Science education standards set forth by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (1993) and the National Research Council (1996) urge less emphasis on memorizing
decontextualized scientific facts and more emphasis on students investigating the everyday world
and developing deep understanding from their inquiries. By emphasizing scientific inquiry,
the standards challenge the education and science communities to transform the very heart
of students’ experiences in science classrooms. In support of the standards, new approaches to
science instruction feature inquiry as essential for student learning. These approaches assume that
students need to find solutions to real problems by asking and refining questions; designing and
conducting investigations; gathering and analyzing information and data; making interpretations,
creating explanations, and drawing conclusions; and reporting findings