All students benefit from participating in authentic, real-world tasks that allow them to use academic knowledge in purposeful and reality-based ways. Specifically, students' ability to deepen their understanding of key declarative and procedural knowledge depends upon their experiences using it in conjunction with a variety of higher-order reasoning processes—specifically with the cognitive process of generating and testing hypotheses. This module, therefore, addresses the following types of real-world tasks that can be taught in a way that fosters hypothesis generation and testing: experimental inquiry, problem solving, decision making, and investigation.

Reflecting on Your Current Beliefs and Practices

Before examining the strategies in this module, take some time to examine your beliefs and practices by answering the following questions:

1. How do you typically help students to experiment with new knowledge?
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2. How do you encourage your students to generate and test hypotheses about the knowledge they are learning?
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3. How do you incorporate problem-solving tasks and learning activities into your units and lessons?
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4. How do your units and lessons incorporate opportunities for students to engage in decision making?
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5. To what extent do students in your class engage in a variety of investigation activities related to the knowledge they are learning?
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Recommendations for Classroom Practice