A Study Of Designing An Inquiry-Based Unit In Mathematics And Science

Vol. 5 No. 4

Year: 2010

Issue: Mar-May

Title: A Study Of Designing An Inquiry-Based Unit In Mathematics And Science 

Author Name: Patti Dyjur, Qing Li 

Synopsis: 

This paper looks at the design process of an inquiry-based mathematics and science unit in two urban grade nine classes. Three teachers who teacher in an urban, all-girls’ junior high school collaborated with math/science and educational experts to design and implement the unit. Results showed the following: teachers needed to be flexible regarding the direction of the unit, collaborating with experts helped teachers to design a more authentic unit, topic selection needed to be carefully considered, and that the resulting unit was worthwhile due to its relevance, richness, and increased student interest and ability to make multidisciplinary connections. Issues with this approach included workload, the amount of time required for planning, and a lack of inquiry-based materials in math.