10 Mar Teaching Science as Inquiry
Implementating the No Child Left Behind Act has resulted in great challenges for teachers, and by extension, a greater need for professional development, than ever before.
CRDG’s Science Section has responded to this need by creating a series of two- and three-day workshops on teaching science through inquiry. Research has shown that learning through inquiry enhances students’ capacity to understand the concepts and skills of science. Our science faculty drew on their thirty-five years of experience supporting teachers and schools K–12 as they implemented inquiry strategies in their classrooms to create this series of workshops. The first session was held on Guam in the summer of 2005 where twenty-four elementary teachers from Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) focused on teaching astronomy through inquiry. Other modules developed in 2005 are Simple Machines (elementary), Why Do Things Sink and Float? (middle school), and Aquatic Science (high school).