Daniel K. Capps

A Review of Empirical Literature on Inquiry Professional Development: Alignment with Best Practices and a Critique of the Findings.

This review brings together the literature on inquiry-based teaching and learning and science teacher professional development (PD). We present a targeted critical review of research focused specifically on the nature of PD programs purported to emphasize inquiry. Our review analyzes the features of each program and critiques the reported outcomes of each study. Findings from this review suggest a general alignment with recommended features of effective PD as outlined in the literature with a few notable exceptions, including: supporting teachers in developing inquiry-based lesson plans, providing authentic inquiry experiences, and focusing on science content for teachers. More importantly, our review reveals that no reported study has connected participation in inquiry-based PD with all the desired outcomes of teacher PD: enhanced teacher knowledge, change in beliefs and practice, and enhanced student achievement. Implications for future research on inquiry-based PD programs are discussed.

Inquiry-Based Instruction and Teaching About Nature of Science: Are They Happening?

Anecdotal accounts from science educators suggest that few teachers are teaching science as inquiry. However, there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. This study aimed to provide evidence-based documentation of the state-of-use of inquiry-based instruction and explicit instruction about nature of science (NOS). We examined the teaching practice and views of inquiry and NOS of 26, well-qualified and highly motivated 5th–9th-grade teachers from across the country in order to establish the extent to which their views and practice aligned with ideas in reform-based documents. We used a mixed-methods approach analyzing lesson descriptions, classroom observations, videotape data, questionnaires, and interviews to assess teaching practice and views of inquiry and NOS of these teachers. We also determined the relationships between teachers’ views and their teaching practice. Findings indicated the majority of these teachers held limited views of inquiry-based instruction and NOS. In general, these views were reflected in their teaching practice. Elements of inquiry including abilities, understandings, and essential features were observed or described in less than half the classrooms. Most commonly, teachers focused on basic abilities to do inquiry instead of the essential features or important understandings about inquiry. When aspects of inquiry were present, they were generally teacher-initiated. There was also little evidence of aspects of NOS in teachers’ instruction. This study provides empirical evidence for the claim that even some of the best teachers currently struggle to enact reformed-based teaching. Further, it highlights the critical need for an agreement upon definition of inquiry-based instruction and the need to develop appropriate and feasible assessments that specifically target inquiry to track changes in teachers’ views and practice. Important implications include the heightened need for rigorous and continuous professional development to support teachers in learning about inquiry and NOS and how to enact reform-based instruction in classrooms.

Inquiry-Based Professional Development: What does it take to support teachers in learning about inquiry and nature of science?

This study examined the geologic and evolutionary subject matter and views of inquiry and nature of science (NOS) of a group of 5th–9th grade teachers, and a comparison group, before and after participating in an inquiry-based professional development (PD) experience. Project teachers participated in an intensive, week-long, resident institute where they learned about geology, evolutionary concepts, NOS, and inquiry while engaging in an authentic scientific investigation. They were also given support in how to teach these topics using an inquiry-based approach. Analyses of data indicate that project teachers showed greater gains in subject matter than comparison teachers and the relative change was significantly different statistically. Furthermore, most project teachers demonstrated a shift from less informed to more informed views of inquiry and NOS and the relative change between participant and comparison teachers was significantly different statistically. These gains are promising because they suggest that short-term and intensive PD can support teachers in enhancing their knowledge and views. Moreover, analysis of post-programme questionnaires and interviews indicated that supporting teachers in reflecting on the relationship between their former classroom teaching practice, and new knowledge acquired during PD, may be an important link in enhancing teacher knowledge and supporting change in practice. This suggests that enhanced knowledge and views may not be the only factor contributing to changing ones practice. The study points to the importance of reflection in promoting teacher change. Results from this study add insights to supporting teachers in enacting inquiry-based instruction and teaching about NOS in their classrooms.

Using Inquiry and Tenets of Multicultural Education to Engage Latino English-Language Learning Students in Learning About Geology and the Nature of Science

ABSTRACT Traditional school science instruction has been largely unsuccessful in reaching diverse student groups and students from, in particular, underrepresented backgrounds. This paper presents a case study of an urban, dual-language middle school classroom in which the teacher used an alternative instructional approach, involving her students in an authentic geological investigation with fossils. In this instructional setting, the teacher successfully engaged her English-language learning students from Latino backgrounds in science learning through inquiry, instructionally congruent science teaching strategies, and explicit instruction in nature of science. Students participating in the geological investigation interacted with practicing scientists. This instructional approach modeled the activities of science and better connected diverse students to the scientific community of practice. The practices used in this classroom provide a compelling example of how science instruction can be carried out in a way that makes science accessible despite linguistic differences and engages students in the activities of science, who otherwise might not be.

Supporting Teachers to Attend to Generalisation in Science Classroom Argumentation.

In scientific arguments, claims must have meaning that extends beyond the immediate circumstances of an investigation. That is, claims must be generalised in some way. Therefore, teachers facilitating classroom argumentation must be prepared to support students’ efforts to construct or criticise generalised claims. However, widely used argumentation support tools, for instance, the claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) framework, tend not to address generalisation. Accordingly, teachers using these kinds of tools may not be prepared to help their students negotiate issues of generalisation in arguments. We investigated this possibility in a study of professional development activities of 18 middle school teachers using CER. We compared the teachers’ approach to generalisation when using a published version of CER to their approach when using an alternate form of CER that increased support for generalisation. In several different sessions, the teachers: (1) responded to survey questions when using CER, (2) critiqued student arguments, (3) used both CER and alternate CER to construct arguments, and (4) discussed the experience of using CER and alternate CER. When using the standard CER, the teachers did not explicitly attend to generalisation in student arguments or in their own arguments. With alternate CER, the teachers generalised their own arguments, and they acknowledged the need for generalisation in student arguments. We concluded that teachers using frameworks for supporting scientific argumentation could benefit from more explicit support for generalisation than CER provides. More broadly, we concluded that generalisation deserves increased attention as a pedagogical challenge within classroom scientific argumentation.

Learning to Teach Science as Inquiry: Developing an Evidence-Based Framework for Effective Teacher Professional Development

In this chapter, we provide promising examples of professional development (PD) programmes for teachers targeted at using inquiry-based approaches. This chapter summarises a symposium at the 2011 ESERA involving researchers from Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. Two main questions guided the discussion: (1) What are your views for supporting teachers in carrying out inquiry in the science classroom? (2) What is the evidence for effective strategies of supporting teachers in learning to teach science as inquiry? Taken together, these studies demonstrate that science teachers’ professional learning is effectively supported by providing opportunities to experiment with new teaching approaches in their classroom, sometimes in combination with authentic experiences to learn science (i.e. scientific inquiry) and to reflect on these experiences, both individually and collectively.