Science as Inquiry in the Secondary Setting

Science as Inquiry was created to fill a vacuum. No other book serves as such a compact, easy-to-understand orientation to inquiry. It s ideal for guiding discussion, fostering reflection, and helping you enhance your own classroom practices. As chapter author Mark Windschitl writes, The aim of doing more authentic science in schools is not to mimic scientists, but to develop the depth of content knowledge, the habits of mind, and the critical reasoning skills that are so crucial to basic science literacy. This volume guides you to find new ways of helping students further along the path to science literacy.

Inquiry Explained. Since the first day of my science methods course 15 years ago, I have searched for guidance as to what is inquiry and what it looks like. When first seeing this book advertised last October (2007), I quickly pre-ordered a copy. When I received this book, I devoured every word--it had answered my questions and confirmed my ideas. And printing on pages that mimic a lab journal was a clever idea. One of the positives of this book is the fact that the term inquiry was never defined. Instead the authors of the various chapters, including the vignettes, furnish descriptions and examples, providing the reader with the big picture. I especially liked Windschitl's discussion around the problem of teaching the scientific method, and how this method we push 'promotes experimentation as the only method of investigating the world....' He concludes the chapter with a description of what inquiry looks like in the classroom. I have tagged, noted, underlined and quoted this book often. I have recommended it to teacher groups and science methods professors/instructors. I would recommend it as for use in a book study among science teachers. Administrators or instructional supervisors would also find this of great benefit as it will give them a feel for what science education looks like. --Reviewed by: Rae McEntyre (Frankfort, KY) on July 18, 2008

This book does a good job of explaining the research behind inquiry and does give anecdotal information as well. It didn't apply to as much of the middle school subject matter as I had hoped, but so few books do. My favorite part was a dialog between a teacher and a student during an inquiry lesson. It was dead on what it sounds like and may help a teacher beginning inquiry to understand what will happen and how to do deal with it in the classroom. --Reviewed by: Katherine B on July 15, 2008

Great inquiry professional development in a book. As a teacher educator working with pre-service and in-service high school chemistry teachers who are interested in modifying their materials and instruction to be more inquiry-based, this book has served as the most important resource. Often teachers feel that a major overhaul of the curriculum is necessary to implement inquiry. Llewellyn's baby steps provide the strategies for making incremental changes to existing classroom activities and make transitioning to inquiry more manageable. Moreover, the book clearly and concisely describes the relevant teaching/learning theory and bridges it to teacher practice, so readers understand the rationale behind the author s recommendations. As the national and now most state standards call for inquiry-based science programs, teachers need support and effective professional development for meaningful reform to occur. Reading this book is a key first step to implementing inquiry, and it will likely become an important resource in your professional library. --Reviewed by: Ellen (Allendale, MI) on July 15, 2008