Next Step

Chapter 12: RIP®~ing Away Barriers to Science Education: Inquiry Through the Research Investigation Process

by Robert E. Landsman 

*This chapter originally appeared in Exemplary Science in Grades 9-12. Copyright © 2005 by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Reprinted by permission. This expanded version includes the complete results (including full statistical analyses). 

Chapter 12 presents what was made possible when the high school science curriculum was orchestrated through scientific practices enabled through achievement of the More Emphasis conditions. It highlights and discusses the unique characteristics of the RIP® scientific inquiry model that establishes the More Emphasis conditions. The chapter includes the description and results of a longitudinal study that complement the inquiry descriptions and student and teacher impact described in Chapters 2 through 11. Landsman describes the characteristics of the science programs in two schools with very different academic standings, one in New Jersey and the other in Hawaii that used the RIP model for teaching science and the outcomes that were achieved by both students and their teachers. “The data clearly showed that this high school experience contributed to student interest, motivation, and academic success. This experience also provided the students opportunities to pursue higher education, influenced career choice toward the sciences, and contributed to the development of skills and abilities essential for 'college and career readiness' and success in the twenty-first century world (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010a, b).”