Julie F. Westerlund

Summer Scientific Research for Teachers: The Experience and its Effect

Doing science – conducting actual research side by side with researchers—is perhaps the best way to achieve scientific literacy (Duchovnay andJoyce, 2000)IntroductionScientific inquiry is fundamental to the science education reform movement.It is the dominant theme of the 1990s reform documents such as the NationalScience Education Standards [NSES] (National Research Council, [NRC], 1996a)and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy (Association for the Advancement ofScience [AAAS], 1993). The development of scientific inquiry skills is consideredto be the most effective way to create a society of scientifically literate citizens(NRC, 1996a). As stated in the NSES, “when engaging in inquiry, students...actively develop their understanding of science by combining scientific knowledgewith reasoning and thinking skills” (NRC, 1996a p. 2). Inquiry methods oftenaddress issues that are important to the community such as environmental andhuman health. It is believed that students will be better able to discuss issues andmake informed decisions about scientific issues if they have developed reasoningskills through inquiry methods.Teachers who have learned science facts from textbooks and lectures, butlack scientific research experiences, may have difficulty teaching science by inquiry(Hodson, 1993; Roth, McGinn, and Brown, 1997). Beisenherz & Dantonio (1991)stated that, “teachers cannot be lectured at, demonstrated to, and asked toThis material is based upon work supported in part by gifts and grants from the NationalScience Foundation (ESI #9731321), the Eisenhower Professional Development GrantsProgram (#98024) administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board,and the Southwest Bell Corporation Foundation. Any opinions, findings, andconclusions or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author(s)and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.