Inquiry-Based Learning for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Programs


Book Description

This volume covers the many issues and concepts of how IBL can be applied to STEM programs and serves as a conceptual and practical resource and guide for educators and offers practical examples of IBL in action and diverse strategies on how to implement IBL in different contexts.




Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research


Book Description

This cross-disciplinary volume incorporates diverse perspectives on mentoring undergraduate research, including work from scholars at many different types of academic institutions in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It strives to extend the conversation on mentoring undergraduate research to enable scholars in all disciplines and a variety of institutional contexts to critically examine mentoring practices and the role of mentored undergraduate research in higher education.




Inquiry-Based Learning for Multidisciplinary Programs


Book Description

This volume covers the many issues and concepts of how IBL can be applied to multidisciplinary programs and serves as a conceptual and practical resource and guide for educators and offers practical examples of IBL in action and diverse strategies on how to implement IBL in different contexts.




Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards


Book Description

Humans, especially children, are naturally curious. Yet, people often balk at the thought of learning scienceâ€"the "eyes glazed over" syndrome. Teachers may find teaching science a major challenge in an era when science ranges from the hardly imaginable quark to the distant, blazing quasar. Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards is the book that educators have been waiting forâ€"a practical guide to teaching inquiry and teaching through inquiry, as recommended by the National Science Education Standards. This will be an important resource for educators who must help school boards, parents, and teachers understand "why we can't teach the way we used to." "Inquiry" refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and in which students grasp science knowledge and the methods by which that knowledge is produced. This book explains and illustrates how inquiry helps students learn science content, master how to do science, and understand the nature of science. This book explores the dimensions of teaching and learning science as inquiry for K-12 students across a range of science topics. Detailed examples help clarify when teachers should use the inquiry-based approach and how much structure, guidance, and coaching they should provide. The book dispels myths that may have discouraged educators from the inquiry-based approach and illuminates the subtle interplay between concepts, processes, and science as it is experienced in the classroom. Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards shows how to bring the standards to life, with features such as classroom vignettes exploring different kinds of inquiries for elementary, middle, and high school and Frequently Asked Questions for teachers, responding to common concerns such as obtaining teaching supplies. Turning to assessment, the committee discusses why assessment is important, looks at existing schemes and formats, and addresses how to involve students in assessing their own learning achievements. In addition, this book discusses administrative assistance, communication with parents, appropriate teacher evaluation, and other avenues to promoting and supporting this new teaching paradigm.




Discipline-Based Education Research


Book Description

The National Science Foundation funded a synthesis study on the status, contributions, and future direction of discipline-based education research (DBER) in physics, biological sciences, geosciences, and chemistry. DBER combines knowledge of teaching and learning with deep knowledge of discipline-specific science content. It describes the discipline-specific difficulties learners face and the specialized intellectual and instructional resources that can facilitate student understanding. Discipline-Based Education Research is based on a 30-month study built on two workshops held in 2008 to explore evidence on promising practices in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This book asks questions that are essential to advancing DBER and broadening its impact on undergraduate science teaching and learning. The book provides empirical research on undergraduate teaching and learning in the sciences, explores the extent to which this research currently influences undergraduate instruction, and identifies the intellectual and material resources required to further develop DBER. Discipline-Based Education Research provides guidance for future DBER research. In addition, the findings and recommendations of this report may invite, if not assist, post-secondary institutions to increase interest and research activity in DBER and improve its quality and usefulness across all natural science disciples, as well as guide instruction and assessment across natural science courses to improve student learning. The book brings greater focus to issues of student attrition in the natural sciences that are related to the quality of instruction. Discipline-Based Education Research will be of interest to educators, policy makers, researchers, scholars, decision makers in universities, government agencies, curriculum developers, research sponsors, and education advocacy groups.




Inquiry-Based Learning for the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences


Book Description

This volume is the second in the series covering the many issues and concepts of how inquiry-based learning (IBL) can be applied to arts, humanities and social sciences programs.




Inquiry-Based Learning - Undergraduate Research


Book Description

This open access book provides a systematic overview of experiences with Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) and undergraduate research (UR) in German universities, covering both research universities (Universitäten) and universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen). Divided into three parts, the book starts with the principles and common practices of IBL/UR at all universities. Part Two discusses the implementation of IBL/UR for twenty-one individual disciplines, ranging from architecture to theology. Part Three discusses the potential of IBL/UR in relation to several topics including diversity, digitalisation, different forms of universities, and the national job market. The book summarises the project of the German network of UR, comprising approximately 50 universities, and results of a national initiative called Qualitätspakt Lehre which is intended to improve teaching at German universities. Today IBL and UR are essential parts of high-impact education strategies for universities around the world. In his university reform plans of the early 19th century, Wilhelm von Humboldt introduced Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning as the core principle of the modern research university in Germany, as well as worldwide. IBL was re-discovered in the German university reform initiatives of the 1960s. Since then, IBL has been applied in teachers' education in German universities. The book presents IBL/UR experience as complementary to what is usually presented in English-speaking academia. In Germany, IBL/UR is applied broadly throughout the social sciences and planning, but not in the core sciences, whereas in the US undergraduate research is common in the sciences but less so in the social sciences. Moreover, in Germany, IBL/UR is often linked to applied and community-oriented research — something that is just emerging in the US.




International Perspectives on Undergraduate Research


Book Description

This edited volume explores how undergraduate research and research-based teaching is being implemented in countries around the world. Leading educators come together to discuss commonly accepted definitions of undergraduate research, country-specific models and partnerships for student research, university policies and practices to support faculty and staff who engage students in research, and available assessment data that supports the effectiveness of undergraduate research as a means to increase student engagement and academic achievement. As undergraduate research has spread around the world, professors, administrators, and policymakers benefit by learning about other approaches and models of undergraduate research.




The Cambridge Handbook of Undergraduate Research


Book Description

Undergraduate Research (UR) can be defined as an investigation into a specific topic within a discipline by an undergraduate student that makes an original contribution to the field. It has become a major consideration among research universities around the world, in order to advance both academic teaching and research productivity. Edited by an international team of world authorities in UR, this Handbook is the first truly comprehensive and systematic account of undergraduate research, which brings together different international approaches, with attention to both theory and practice. It is split into sections covering different countries, disciplines, and methodologies. It also provides an overview of current research and theoretical perspectives on undergraduate research as well as future developmental prospects of UR. Written in an engaging style, yet wide-ranging in its scope, it is essential reading for anyone wishing to broaden their understanding of how undergraduate research is implemented worldwide.




Handbook of Research on Active Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education


Book Description

Active learning occurs when a learning task can be related in a non-arbitrary manner to what the learner already knows and when there is a personal recognition of the links between concepts. The most important element of active learning is not so much in how information is presented, but how new information is integrated into an existing knowledge base. In order to successfully implement active learning into higher education, its effect on student engagement must be studied and considered. The Handbook of Research on Active Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education focuses on assessing the effectiveness of active learning and constructivist teaching to promote student engagement and provides a wide range of strategies and frameworks to help educators and other practitioners examine the benefits, challenges, and opportunities for using active learning approaches to maximize student learning. Covering topics such as online learning environments and engagement approaches, this major reference work is ideal for academicians, practitioners, researchers, librarians, industry professionals, educators, and students.