Inquiry-Based Practice in Social Studies Education

Now in its second edition, Inquiry-Based Practice in Social Studies Education: Understanding the Inquiry Design Model presents a conceptual base for shaping the classroom experience through inquiry-based teaching and learning. Using their Inquiry Design Model (IDM), the authors present a field-tested approach for ambitious social studies teaching. They do so by providing a detailed account of inquiry’s scholarly roots, as well as the rationale for viewing questions, tasks, and sources as inquiry’s foundational elements. Based on work done with classroom teachers, university faculty, and state education department personnel, this book encourages readers to transform classrooms into places where inquiry thrives as everyday practice. The second edition includes a new chapter highlighting three ways that the blueprint acts as an assessment and curriculum system, and includes updated and enhanced references throughout the book.

Both pre-service and in-service teachers are sure to learn strategies for developing the reinforcing elements of IDM, from planning inquiries to communicating conclusions and taking informed action. The updated curricular and pedagogical examples included make this practical book essential reading for researchers, students of pre-service and in-service methods courses, and professional development programs.

S.G. Grant is Bartle Professor, Social Studies Education at Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York, USA.

Kathy Swan is Professor of Social Studies Education at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

John Lee is Professor of Social Studies Education at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.