Reviews

I took this professional development training as a high school teacher and was in a mixed class with teachers of all grade levels. I now own this RIP book and the 3 others on science education and scientific inquiry written by Dr. Landsman. Actually his newest book [Look at us Now! Making Scientific Practices Matter in the Classroom...and Beyond] is written by teachers and he and is excellent for showing teachers at every grade level how to really use this model to develop student thinkers. Me and my colleagues consider the RIP~ing through Scientific Inquiry Book as our bible for teaching through this process. Dr. Landsman and his team are truly a class-act. They provide in-class mentoring and teacher support and the students love him! He really understands what is needed for us to make change. He's a practicing scientist and frequently gives talks on neuroscience and on education. As a high school teacher, I really value his scientific inquiry data analysis book. He actually trained my school and principal how to really understand data and use it when we make decisions! The elementary teachers in our school district use this model to teach everything from social studies to language arts and mathematics.

Google Books customer review

I heard Landsman speak about the brain in New Jersey a few weeks ago. Showed through brain scan technology and research on the brain that learning and memory can be increased with themes of learning. He showed why scientific inquiry and hands-on and thinking challenges are so important for students learning. He also talked about mental disease like Alzeimers and how thinking challenges, education and even tai chi can possibly prevent the diseases from showing up. His presentation was like an investigation itself because he gave us the evidence and let us actually answer a question of whether teachers are neuroeducators. He talked about some of his own research on the brain and how it added to the work of other scientists. The talk was long, an hour and a half, but everyone was riveted to their seats and no one left early! Excellent talk, great choice for a speaker, NJ Science Convention!

Ther talk was so good I bought this book and one Landsman just edited [Look at Us Now! Making Scientific Practices Matter in the Classroom...and Beyond]. Professor Yager from the National Science Teachers organization wrote the forward of the newer book on scientific practices and said such positive things that I needed to buy that book too. I am already using it in my classroom. It is a very complete approach to using inquiry in the classroom and the RIP-ing Through Scientific Inquiry book is very helpful with the details for investigations in the classroom.

Google Books customer review

This book is actually stories written by teachers about how they were able to learn how to teach through scientific inquiry. It's both about teaching and critical thinking. When you read each story, it's almost as if you are in the classroom with the class of students. At the same time you can relate to the teachers describing how they adjusted things to make inquiry really work well for addressing the standards. The investigations cover so many content areas: mathematics, language arts, culture, social studies, science. Even a kindergarten STEM study. The inside of the book is as attractive as the cover featuring a student attending to the details as observes a cup of colored solution (I think part of an oilspill investigation with grade K students). This book is very well written, edited by research scientist and education specialist Dr. Robert Landsman, and has a great forword by Dr. Robert Yager about why the standards in science education have not yet proven too successful for changing how teachers teach. Strongly recommend this book for teachers, principals, and superintendents!

Google Books customer review

Well worth the cost. I bought this book to go along with my other books from this author. He was a classroom teacher and is also a scientist who has really helped our teachers and students in our district. This book is very helpful for showing how teachers can use the same thinking practices used in science and the process of inquiry to instruct students. But this book isn't just for science, the examples provided in this book are for all content areas. In fact, the last chapter talks about a former student of this model who is now a professional tap dancer and who claims that the RIP approach impacts his creativity as an artist and his decision-making! Mathematics is used heavily in how the students learn to make decisions about whether data support their hypotheses or not in this approach. This is what we as educators are being told we need to do to make decisions about what practices we use to teach our students and how well we are doing. The book also provides a chapter rich with data showing the results that this approach has on both students and their teachers. If I were a principal, I would buy this book for every teacher in my school.

Google Books customer review