Outdoor Inquiries
"Outdoor
Inquiries offers approaches to help students become skilled at asking
their own questions, gathering their own data and analyzing it for
themselves—to become real inquirers.
We recommend it to all of our teachers."
—Lynn Rankin
Director, Institute for Inquiry, Exploratorium
"The book is a great treasure for all science educators."
—Hubert Dyasi
City College of New York
“It's a wonderful
book which I shall recommend strongly wherever I go and to my students.
It is just the right mix of philosophy and inspiration and practical
advice.”
—Karen Worth
Here’s some advice for teachers looking for science instruction
to supplement their science textbooks and kits: Take it outside! Conducting
science investigations beyond the four walls of the classroom is one
of the best ways for young people to develop scientific thinking and
to practice gathering and analyzing their own data. Outdoor Inquiries is
the clear, concise handbook that shows you how.
Outdoor Inquiries takes you step by step through guiding
intermediate and middle level students to new and deeper understandings
of scientific content, thinking, and procedures. From smart, pragmatic
advice—including
how to select an appropriate site for investigation, what to bring with
you, and how to ensure student safety—to powerful, detailed lesson
plans, suggestions for cross-curricular integration, and useful ideas
for assessment, Outdoor Inquiries offers everything you
need to get started. It outlines five interrelated strategies to
use with students as they investigate their local environment:
* journal keeping
* mapping
* collection making
* field-guide development
* behavior study.
In addition, detailed classroom vignettes from a variety of settings
demonstrate how each inquiry strategy helps your students meet several
recommendations of the National Science Education Standards by engaging
them in:
* close observation
* long-term data gathering
* the generation of thoughtful questions
* data analysis.
Step outside the usual kit-based science instruction. Nurture the inquiries
of your science learners by helping them apply critical thinking skills
to the real world as they make meaningful connections to their natural,
dynamic local environment. Use Outdoor Inquiries and discover that
when it comes to teaching science, the natural world can be your most
effective instructional tool.
First Hand Learning offers Outdoor Inquiries professional development
workshops. To find out how we can tailor a program to meet your needs,
contact us at inquiries@firsthandlearning.org.
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