Teacher Perception of Inquiry
Inquiry based science instruction has been at the forefront of best practices for some time. Research suggests that inquiry based science is successful for deepening student understanding. That said; there appears to be significant evidence in the research to indicate that inquiry based learning in science is only as successful for students as the teachers’ delivery of the lesson. The literature contained herein makes the case for understanding teacher perspectives on inquiry, applying inquiry into real world science and committing to substantial professional development of science teachers focused on doing inquiry well.
Tseng, Tuan, & Chin (2012) address two primary questions in their research: “What are experienced science teachers’ perspectives on inquiry teaching and what are the patterns of their inquiry teaching perspectives?” Fifteen successful and experienced junior high school science teachers were invited to participate in their study. They all possessed master’s degrees in science or science education, and two of them were Ph.D. students. These teachers had taught science (physics and chemistry, biology, or earth science) for approximately 5–22 years in junior high school.
Teacher perception identified that inquiry-based teaching shifted the focus of science education from memorization of scientific concepts to comprehending the processes of knowledge formation. Tseng et. al (2012) identified four types of inquiry- based teaching by the teachers in the study. These types were: confirmation experience (recipe-like experiment) structured inquiry (teacher guides student through unknown problem) guided inquiry (students explore solutions based on prior experiences) and open inquiry (student generated questions, experiments and conclusions). Students were most successful when lessons were student centered and where students constructed knowledge by themselves in a similar way to real world scientists. The experienced science teachers’ patterns in perspective “encourage beginning teachers wanting to implement inquiry teaching to watch concrete demonstrations, experience inquiry activities by themselves, construct their own beliefs of inquiry and inquiry teaching, and review literature on inquiry and inquiry teaching” (Tseng, 2012). It was also agreed that teacher educators should use different inquiry-based demonstrations to help teachers learn inquiry teaching.
Real World Application
One such method of inquiry-based teaching was presented by Feldman, Chapman, & Vernaza-Hernández (2012). Their study provides the foundation for a model for inquiry-based science education where K-12 teachers’ and pupils’ are participants of a scientific research project, referred to as Multiple Outcome Interdisciplinary Research and Learning (MOIRL). The researchers are science educators interested in formal K-12 education, with a primary interest in the way that teachers and pupils participate in MOIRL projects and how they are affected by that participation. In many of the MOIRL projects studied the teachers and pupils engage in scientific research practices that are connected to an outside scientist’s research focus. As a result they are engaged in the doing of science to help generate knowledge and understanding of the natural world. In all of the MOIRL projects, the pupils and the teachers are learning science through inquiry.
Through the MOIRL projects students learn how to do science and gain a better understanding of scientific concepts. When the MOIRL model is done in classrooms, it provides a learning environment that fosters productive disciplinary engagement of teachers and pupils. Because the pupils engage in authentic science in partnership with scientists and their research groups, the MOIRL classroom environment encourages pupils to ask and answer intellectual questions. MOIRL projects were shown to provide the teachers with the opportunity to engage in scientific research, which better prepares them to teach science as inquiry and through the use of inquiry methods.
Impact of Professional Development in Inquiry
Wheeler, Bell, Whitworth, & Maeng, (2014) found that “the essence of inquiry involves answering a scientific question through the analysis of data”. They defined inquiry as “asking questions, collecting and analyzing data, and using evidence to solve problems”. Results of the study indicate that students should engage in answering scientific questions through the use of evidence and inquiry. This study indicates that inquiry leads to students successful understanding of concepts but that one of the most important factors influencing practice is teachers’ conceptions about inquiry.
In this study a control group was not provided professional development in inquiry while a treatment group was provided explicit inquiry professional development. Observation forms revealed “that treatment participants implemented significantly more inquiry over the course of the academic year compared to control participants” (Wheeler et. al, 2014). This study suggests that, “secondary science teachers in their first years of teaching can not only effectively implement inquiry activities incorporating all scientific practices but also implement these practices through confirmatory and structured levels of inquiry”.
While the research shown here is significant, future studies are needed with larger sample sizes and greater data analysis to demonstrate the benefits for students using inquiry based methods as compared to their peers being taught with traditional methods. The literature points towards the need for greater professional development in inquiry methods though the argument can also be made that a solid belief in one’s own practice will contribute greatly to student success. The need also exists to tie inquiry lessons into real world applications as was demonstrated in all three articles reviewed.
Attempt at Real World Application of Learned Material
Our newly established partnership with the Frye Lab at UCLA aims to involve high school students in an inquiry based, multimodal research effort involving coding, neurobiology, technical writing, lab technique and the design thinking process. The intended outcome is to engage students more fully in meaningful data collection and analysis and thereby increase their likelihood of pursuing a STEAM related avenues in university and beyond. On September 10, the project team a presentation to the school’s board of directors. Since then the focus has been on acquiring equipment and materials, and developing a framework for inclusion in the emerging AP Capstone course. Additional goals for the fall trimester involve facilitating the nascent neurobiology club at Campbell Hall, assembling the ‘rig’ (research platform) and securing grant funding to help offset equipment costs.
UCLA has made it possible for one of their post doctorate researchers to be on campus for four hours each week to facilitate student participation. We are looking to partner with equipment suppliers and science organizations such as Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to secure funding that would allow the program to expand. One goal of the program is to increase the number of younger women who pursue STEAM related fields of study and work after high school. Another is to provide students from a full spectrum of socio-economic and ethnic, racial, and cultural constructs with an opportunity to conduct meaningful research under the supervision of a working scientist while in high school. What follows is an excerpt of language drafted by Dr. Sara Wasserman to help define the mission and objective of the Campbell Hall / UCLA partnership:
Now more than ever before, STE[A]M initiatives are impacting every area of our society. The next generation of leaders in our communities will need to have a solid foundational understanding of scientific concepts, be comfortable across disciplines with quantitative reasoning and courageous in their questioning to foster innovation, collaboration, and advancement. Authentic laboratory research strengthens students’ hands-on problem-solving techniques, teaches them to handle failure, bolsters their written and oral communication skills, and enhances their creative and quantitative thinking.
As a founding member of the Semel Wasserman Institute for Science In Secondary Schools (SWIRLSS), the Campbell Hall science department will be able to offer their students something no other secondary school in the country currently offers. In building a research lab on campus, students will have the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research that supports the research aims of the Frye Lab at UCLA during their regular school day. Depending on a student’s interest, they could volunteer during free blocks, earn credit by taking SWIRLSS lab as an elective, or even earn AP credit through the AP Capstone course. SWIRLSS hopes that increasing exposure to bench research at an earlier age will inspire more students to choose STEM majors in college and will provide all students with increased science literacy.
This program directly serves the mission of Campbell Hall to be “a community of inquiry ...exploring together the nature of reality, the norms of culture, and concrete ways to make the world a better place” providing the opportunity for students to give back directly to their community through making advances in science.
Roberts and Wassersug (2009) examined groups of students who participated in hands on summer science research programs while still in high school and those who did not and found significant differences in terms of eventual career paths. Perhaps not surprisingly, those students who had been given the opportunity to actively collect and analyze data were much more likely to study science in college and then work in a scientific field afterward. Their conclusion is that more of these types of hands on programs could increase the numbers of students entering into post-secondary science majors. Markowitz (2004) saw a similar increase in the pursuit of science related careers for students who participated in the Summer Science Academy Program at the University of Rochester. In this study, students viewed the summer outreach program as making scientific study more exciting and innovative and therefore more attractive. Students who joined the summer program also reported a subsequent increase in confidence in science and performed better in their remaining high school courses. Rauth (2010) suggests that a learning environment bounded by principles of design thinking leads to the development of ‘creative confidence’ and enhanced problem solving capabilities. Design thinking is defined as a multidisciplinary problem solving approach that confronts ‘everyday life problems’ which are nonetheless very difficult to solve. Students who participate in the UCLA fruit fly collaborative research effort will be required to apply design thinking to solve multiple problems as they construct the rigs, learn to tether flies, design and code for simulated experiences, and write about their discoveries. Rauth contends that this type of experience builds empathy and collaboration skill as well as the multiple iteration framework essential to success in STEAM disciplines.
The partnership between Campbell Hall and UCLA is perhaps the natural result of a trend toward secondary schools aspiring to build ties with university labs, and at the collegiate level, a university that recognizes its ethical obligation to serve the community and culture in which it resides. Lerner and Simon (2014) argue that forward thinking universities have taken it upon themselves to build relationships and conduct outreach as an effort to stave off some of the problems that confront high school students today. These are listed and include fearsome concerns such as drug and alcohol addiction, but also less physically destructive problems such as boredom and disenchantment. Ken Robinson focuses on this extensively in his exceptionally popular TED talks. Universities with active outreach programs are providing students and their surrounding communities with the opportunity to develop abiding passions and design thinking skills that enhance creative impulses.
Obsorne (2003) provides an extensive review of primary and secondary student’s attitudes toward science and the myriad factors that affect these. One theme that emerges is the idea that though a great number of interventions and programs have been initiated to change students perceptions and attitudes, very few programs (and subsequent studies) have been able to show dramatic and long-lasting impacts. The Osborne study makes no mention of the impact of the type of partnership aspired to between UCLA and Campbell Hall and as such strengthens the work of earlier mentioned authors with regard to the potential impact of these relationships on students’ attitudes and perceptions.
The literature reinforces our interest in creating a meaningful interdisciplinary research effort at Campbell Hall that is supported by weekly visits from a post-doctoral student from the Frye lab for neurobiology at UCLA. Within the next two years, an additional STEAM initiative will seek to involve researchers in aerospace engineering and biomimicry in a similar, inquiry focused effort. The curriculum package that follows represents only the science portion of the interdisciplinary class that may be offered in a distance learning or partially online format. A number of professionals in the field including Dr. Soon Jo Chung who heads the Aerospace Robotics and Control lab at the University of Illinois, and Dr. Wolfgang Send of Xlab and Aniprop in Gottingen, Germany are interested in helping to facilitate the science component of outreach programs with high school students. These scientists will partner with our high school students to develop and test new models for flight using biologically inspired designs. I have two teaching partners at Campbell Hall who have worked to develop creative writing and music components of the course.
Roberts (2009) strong evidence of a direct positive effect of university-based summer research programs on students future involvement in the sciences and related STE[A]M fields informs my long term action plan. These initiatives remain in incubation phases for now, but the intention is to build a robust set of offerings that embody the best practices inherent in STE[A]M focused learning and to provide outreach opportunities for the community beyond our independent school walls. We currently offer a summer enrichment pilot program to students from areas adjacent to the school. This is an effort on the part of the administration to give back to the local community and is intended to grow over the next five years. These students will benefit from an opportunity to explore the topic of flight from several disciplines as well. They will be challenged to work through a number hands-on design challenges using 3D scanning and printing technologies. Their products will then be subjected to testing in the controlled environment of a wind tunnel. As with the SWIRLSS initiative, students who engage in this elective will find themselves immersed in the true spirit of inquiry, exploring the nature of reality while making a meaningful contribution to our scientific understanding of biological flight.
References
Anderson, L. S., & Gilbride, K. A. (2003). Pre-university outreach: Encouraging students to consider engineering careers. Global Journal of Engineering Education, 7(1), 87-93.
Basham, J. D., & Marino, M. T. (2013). Understanding STEM education and supporting students through universal design for learning. Teaching Exceptional Children, 45(4), 8-15.
Feldman, A., Chapman, A., & Vernaza-Hernández, V. (2012). Inquiry-based science education as multiple outcome interdisciplinary research and learning (MOIRL). Science Education International, 23(4), 328-337.
Hofstein, A., & Lunetta, V. N. (2004). The laboratory in science education: foundations for the twenty-first century. Science Education, 88(1), 28-54.
Kimbrough, D. R. (1995). Project design factors that affect student perceptions of the success of a science research project. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32(2), 157-175.
Lerner, R. M., & Simon, L. A. K. (2014). University-community collaborations for the twenty-first century: Outreach scholarship for youth and families. Routledge.
Markowitz, D. G. (2004). Evaluation of the long-term impact of a university high school summer science program on students' interest and perceived abilities in science. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 13(3), 395-407.
Osborne, J., Simon, S., & Collins, S. (2003). Attitudes towards science: A review of the literature and its implications. International journal of science education, 25(9), 1049-1079.
Rauth, I., Köppen, E., Jobst, B., & Meinel, C. (2010). Design thinking: an educational model towards creative confidence. In DS 66-2: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Design Creativity (ICDC 2010).
Roberts, L. F., & Wassersug, R. J. (2009). Does doing scientific research in high school correlate with students staying in science? A half-century retrospective study. Research in Science Education, 39(2), 251-256.
Stephenson, N. (2013). Introduction to inquiry-based learning.
Tseng, C., Tuan, H., & Chin, C. (2012). How to help teachers develop inquiry teaching: perspectives from experienced science teachers. Educational Research in Science Education, 809-825.
Wheeler, Bell, R., Whitworth, B., & Maeng, J. (2014). The science ELF: Assessing the enquiry levels framework as a heuristic for professional development. International Journal of Science Education, 37(1), 55-81. doi:10.1080/09500693.2014.961182
Wynn, T., & Harris, J. (2012). Toward a STEM + arts curriculum: creating the teacher team. Art Education, 65(5), 42-47.
Please see Appendix C for additional references that relate specifically to the curriculum package.