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Teaching High School Science Through Inquiry: A Case Study Approach
Case studies, tips, and tools to harness the power of students’ curiosity and improve achievement in science!
Now from the author of the best-selling Inquire Within comes a groundbreaking book devoted entirely to high school science teachers who desire to improve their teaching and enhance student learning through inquiry.
Teaching High School Science Through Inquiry offers a complete plan for nurturing a culture of inquiry in classrooms and schools. Drawing from current research, case studies, and personal anecdotes, Llewellyn leads teachers on a personal and professional journey to understanding inquiry-based instruction. Paying close attention to national standards, he shows teachers how to help students:
-Develop an understanding of scientific concepts and the nature of science
-Learn the skills and attitudes necessary to become independent thinkers and inquirers about the natural world
-Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations
-Use logic and evidence to formulate and revise scientific explanations
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Research Council, and the National Science Teachers Association all assert the importance of promoting scientific literacy through the perspectives and methods of inquiry. Teaching High School Science Through Inquiry makes it doable.
Now from the author of the best-selling Inquire Within comes a groundbreaking book devoted entirely to high school science teachers who desire to improve their teaching and enhance student learning through inquiry.
Teaching High School Science Through Inquiry offers a complete plan for nurturing a culture of inquiry in classrooms and schools. Drawing from current research, case studies, and personal anecdotes, Llewellyn leads teachers on a personal and professional journey to understanding inquiry-based instruction. Paying close attention to national standards, he shows teachers how to help students:
-Develop an understanding of scientific concepts and the nature of science
-Learn the skills and attitudes necessary to become independent thinkers and inquirers about the natural world
-Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations
-Use logic and evidence to formulate and revise scientific explanations
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Research Council, and the National Science Teachers Association all assert the importance of promoting scientific literacy through the perspectives and methods of inquiry. Teaching High School Science Through Inquiry makes it doable.
- GenresEducation
210 pages, Paperback
First published October 19, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 16, 2009
This book was just what I was looking for, and then some. It is packed with concise information to help me better understand how to use inquiry in a science classroom.
I'm transitioning to a career as a science teacher after working in nuclear power for a decade. My high school and college science classes were not inquiry based; they were traditional, old-school, lecture and take the test type classes. While I have a strong content knowledge base, I'm a little bit nervous about how I'm going to teach using a method different from the way I was taught.
The first four chapters include a brief theoretical background on inquiry learning, including a comparison between inquiry based classrooms and traditional science classrooms.
Chapters 5 and 6 discuss activities and lab experiments. Four levels of activities include demonstrations, activities, teacher-initiated inquiry, and student-initiated inquiry. I particularly liked the section discussing discrepant events, as that builds on content covered in my science lab methods course. Chapter 6 covers ways to modify existing lab experiments to incorporate more inquiry.
Chapter 7 includes tips and ideas for classroom management in an inquiry classroom.
Chapter 8 covers assessment. I consider this to be one of the weaker chapters in the book because of what it does not contain. It contains many ideas for using rubrics, performance tasks, monitoring charts, interviews, and other forms of authentic assessment. This information is great and exciting, but I felt like it ignored the reality of a world of multiple-choice, standardized NCLB tests. I had hoped for tips on how to integrate standardized test-prep into an inquiry classroom.
Chapters 9-12 are case studies covering specific topic areas. They include a sample activity and a complete discussion of how it is implemented, including a questions and answer section from the teachers.
Throughout the book, print and internet resources are mentioned as applicable to a topic. Most of the links were still active, although I did find one or two dead ones. A 13 page appendix listing resources is included, as well 5 pages of references.
I was inspired to take over 20 pages of notes while going through this book (checked out from the campus library). I expect to reference my notes frequently, until I am able to buy my own copy.
I'm transitioning to a career as a science teacher after working in nuclear power for a decade. My high school and college science classes were not inquiry based; they were traditional, old-school, lecture and take the test type classes. While I have a strong content knowledge base, I'm a little bit nervous about how I'm going to teach using a method different from the way I was taught.
The first four chapters include a brief theoretical background on inquiry learning, including a comparison between inquiry based classrooms and traditional science classrooms.
Chapters 5 and 6 discuss activities and lab experiments. Four levels of activities include demonstrations, activities, teacher-initiated inquiry, and student-initiated inquiry. I particularly liked the section discussing discrepant events, as that builds on content covered in my science lab methods course. Chapter 6 covers ways to modify existing lab experiments to incorporate more inquiry.
Chapter 7 includes tips and ideas for classroom management in an inquiry classroom.
Chapter 8 covers assessment. I consider this to be one of the weaker chapters in the book because of what it does not contain. It contains many ideas for using rubrics, performance tasks, monitoring charts, interviews, and other forms of authentic assessment. This information is great and exciting, but I felt like it ignored the reality of a world of multiple-choice, standardized NCLB tests. I had hoped for tips on how to integrate standardized test-prep into an inquiry classroom.
Chapters 9-12 are case studies covering specific topic areas. They include a sample activity and a complete discussion of how it is implemented, including a questions and answer section from the teachers.
Throughout the book, print and internet resources are mentioned as applicable to a topic. Most of the links were still active, although I did find one or two dead ones. A 13 page appendix listing resources is included, as well 5 pages of references.
I was inspired to take over 20 pages of notes while going through this book (checked out from the campus library). I expect to reference my notes frequently, until I am able to buy my own copy.
January 25, 2019
Excellent book!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews