Effectiveness of inquiry‐based science laboratories for improving teamwork and problem‐solving skills and attitudes

Abstract

AbstractBased on quantitative survey data collected from an inquiry‐based general chemistry laboratory course, the current study used marginal models to evaluate changes in students' teamwork and problem‐solving skills, attitudes to teamwork, and willingness to explore new issues before and after the course. The results suggest that introductory‐level inquiry‐based laboratory courses may not influence all students in the same way. By the end of the course, novice learners with a lower team‐based problem‐solving starting point reported greater learning growth than more experienced learners. As a result, the gap between novice learners' teamwork and problem‐solving skills and attitudes and those of more experienced learners narrowed. However, the results also suggest that, by the end of the course, more experienced learners had developed negative attitudes to teamwork and problem‐solving. In addition, deeper learning was found to be associated with improvements in team‐based problem‐solving for both novice and more experienced learners. Deep learning levels were related to both the magnitude and direction of attitude change, particularly for more experienced learners. These findings suggest that offering introductory‐level inquiry‐based laboratory courses is beneficial to narrow achievement gaps. In order to empower students of all experience levels, a differentiated instruction method should be adopted to accommodate students' varied needs.