The children's literature used were excellent resources to support the subject area
Students were more engaged and enthusiastic about their learning
More student directed and less teacher directed learning
Teachers had more opportunities to conference, question and observe student learning
Teachers feel more confident in assessing student learning
A variety of grouping arrangements (random, mixed ability, similar ability, and student chosen)
More active student engagement of all students was observed in similar ability groupings
Mixed ability groups were less effective than other groupings because some students took more of an observer role than active participant
It was observed that when several highly competitive students were grouped together there was more discourse in the group
Students who chose their own partners or groups worked well together
Students enjoyed working in groups
Teamwork improved over the course of the project
In all four classes we found similar results as described above. Students were more engaged and teachers felt more confident in teaching and assessing Science. The major change in classroom practice for all of us was that there was more of a focus on skills and less on content/knowledge. Previously, we were more focused on teaching the concepts using the textbook and videos. Experiments were mostly done through demonstration. Throughout this project and using the Engineering Design Process we engaged students as active participants with hands on challenges for all students. Through inquiry based learning students became more knowledgeable about structures and this understanding was reflected in their final bridge building design challenge. This TIA project will definitely have a long-term impact on our classroom practice. We have seen the rewarding effects of implementing the Engineering Design Process and inquiry based learning. Through this project we have seen the rich learning that occurred when students direct their own learning.