This diploma thesis focuses on verifying the proposed inquiry-based activity and comparing its effectiveness with a traditionally concieved theme for experimental activity of pupils with the same topic. The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on the role of experimental activities in Czech schools, their options, helpful equipment and generally inquiry-based teaching. The practical part of the thesis is focused on the verification of the proposed research activity in comparison with traditionally concieved experimental activity. The traditionally concieved activity was taken from the website of the company Vernier, the research activity was created by modifying these tasks. The proposed research activity consists of two logically connected tasks. The aim of this thesis was to design and verify research activity based on experimental activities and to compare the internal motivation of pupils in performing research-oriented and clasically concieved activities. The pupils worked in groups that were created based on the pupils' preferred themes. For comparison purposes, the groups were divided into two research halves and each half used a different approach. The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) and group conversation were used to evaluate the affective area. The benefit in the cognitive area...

In the US, an estimated 25% of four-year college students and up to 80% of community college students suffer from a moderate to high degree of mathematics anxiety (MA) (Chang & Beilock, 2016). Many scholars have noted that mathematics anxiety can be regarded as a significant factor in determining a student's achievement and mathematics related jobs. In the existing literature body, many researchers noted that MA may stem from teaching methods that are more conventional and rule-bounded such as lecture-style classroom models. On the other hand, MA can be mitigated by inquiry-based learning classroom models where students construct knowledge through inquiry, communication, critical thinking, and group work. However, the current literature has not built the connection between different teaching styles and students' individual differences with respect to MA. The individual differences are associated with the personality of the learner, learning styles, learning speed, and needs and interests of the learner. Depending on a student's learning style and a compatible teaching style, the student may actively participate in their own learning with less mathematics anxiety. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine the influence of different teaching styles on MA, when interacted with Kolb’s and Gregorc’s (1984) four different learning and thinking styles. The research questions investigated in this study are: 1) What is the difference between a lecture classroom model (LCM) and an inquiry-based learning classroom model (IBL) on students’ mathematics anxiety levels over a fifteen-week semester of a college-level remedial mathematics course?; 2) What is the difference between a lecture classroom model (LCM) and an inquiry-based learning classroom model (IBL) on mathematics anxiety levels for students with different learning and thinking styles (as defined by Kolb’s and Gregorc’s learning styles) over a fifteen-week semester?; and 3) What aspects of instructional approaches (LCM and IBL) do students with different learning and thinking styles report as being related to mathematics anxiety? The abbreviated version of the mathematics anxiety rating scale (A-MARS), Kolb’s learning styles inventory, Gregorc’s thinking styles, and Written questionnaire were used to measure students’ MA levels and identify their learning and thinking styles. The results provided evidence that IBL instruction is beneficial for the students with MA, especially with mathematics test anxiety and mathematics course anxiety. Only numerical task anxiety was not significant. Thus, student-centered learning pedagogies turned out to be an effective and engaging method for lowering MA. However, there was no evidence to support the overall relationship between the constructs of learning and thinking styles and MA levels, above and beyond the instructional approaches. Classifying students according to learning and thinking styles did not influence students’ MA levels in this study over the 15 academic weeks. Moreover, after a 15 academic weeks, students in both LCM and IBL classes responded positively to key components of LCM and IBL classroom models. This implies that both LCM and IBL approaches still are important models regardless of students’ MA levels.

With rapid development of information technologies, especially the Internet technology, people can communicate more flexibly via various media, in which knowledge can be also shared. In gaining knowledge through the Internet, either digital content retrieval or inter-personal interaction, learning activities conducted on the Web are getting popular. This research has two main objectives. One is to develop incentive mechanisms to enhance the quantity and quality of information shared through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. The other objective is to implement and evaluate the proposed mechanisms for inquiry-based learning on P2P networks. The pricing-like incentive mechanism is embedded on each peer to determine the price to share a document, to issue a question, and respond to a question. Through experiments, this study evaluates the effects on mitigating the free-riding problems and exchanging information through the P2P network. The results show the effectiveness of the incentive mechanisms for inquiry-based learning on P2P networks.

Walden's Paths, created by the Center for the Study of Digital Libraries, provides a mechanism for leveraging student learning with the incredible amount of educational material on the web by organizing selected web pages into a structured learning activity. Applying specialized templates to the creation of Walden's Paths can aid a path author in creating pedagogically sound, Web-based activities, by assisting in the collection of information and organization of the activity. Authoring templates may be based on established educational frameworks, learning theories or specific activity type. This research project investigates how using pedagogically based templates affects the authoring process for paths created using Walden's Paths. A template based on the educational framework Inquiry-Based Learning was created and tested by a group of users to determine what effects the template has on creating paths as compared to creating similar paths using the existing Walden's Paths interface.

The purpose of this study is to compare an inquiry-based teaching method for natural sciences in municipal schools and special education and to find out if this way of teaching may be helpful when working with students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The Swedish national curriculum of 2011 states that teaching methods should be fitted to every student’s needs and preconditions. The implication of this is very important for all students, especially for children with special needs. The theoretical framework that has been applied as a foundation for this study is Vygotskijs "Zone of Proximal Development" and Deweys "Learning by Doing". The method applied for the study is a semi structured interview and five teachers where interviewed. The result of the study shows that teachers with a higher education in natural sciences are more confident with regards to teaching natural sciences and the application of the inquiry-based way of teaching. All the interviewed teachers find inquiry-based teaching to be helpful to all students but perhaps in particular for students with ADHD due to the fact that these lessons are broken down into smaller pieces of activities which helps the students keep their focus easier. This is particularly helpful for students with ADHD since their main challenge is hyperactivity.

The purpose of this report is to describe the course, Analysis of the Real Line, taught at The University of Texas at Austin. Course materials are presented using the inquiry based learning method. Students work a series of warm up problems before being presented rigorous problems in calculus, including topics on integration, exponential functions, and real number line analysis. Additionally, students consider aspects of these problems that could be incorporated into a high school curriculum. Typical problems in several major areas are summarized along with warm up problems that introduce or extend the topics. / text

This study examined the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) constructed by a group of 24 pre-service elementary teacher participants as they learned about the moon’s phases, inquiry learning, and use of the Internet message boards as a teaching tool as a part of their science teaching methods course. The MOON Project (More Observations On Nature), an exploration of inquiry teaching via e-learning, matched the pre-service elementary teacher participants with schoolchildren in grades 4-8 around the world. Upon completion of a 4-week moon observation phase, the participants led the schoolchildren in a discussion of their observations via Blackboard™. This mixed methods study followed a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design. The participants’ content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and perceptions about their knowledge were documented using questionnaires, essays, and tests as they entered this experience and again as they exited. Qualitative and quantitative methods and analysis established that the increase in pre-service teachers’ content and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) as well as their perceptions of the knowledge gained was statistically significant at the conclusion of the project. However, they took away understandings of why the moon changes shape that were basic at best and fraught with a statistically significant increase in misconceptions. None of the instruments supported the pre-service teachers’ perceptions of increased PCK. The pre-service teachers had mixed perceptions about teaching over the Internet, mostly due to the degree to which their elementary student groups responded with focus to questions and discussions or, in some cases, participated at all. The findings and recommendations speak to teacher educators about the methodology used in teacher education programs. / Department of Biology

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-118).

This diploma thesis deals with both theoretical part of the new trend in education, it is meant inquiry based teaching/ learning, and practical part which is useful mainly for geography teachers on the 2nd stage of primary schools. Inquiry based teaching has the aim in increasing the efficiency of the science subjects education on primary schools and getting pupils interested in study and interests. In view of the fact that the physical geography has many under parts, there were chosen three main categories for this work: hydrology, meteorology and climate, cartography and geographical informational system. In the theoretical part there is dealt with a definition of a term inquiry based teaching and learning, its using in the world educational systems and its integration into Czech educational system. On the grounds of the studied materials it was made "A set of projects for inquiry based teaching in geographical lessons on the 2nd stage of primary school. This practical portfolio includes both methodical sheets for teachers and worksheets for an explorer. Chosen projects were tested in practice and they are evaluated in the final part of the whole of the diploma thesis.

The aim of this work was to process the selected theme of the fields of relationships between plants and atmosphere by means of learning programme based on the inquiry approach didacticly and apply it at the elementary school. The aim of the thesis was also to investigate the influence of the created learning programme on the level of pupils´ knowledge. 150 pupils took part in this testing. The research approved that by means of using IBE (Inquiry based education) the level of pupils´ knowledge compared with the frontal form of the education is increasing. The next fact was that pupils´ knowledge of photosynthesis was only on the average. It was also confirmed that with the using of this learning programme with the elements of exploration and the use of modern technology (pupils´ sets called Vernier) the curriculum was absorbed by students more efficiently.