Although previous meta-analyses have indicated a connection between inquiry-based teaching and improved student learning, the type of instruction characterized as inquiry based has varied greatly, and few have focused on the extent to which activities are led by the teacher or student. This metaanalysis introduces a framework for inquiry-based teaching that distinguishes between cognitive features of the activity and degree of guidance given to students. This framework is used to code 37 experimental and quasiexperimental studies published between 1996 and 2006, a decade during which inquiry was the main focus of science education reform. The overall mean effect size is .50. Studies that contrasted epistemic activities or the combination of procedural, epistemic, and social activities had the highest mean effect sizes. Furthermore, studies involving teacher-led activities had mean effect sizes about .40 larger than those with student-led conditions. The importance of establishing the validity of the treatment construct in metaanalyses is also discussed.

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Este artículo presenta la experiencia del uso de un conjunto de técnicas de aprendizaje combinadas en el contexto de una asignatura de segundo curso de ingeniería (campos electromagnéticos), prestando una atención especial al punto de vista de los alumnos y a su percepción de utilidad para ellos mismos. Entre las técnicas usadas hay algunas más tradicionales como clases magistrales o resolución de problemas a cargo del profesor, y otras más innovadoras como videos, pruebas de un minuto, resúmenes orales diarios y trabajo en equipo en el aula. Las escuelas de ingenieros han sido tradicionalmente poco dadas a cambios radicales en sus métodos de enseñanza, pero al mismo tiempo, la evolución actual de los requerimientos de la industria, las hace especialmente conscientes de la necesidad urgente de nuevas ideas en el campo de la docencia, colocándolas en una posición de liderazgo en el desarrollo de nuevas técnicas de enseñanza. Este trabajo pretende ser un paso decidido en la dirección de un cambio positivo de los estudios de ingeniería. Abstract-This paper presents the experience of trialling a variety of combined learning techniques in the framework of a second-year engineering subject (Electromagnetic Fields), paying special attention to the point of view of the students and the usefulness perceived by them. The techniques include both traditional ones such as lecturing and problem solving by the teacher, as well as more innovative ones such as videos, minute papers, daily summary presentations and in-class team working. Engineering schools have been traditionally reluctant to implement profound changes in their teaching techniques but at the same time, the current evolution of the requirements of the industrial sector makes them aware of the urgent need for new ideas in the field of teaching, and so inevitably gives them a potentially leading role in the development of new classroom techniques. This work is intended as a firm step in the direction of positive change for engineering studies.

This study examined how school and district leaders access, value, and use research. From a representative sample of school districts across the United States, we surveyed 733 school and district leaders as part of an effort to develop understanding of the prevalence of research use, the nature of leaders’ attitudes toward research, and individual and organizational correlates of research use. School and district leaders alike reported frequent use of research use and generally positive attitudes toward research. Leaders reported accessing research primarily through their professional networks. Those in certain roles, those pursuing or holding an advanced degree, and those who reported a strong organizational culture of evidence use reported higher levels of research use. These findings suggest that policy efforts to promote evidence use among education leaders will be welcomed but that policy makers need to take into account the prevalence of various types of research use in designing supports for evidence use.