Dilemmas of Teaching Inquiry in Elementary Science Methods

Because various definitions of inquiry exist in the science education literature and in classroom practice, elementary science methods students and instructors face dilemmas during the study of inquiry. Using field notes, instructor anecdotal notes, student products, and course artifacts, science me...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of science teacher education 2004-11, Vol.15 (4), p.257-279
Main Authors: Newman, William J., Abell, Sandra K., Hubbard, Paula D., McDonald, James, Otaala, Justine, Martini, Mariana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Active learning
Anxiety
Earths Moon
Grades (Scholastic)
Inquiry
Inquiry method
Journal Writing
Learning experiences
Methods Courses
Pedagogy
Science Education
Science Instruction
Science learning
Science Teachers
Teachers
Teaching
Teaching Methods
Trust (Psychology)
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Summary:Because various definitions of inquiry exist in the science education literature and in classroom practice, elementary science methods students and instructors face dilemmas during the study of inquiry. Using field notes, instructor anecdotal notes, student products, and course artifacts, science methods course instructors created fictional journal entries to represent the experiences of both the instructors and students during instruction on inquiry. Identified dilemmas were varying definitions of inquiry, the struggle to provide sufficient inquiry-based science-learning experiences, perceived time constraints, determining how much course time should be slated for science instruction versus pedagogy instruction, instructors' and students' lack of inquiry-based learning experiences, grade versus trust issues, and students' science phobia. Instructors' attempts at dealing with these dilemmas included using analogies, increased field-experience time, modeling, and detailed rubrics.
ISSN:1046-560X
1573-1847
DOI:10.1023/B:JSTE.0000048330.07586.d6