Eight Essentials of Inquiry-Based Science, K-8

Elizabeth Hammerman is a dedicated science educator and consultant. Her professional background includes teaching science at the middle school and high school levels and over 20 years of experience teaching university science education courses and co-directing funded grant projects. She has done extensive professional development with teachers in the field, specializing in curriculum development and implementation, performance assessment, and effective teaching and learning. The need for high-quality professional development programs and materials in science education became apparent throughout the many projects and professional relationships with teachers who were eager to increase their knowledge base, skills, and confidence for teaching science more effectively. Hammerman has co-authored a book on performance assessment in science and authored a database of science assessment tasks. She has published articles, presented programs at national conferences, consulted nationally, and developed curriculum and assessments for cutting-edge school districts and commercial products.Since relocating to North Carolina in 1999, Hammerman has been a math/science consultant for a consortium of seven county school systems, has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in teacher education and science education, served as director of education and professional development for Virtual Learning Systems, and worked as a consultant for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. She is actively involved in professional development and continues to work on a series of professional development books for science education for Corwin Press.

"Eight Essentials of Inquiry -Based Science offers a crisp rationale and approach to the teaching of science that is meaningful, authentic, and exciting for students. Hammerman brings the complexities of science pedagogy and research to life and presents important ideas about teaching and learning in a manner that is easy to digest and apply. This is a timely book for it provides an answer to the many demands placed on teachers and students."

• Foreword - Robert E. YagerPreface: Improving Student Achievement Through Professional DevelopmentRationale for Professional Development in ScienceThemes and ThreadsThe Goals of Eight EssentialsUsing Eight Essentials of Inquiry-Based Science in Study Groups and Professional Development InitiativesAn I.D.E.A. ApproachThe Eight Essentials of Inquiry-Based ScienceIntroduction: Inquiry-Based Science and the Inquiry ClassroomDefining Inquiry-Based ScienceInquiry as a Process for LearningTeaching Thinking Through InquiryTeaching Scientific Habits of Mind Through InquiryGuiding and Facilitating Learning Through InquiryImplications for the ClassroomUsing Eight Essentials as Criteria for Assessing Curriculum & Informing InstructionTraditional vs. Inquiry Classroom Behaviors1. Essential #1: Inquiry-Based Science Develops an Understanding of Basic ConceptsUnderstanding Big Ideas in the CurriculumStandards as Concept CategoriesUsing Standards to Inform Curriculum and InstructionUsing Activities to Engage Learners and Promote Inquir2. Essential #2: Inquiry-Based Science Develops Process and Thinking SkillsScience Process SkillsComplex Thinking SkillsActivities That Develop Skills for Learning and Concept UnderstandingGuided Inquiry Activities for Upper Primary/Intermediate Level: An Introduction to Metric Measurement and the Structure of SeedsStudent Constructed or Guided Inquiry for Intermediate/Middle School Level: Heating and Cooling Rates of Water and LandGuided Inquiry Activity for Intermediate/Middle School Level: Creating ClimagraphsUsing Visual Organizers to Show Connections3. Essential #3: Inquiry-Based Science Actively Engages Students in a Learning CycleDefining a Learning CycleThe Five E′s Lesson PlanGuided Inquiry Lessons Using a Five E′s FormatPrimary Level: The Ear and HearingIntermediate Level: It′s All in the Family - A Study of HeredityAnalysis of It′s All in the FamilyClassroom Applications of the Learning Cycle4. Essential #4: Inquiry-Based Science Builds a Greater Understanding of the Ways That Science-Technology-Society (STS) are LinkedGoals of S-T-SDefining S-T-STechnology as Computers and Other AV EquipmentTechnology as Tools for LearningTechnology as Concept ApplicationTechnology as Problem-Solving and InventionsTechnology as Tools for LearningEnvironmental Problems and IssuesAnalysis of a Case Study: Large Numbers of Elk Die in WyomingTechnology as a Production SystemApplying Technological Design in the ClassroomActivities That Engage Students in Problem Solving and Technological DesignUsing Technological Design to Show Concept Understanding: Understanding AdaptationBuilding Technology and Technological Design Into the Curriculum5. Essential #5: Inquiry-Based Science Provides Experiences Necessary to Support and Develop or Modify Interpretations of the WorldMisconceptionsAnalyzing Misconceptions Case StudyUsing Discrepant Events in the ClassroomMediated Learning ExperiencesDispositions That Underlie Science6. Essential #6: Inquiry-Based Science Enhances Reading and Writing SkillsIntegrating ReadingAnalyzing Current Events Through ArticlesIntegrating WritingUsing Science NotebooksDesigning Science NotebooksUsing Science Notebooks to Enhance Reading, Writing, Math, and Thinking: Comparing the Strength of MagnetsCriteria for Scoring NotebooksDeveloping Thinking Skills Through Analysis, Creative Writing, and AnalogiesAnalogiesAnalogies in Science7. Essential #7: Inquiry-Based Science Allows for a Diversity of Strategies for Learning Analyzing LearningMethods, Strategies, and Best PracticesThe Creative Use of Strategies8. Essential #8: Inquiry-Based Science Allows for a Variety of Ways for Students to Show What They Know and Are Able to DoFundamentals of AssessmentMultiple and Varied Assessment9. Using Eight Essentials to Enhance LearningEight-Point LessonsUsing the Eight Essentials to Analyze Curriculum MaterialsResourceStrategies for Instruction or Assessment Linked to Multiple IntelligencesReferencesIndex