Reconceptualising inquiry in science education

ABSTRACT

Decades of discussion and debate about how science is most effectively taught and learned have resulted in a number of similar but competing inquiry models. These aim to develop students learning of science through approaches which reflect the authenticity of science as practiced by professional scientists while being practical and manageable within the school context. This paper offers a collection of our current reflections and suggestions concerning inquiry and its place in science education. We suggest that many of the current models of inquiry are too limited in their vision concerning themselves, almost exclusively, with producing a scaffold which reduces the complex process of inquiry into an algorithmic approach based around a sequence of relatively simple steps. We argue that this restricts students’ experience of authentic inquiry to make classroom management and assessment procedures easier. We then speculate that a more integrated approach is required through an alternative inquiry model that depends on three dimensions (conceptual, procedural and personal) and we propose that it will be more likely to promote effective learning and a willingness to engage in inquiry across all facets of a students’ school career and beyond.

KEYWORDS:

• Inquiry-based teaching
• learning environment
• secondary school

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank John Leach for his comments and encouragement during early versions of this paper and Murat Gunel for his comments on an early draft. Their contributions are very much appreciated.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Stuart Bevins is a Senior Research Fellow and leads research in the Centre for Science Education, Sheffield Institute of Education. His research interests are social learning theories and the professional development of science teachers.

Gareth Price is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Science Education, Sheffield Institute of Education. His research interests centre around creativity, collaborative work,inquiry and the strategies that support students becoming active constructors of their own knowledge.

ORCID

Stuart Bevins http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7139-1529

Gareth Price http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2728-6769