The present research was aimed to: 1) develop the components and indicators of organizational effectiveness for public higher education institutions under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Thailand, and 2) develop organizational effectiveness evaluation system for these institutions. The sample included total 41 participants comprising…

This study explored how preservice teachers grew in their understanding of inquiry science through conducting an in-depth individual inquiry investigation in their science methods course. Elementary preservice teachers' understanding about inquiry investigations, their attitudes towards the assignment, and their views towards using individual…

Can you imagine a class where students cover the content with each other rather than simply listening to the professor's lecture? Can you envision students developing their own laboratory investigations and quizzing each other weekly to check for understanding? Well, that's pretty much how the major science organizations across the nation are…

Presents investigations of leaf surface wetness that provide ideal opportunities for students to explore the relationships between leaf form and function, to study surface conditions of leaves and plant physiology, and to make predictions about plant adaptation in different environments. Describes simple procedures for exploring questions related…

Presents activities that use the learning cycle to engage students in meaningful inquiries in the study of Mendelian genetics. Includes content-related background and teaching tips for each phase of the learning cycle. (JRH)

School students, and their teachers, seldom have opportunities to investigate something in nature. Yet children's development, as perceived by Piaget, and historical scientists' learning, involves investigation. We acted to include these investigative responses and historic resources into our work with new science teachers. We did this in the…

Despite the ubiquity of the term "inquiry" in science education literature, little is known about how teachers conceptualize inquiry, how these conceptions are formed and reinforced, how they relate to work done by scientists, and if these ideas about inquiry are translated into classroom practice. This is a multicase study in which 14 preservice…

Describes an integrated science unit to help preservice teachers gain confidence in their abilities to learn and teach science. The teachers role played being salmon as they learned about the salmon's life cycle and the difficulties salmon encounter. The unit introduced the use of investigative activities that begin with questions and end with…

This guide describes activities, methods, and materials which can be used in conducting a beginning-level social-science research project. Designed for secondary and college students as a laboratory component of a social studies or social science course, it provides ideas for firsthand experience in the methods used by social scientists for their…