Most instructional resources are designed around the teacher rather than the learners. Most textbooks and instructional technologies are not developed to be used directly by the learner. The majority of current instructional resources are teacher centered rather than learner centered and often do not match the established national, state, and local learning goals. The reason for this design is the pervasive attitude and emphasis on 'what we know' rather that the process for 'how we come about knowing', as the basis of student assessments. Content is seen as an end, rather than a means to an end. Because our knowledge base is growing at increasingly faster rates, instructional resources have to focus on inquiry learning and the skills, attitudes, and the conceptual context inherent in this learning process. Instructional resources must be designed with the learner foremost in mind.
This implies instructional resources that focus on the process of 'how we come about knowing'and an emphasis on direct and active involvement of the learner. These learning resources must become more student centered and actively involve the learning in the process of learning. A rubric should be developed around the operational definition of 'Science as Inquiry' that can generate objective suggestions for guidelines, policies, regulations, and budgets for evaluating and purchasing appropriate instructional resources for an active learner. >> back
Click here for Workshop series on Assessing Instructional Materials
The backgrounds of most of our current professional teaching staff do not prepare them for effectively facilitating inquiry learning. The education of the professional teaching staff prepared them, for the most part, to teach based upon ìwhat we knowî rather to facilitate students towards learning how to learn or a focus on ìhow we come about knowingî. It is most important that the restructuring of professional development programs for the future teachers and the in-service professional development of current staff consider changes relating to the process of facilitating learning rather than trying to give the learner ìall the information they will ever needî. The emphasis on professional development needs to address the change from a focus on teaching as ìwhat we knowî to a focus on learning as ìhow we come about knowing.î It is important for teachers to stress skills development and the nurturing of habits of mind as a means to learn important content set in a conceptual framework context. This approach better addresses the issue and importance of life-long learning.
This component must examine both the long-term and short-term educational needs of teachers. Further, it needs to consider carefully the ways that new and emerging technologies can more effectively address these short and long term professional needs. A rubric should be developed around the operational definition of "Science as Inquiry" that can generate objective suggestions for guidelines, policies, regulations, and budgets for recruiting and employing appropriate educational staff.
Professional development (PD) is much more complex than just holding teacher workshops. Professional development can be helpful in fostering more appropriate workshops for Science as Inquiry, but a well-designed plan can influence certification of teachers and pre-service and in-service programs for teachers.
A working group, led by CS3, with representation from NRC, CCSSO, AAAS, the American Chemical Society (ACS), NSTA, AESP, and other education leadership groups, will be facilitated through a process for developing a Professional Development Template (PDT), complete with criteria and indicators, congruent with the operational definition of Science as Inquiry. This Professional Development Template will be useful to help direct and guide state and local level professional development programs for teachers of science in the implementation of Science as Inquiry."
"Working in partnership with key national organizations and institutions, CS3 will use Science as Inquiry to define, describe, enumerate and construct a PDT. This template will be useful as a guide in the design of college/university teacher preparation programs and state and local in-service programs for science educators. In order to be more successful with program implementation, it is necessary for CS3 members to better understand the systemic nature of their work and to approach it with objectivity and utilitarian guidelines." >> back
Administrative Support and Leadership
This systemic element's major responsibility is to ensures that the important but often unseen infrastructure is in place that supports the implementation of Science as Inquiry. These include important and supportive guidelines, policies, regulations, and budgets that: insure the recruitment and employment of appropriate staff; the purchase of appropriate instructional resources; the use of new and emerging technologies for learning and managing learning; the involvement and support of the community; and, the design of appropriate facilities. In addition, this component insures that supportive guidelines, policies, regulations, and budgets are in place that meet the needs of all learners and addresses the needs of a diverse and multicultural society.
The attributes of this infrastructure are infused throughout all of the major systemic elements so as to bring the school/community system in alignment with inquiry learning. While the local superintendent and school principals must exert strong leadership in this area, other key leaders must be involved. Local school board members, members of county and city governing bodies, local political leaders, and perhaps key business leaders can be most important in helping pass regulations and policies and provide the necessary budget. This component becomes the mechanism to generate a leadership attitude of ìtaking calculated risksin order to make the significant changes in education to bring it inline with the needs of modern society. A rubric should be developed around the operational definition of 'Science as Inquiry' that can generate objective suggestions for guidelines, policies, regulations, and budgets for an effective administrative component. >> back
The involvement and support of the broad-range of community members are essential for the successful implementation of inquiry learning. While parents are key individuals to be involved, it is important to remember that only about thirty to forty-percent of the taxpayers have children directly involved in schools. However, parents are key for interacting directly with the administrative leaders and the teachers of the schools. However, all community members must be well informed about the importance of inquiry learning and how the outcomes from inquiry learning are fast becoming the new basic skills in modern society. Also, the schools must be sincere in efforts to better understand the educational needs of the broader society by soliciting and using feedback for the design of educational programs.
Materials that are used to outreach to community members should be developed to well inform the local community about the importance and support needed or inquiry learning. Examples of successful community outreach materials would include questionnaires, newsletter, websites, special seminars and programs for community members, and video and television programs. Parents especially need to be informed in order to ask the important support-structure types of questions of superintendents, principals, school board members, politicians, and others. A rubric should be developed around the operational definition of ìScience as Inquiryî that can generate objective suggestions for guidelines, policies, regulations, and budgets for effectively involving and getting the support of the local community for inquiry learning. >> back
The technology infrastructure involves the many broad uses of technology for more effective, efficient, and expeditious learning and management of learning. Learning technologies need to be used effectively to enable learners to better understand the very important but often abstract concepts they are expected to learn. Learning technologies are still too expensive to use for all aspects of learning. So the important question when it comes to learning technologies is “What can this technology do for learning that is impossible or difficult do with less technology?”
New and emerging technologies should be employed to manage the complex and dynamic school/community. Data mining, as now used in medicine, can provide new insights into not only defining the problem, but also help us diagnose the symptoms of problems. For example, in the educational arena we could use the technology infrastructure to manage student portfolios, obtain feedback and comparisons of the various systemic elements, communicate with parents and other members of the community, survey local businesses regarding their needs, tape into the changes in college/university requirements, and a whole host of other issues can be done more effectively and expeditiously with new and emerging technologies. A rubric should be developed around the operational definition of “Science as Inquiry” that can generate objective suggestions for guidelines, policies, regulations, and budgets for effectively implementing an appropriate and broad-based technology infrastructure. >> back