Pedagogic References

This page contains links and references that provide information or background about pedagogical or practical issues in teaching with data sets, models or simulations.

Using Data in Undergraduate Science Courses: Report from an Interdisciplinary Workshop Carleton College, April 2002 (Acrobat (PDF) 467kB Nov25 03),by Cathryn A. Manduca and David W. Mogk
Sponsored by the National Science Digital Library with funding from the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education (NSF 0127298)

  • Center for Problem-Based Learning. Problem-based learning (PBL) is an educational approach that organizes curriculum and instruction around carefully crafted "ill-structured" problems. ( This site may be offline. )
  • CoVis: Learning Through Collaborative Visualization . Developed by the CoVis project which was completed in 1998 at Northwestern University, this white paper provides an interesting overview of designing student projects. (more info)
  • Learning-for-Use: A Framework for the Design of Technology-Supported Inquiry Activities. Edelson, 2001 This article discusses a way to integrate the teaching of content with the teaching of process, which have in the past been seen as competing priorities. General guidelines are presented for the design of inquiry activities that support content learning taking advantage of modern technologies. (citation and description)
  • Inquiry Page. This is a site where inquiry-based education can be discussed, resources and experiences shared, and innovative approaches explored in a collaborative environment. A on-line community that uses inquiry-based and collaborative approaches to study inquiry-based learning. ( This site is likely no longer available. )
  • Institute for Inquiry. Developed by the Exploratorium, this set of references, publications and web links that provide a theoretical background for inquiry education (more info)
  • Instructional Design Models. This University of Colorado, School of Education Site provides references for an extensive set of instructional design models. (more info)
  • How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. NRC, 2000 This book, available from the National Academy Press, is written to provide educators with an understanding of research results on how people learn and their ramifications for classroom instruction. (Full Text Online)
  • Visual Geophysical Exploration Environment. The VGEE is built on the metaphor of a pyramid, which represents a progression of scientific knowledge that can be used to understand the natural world. ( This site is likely no longer available. )
  • WISE - The Web-Based Inquiry Science Environment. This site outlines a pedagogical approach for inquiry-based activities and provides examples and interviews supporting the model. (more info)