Institute for Inquiry Workshops

Institute for Inquiry® workshops immerse participants in the process of science inquiry. Tailored to the needs and experiences of participants, each workshop is crafted to provide powerful and transformative experiences that address essential features of inquiry teaching and learning as well as common misconceptions about inquiry—that it is content-less and structure-less.

Professional Developers
Science specialists and resource teachers, curriculum coordinators, museum educators, university faculty
A series of workshops about inquiry and professional-development design provides professional developers with experiences and materials that enable them to provide workshops for others.

• Fundamentals of Inquiry
  Provides an overview of inquiry through science investigations that explore the relationship between science practices and conceptual understanding. Examines the anatomy, structure, and facilitation of the inquiry experience.
• Assessing for Learning
  Explores methods for assessing student learning when using inquiry-based approaches. Includes opportunities to practice and critically review ways to assess students’ science skills and conceptual understanding “as you go.”
• Classroom Strategies for Teaching Inquiry
  Provides techniques and strategies to help teachers implement inquiry in the classroom in incremental steps. Employs a series of activities with strong connections to curriculum and standards to illuminate aspects of inquiry. Uses videos and vignettes to provide “images” of inquiry in the classroom.
• Teaching Science Content through Inquiry
  Provides experience with investigations in several physical, earth, or life science topics that serve as models for developing learners’ knowledge of conceptual scientific ideas. Examines strategies for teaching science content through inquiry within the curriculum, exploring what content lends itself to inquiry and why.

Administrators
Superintendents and assistant superintendents, principals, curriculum specialists
Seminars examine policy issues central to science education reform. Focuses on the exploration of standards-based inquiry teaching and learning and how to support their implementation. Uses case studies to illuminate effective reform efforts in districts across the country.

Teachers
Classroom teachers, mentor teachers, lead teachers
Workshops provide strategies for integrating inquiry into classroom practice. Draws upon topics in earth, physical, and life sciences. Includes exploration of techniques for building fundamental skills for inquiry learning, such as helping students raise questions and design ways of investigating their questions.

National Leaders
Education reform leaders, policy makers, researchers, funders
Seminars equip educators in leadership roles across the country. Creates new visions, research, and publications that influence the national discussion on science education reform. Provides a platform for presenting new exemplary practices and exploring viable solutions to implementing inquiry in the schools. Forums are organized around special topics, such as “Inquiry Across Disciplines” and “Supporting Inquiry through Assessment.”

Out-of-School Educators
Program Leaders
Workshops provide experience for out-of-school program leaders, illustrating hands-on approaches to science learning that can complement classroom instruction and extend field trips to informal learning centers. This seminar introduces activities that provide science-rich, student-centered learning experiences for youth and supports programs in developing staff capacity for creating standards-based, engaging science activities for youth.

University Community
Undergraduate and graduates students, post-docs and faculty in the education and science fields
These workshops are tailored to students and faculty in schools of education and to scientists in science departments and research centers that address science learning through inquiry and pedagogical approaches to inquiry. They help support scientists and labs in planning and preparing educational outreach programs in order to address the broader-impact plans now required for many grants.

Strategic Consulting
Our consultation and portfolios are designed specifically for the needs of science education reform projects. They include a range of materials, on-site visits, workshops structured to match and enhance reform efforts, and methods of implementing approaches to inquiry teaching and learning.

For more information, e-mail us at ifi@exploratorium.edu