NSTA reflections

Thanks to those of you who came to my NSTA presentation in Anaheim. I was pleased with how it went, and I appreciated the comments that some of you said afterwards. This was a first run for me on this presentation about the evidence for inquiry (and against traditional instruction), and I wasn't sure how people would respond. Actually, I expected resistance and push back. There didn't seem to be any.

Are we beginning to turn the corner toward inquiry in this country? Someone I talked with at NSTA said that about half the presentations looked to be on inquiry. Maybe the momentum is beginning to build. I hope so. I'm really convinced now that it's the best things for kids.

Please see the following site for resources from my presentation. It's a quick webpage that I've thrown together for those of you who want to dig deeper on the evidence I reviewed. Let me know your thoughts via a comment to this post.

http://homepage.mac.com/lmeadows/evidence4inquiry.htm

See you in Anaheim (NSTA)?

I hope to see you in Anaheim at NSTA this week. I'll be presenting, but I have been given probably the worst presentation slot possible! I'll be presenting at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning in room 211B of the convention center. My topic will be the research base for traditional teaching vs. Inquiry. I'm going to have us look at the evidence from personal experience, from national and international comparisons, and from cognitive science. This presentation is part of an effort I'm making to try to line out how clear the research is that traditional instruction is bad for kids.

I have to attend NARST earlier in the week; so, I'll be at NSTA only on Friday and Saturday. Let me know if you want to try to get together.