Scientific inquiry requires skills, experiences, and attitudes that can be taught. However, few published curricula address this and few are under development. Expand teacher research opportunities and relate these to teaching. The numbers of teachers who work in research labs, Earthwatch expeditions, and the like, need to be greatly expanded and then supported by new programs that convert their research experience from simply a good background exposure into classroom activities and ongoing student inquiry. Support school-based scientific research.
Schools can generate data of scientific interest while teaching important research concepts.
This would place in schools role-models for teachers and students while clearly demonstrating that research as the ultimate goal of science education. Create a new class of in-service programs. Every in-service program should feature opportunities for teachers to engage in extended investigations of the kind appropriate for their students. These experiences should be augmented with opportunities to convert these experiences into classroom activities. They can provide on-going support to teachers from the best faculty in the world.