Upon entering a one-year preservice program, few student teachers in this study were able to articulate a useful inquiry procedure that they could teach upon graduation in their own elementary classrooms. These entrance results are disconcerting considering that the study was conducted in a province in which self-directed problem solving has been a major component of the provincial educational philosophy since 1980. These student teachers were then introduced to a procedure for conducting problem-solving inquiries in elementary social studies classrooms. Observations made during the program demonstrate that student teachers can successfully be taught a teaching! learning strategy for conducting comparison inquiries (i.e., a study which analyzes similarities and differences between two or more subjects) in a relatively short period of time using intensive instructional practices.
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