Inquiry has been used to promote activity-oriented learning that reflects scientific investigation, specifically the observation, experimentation, and reasoning used by scientists. Understanding the roles of content and process in school science helps educators better understand and practice inquiry-based instruction. The relationship between…

Tree rings can be used not only to look at plant growth, but also to make connections between plant growth and resource availability. In this lesson, students in 2nd-4th grades use role-play to become familiar with basic requirements of trees and how availability of those resources is related to tree ring sizes and tree growth. These concepts can…

Describes the Greenhouse Project, a joint effort to reintroduce medicinal plants to the Blackfeet Indian population in Montana. Reports that Wilbert Fish, son of a prominent tribal healer, and his staff produce more than 5,000 species of plants, both for medicinal purposes and for restoration projects in Glacier National Park. (NB)

The southwestern United States is experiencing the third year of a perhaps long-term drought. Many places in the West are considered desert, with less than 10 inches of rainfall per year. Because of local drought conditions, conservation of water is essential. Leupp, Arizona, where the author teaches, is situated on the Colorado Plateau, a region…

The Medicinal Plants of the Southwest summer workshop is an inquiry-based learning approach to increase interest and skills in biomedical research. Working in teams, Hispanic and Native American students discover the chemical and biological basis for the medicinal activity of regional plants used by healers. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

This document, which reviews national, state, and local science activities and programs, provides educators with concrete examples of varied science programs that are a valuable resource for teaching science skills and proficiencies. This resource guide is intended to help educators supplement, amend, and revise their elementary science programs…

The Plant Information Center (PIC) is a project funded under the Institute of Museum and Library Studies that aims to provide global access to both primary and secondary botanical resources via the World Wide Web. Central to the project is the development and employment of a series of applications that facilitate resource discovery, interactive…

This book has been written to help teachers develop the background knowledge and understanding needed to teach science effectively at primary level. It is intended principally as a resource in attempting to set out facts, develop concepts, and explain theories which primary teachers may find it useful to know and understand in order to plan…

This book is a collection of stories describing the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education, based on the author's internship in the Italian preschools and a 4-year adaptation effort in one American school. The book's prologue describes the author's work before using the Reggio Emilia approach, the history of Reggio Emilia, the…

The superordinate problem that the Threshold Project addressed is the nature of the language and learning difficulties that South African Standard 3 (Std 3) children experience when they change from their mother tongue to English as a medium for instruction. The primary focus of the Threshold Project work in 1987 was on a section of the South…

This bulletin was prepared to indicate recent progress in rural life and education as disclosed by the educational exhibits at the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915. The discussion includes (1) the general phases of progress in rural education, and (2) advancement in its more specific agricultural phases. Little attempt has been made to present…

This bulletin represents the third of a 5-part survey of land-grant college education. Other parts are: (1) History and Educational Objectives of Land-Grant College Education; (2) The Liberal Arts and Sciences and Miscellaneous Subjects in Land-Grant Colleges; (4) Engineering and Mechanic Arts in Land-Grant Colleges; and (5) Home Economics in…