IBSE Final

Chapter 4 Teaching Science as Inquiry

tHE tEACHING OF SCIENCE: 21 st-CENTURY PERSPECTIVES 87

Some Research Worth Noting

This section presents some research supporting the proposal to teach science as

inquiry. I criticize a contemporary view supporting direct instruction and estab-

lish a linkage among research, instruction, and inquiry.

A Definition of Inquiry

Inquiry as presented in science education has several different and quite distinc-

tive meanings. Beginning with a definition that I developed using a common

dictionary form will help set the parameters for further discussion.

In.quir.y In ́ kwir ́ e-) n., pl. ies. 1. An outcome of science teaching that is

characterized by knowledge and understanding of the processes and

methods of science. 2. Outcomes of science teaching that refer to specific

skills and abilities integral to the processes and methods of science. 3. The

instructional strategies used to achieve students’ knowledge and understanding

of science concepts, principles, and facts and/or the outcomes described in

the aforementioned definitions 1 and 2.

This short statement differentiates between inquiry as teaching strategies and

inquiry as the learning outcomes of a science teacher. The distinction between

teaching strategy and learning outcome is not as clear as the headings indicate

because teaching science as inquiry requires some use of inquiry-oriented strate-

gies and inevitable results in learning outcomes associated with knowledge and

understanding or skills and abilities.

Historically, there always have been individuals and groups advocating

different strategies for teaching science. On one end of a continuum is direct

instruction. Lecture serves as the example of this teaching method. At the other

end of this continuum is full, unguided inquiry. The extreme position in this

view is that students must discover scientific knowledge themselves without

any guidance from the teacher. In reality, most science teaching is somewhere

in the middle of the continuum. Effective science teaching embodies a variety

of strategies and methods. One difficulty, however, is that terms such as direct

instruction and inquiry learning often are argued from either/or positions.

the Inquiry Synthesis Project

The Education Development Center (EDC) in Boston completed an exten-

sive review of qualitative and quantitative research on inquiry. Known as the

“Inquiry Synthesis Project,” the research team reviewed research between 1984

and 2002 to answer the central question of the project: What is the impact of

inquiry science instruction on student outcomes?

Methodology for the project consisted of three phases: report collection,

coding, and analysis. An initial review identified 443 research reports, of which