a guided instructional procedure influenced these teachers' pedagogical reasoning. The reflective thinking protocol that formed the basis of the instructional approach was built…

Good questioning techniques have long been regarded as a fundamental tool of effective teachers and research has found that "differences in students' thinking and reasoning could be attributed to the type of questions that teachers asked" (Wood, 2002). Past research shows that 93% of teacher questions were "lower order"…

Mathematical investigations are loosely-defined, engaging problem-solving tasks that allow students to ask their own questions, explore their own interests and set their own goals. The value of investigations for students lies in their complexity. Scaffolding plays an important role in supporting students' high-level engagement by encouraging…

Presents science investigations that involve some challenging mathematics related to proportional reasoning. Can be embedded in thematic, interdisciplinary units to reinforce understanding of specific proportions, provide practice in proportional thinking, or assess abilities in solving problems that involve proportions. (JRH)

Three pieces of literature are used to launch mathematical investigations. The tasks provide opportunities for students to apply proportional reasoning skills, explore linear relationships, calculate a unit rate, and find the relationship between the volume of a cylinder and a cone. A poem, a short story, and a young adult novel are discussed.…

Forensics can serve as the perfect vehicle for science exploration and learning. As part of a professional development workshop, teachers participated in various forensic activities. This article describes an archaeological dig simulation that provides the catalyst for an inquiry-based activity. In this activity, teachers make crime scene…

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center, and their partners at other NASA centers and in private industry, are designing and beginning to develop the next generation of spacecraft to transport cargo, equipment, and human explorers to space. These vehicles--the Ares I and Ares V launch…

The Field Trip to the Moon program uses an inquiry-based learning approach that fosters team building and introduces students to careers in science and engineering. The program components include a DVD and classroom investigations. The compelling DVD (not included here) provides essential information about Earth and the Moon. The hands-on…