Inquiry in Classroom Practice
Research Team I
Faculty: Dr. Molly Weinburgh and Dr. Mark Bloom
Graduate students: Molly Holden and April Sawey
Project
The notion of teaching science through inquiry continues to evolve and can be traced back at least as far as John Dewey (Barrow, 2006). The release of the National Science Education Standards in 1995 brought the idea of scientific inquiry in education center stage by making it a national requirement. The Standards strongly encourage the teaching and learning of science as an inquiry-based process (NRC, 1996). But teaching and learning through inquiry is not a straightforward endeavor. In an effort to clarify the use of inquiry in science teaching, the National Research Council released a second publication in 2000: Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards. This publication is intended to be a practical guide for educators as they strive to incorporate inquiry in their curricula (NRC, 2000). Despite efforts to standardize and clarify inquiry-based science education, there does not appear to be a clear consensus on its meaning among science teacher educators (Martin-Hansen, L., 2002; Withee & Lindell, 2005). Current research focuses on the level of “open” inquiry that is to be encouraged in pre-service teacher education (Settlage, 2007). Despite these uncertainties, science methods instructors are charged with guiding pre-service teachers in the use of inquiry in the classroom. Findings regarding how teachers conceptualize and implement inquiry are scarce and inconsistent (Windschitl, 2004).
This research examines pre-service teachers’ understanding and application of their knowledge of inquiry and nature of science (NOS) after completion of their science and social studies methods courses. First we examined the pre-service teachers’ conceptions of nature of science both before and after their science-methods course. Second we examine their conception of inquiry as a tool for teaching and learning. Finally, we examine how pre-service teachers apply their knowledge of inquiry and NOS in their first classroom experiences. A second cohort of these students are currently being investigated.
References
Barrow, L. (2006). A Brief History of Inquiry: From Dewey to Standards. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 17:265-278.
Martin-Hansen, L. (2002). Defining Inquiry. The Science Teacher, 69(2), 34-37.
National Research Council. (1996). National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
National Research Council. (2000). Inquiry and the national science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Settlage, J. (2007). Demythologizing Science Teacher Education: Conquering the False Ideal of Open Inquiry. Journal of Science Teacher Education (2007) 18:461-467.
Windschitl, M. (2004). Folk theories of “inquiry:” How pre-service teachers reproduce the discourse and practices of an atheoretical scientific method. Journal of Research in Science Teaching (2004) 41:481-512
Withee, T., & Lindell, R. (2006) Different Views on Inquiry: A Survey of Science and Mathematics Methods Instructors. AIP Conference Proceedings, 2006, Vol. 818 Issue 1, p125-128.
Research Team II
Faculty: Dr. Molly Weinburgh, Dr. Tony Bartley (Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada) and Dr. Wayne Melville (Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada)
Teacher: Doug Jones (Churchill School, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada)
Project
In the early2000s, Churchill School in Thunder Bay, Ontario began to incorporate inquiry instructional model. This research investigates varies aspects of the school culture and student engagement through an in depth examination of Churchill School. Students are introduced to inquiry teaching in the 9th grade. The type and complexity of the inquiry increases through grades 10, 11, and 12. The teachers engage the students in guided inquiry as well as self-directed inquiry. Several research projects are in the process in a collaborative team of professors from Lakehead University, TCU and Churchill School. These include:
- Case study of some of the teachers and of the whole department
- Ethnography of three generations of mentors/mentee who have been responsible for the inquiry approach in the school
- Examination of student matriculation patterns compared to non-inquiry schools
- Analysis of classroom actions during inquiry
- Video exemplar project