Examining inquiry-based learning stages of concern for high school agriscience teachers

Nathan Conner,Matt Kreifels,Bryan Reiling,Angie Monheim,Christopher T Stripling

doi:10.37433/aad.v2i1.75

Abstract

There is documented need for improvement of science comprehension amongst high school students in the United States, and inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a recommended teaching strategy to improve science comprehension. Several researchers have focused on examination of learning outcomes for students, but few have researched the concerns of teachers who may wish to adopt IBL methodology. This study used the stages of concern questionnaire to profile ten Midwest high school agriscience teachers’ concerns regarding implementation of IBL, before and after participation in a year-long professional development program where IBL lessons were developed and used in the participants’ high school classrooms. Results indicated that while some participants showed a positive progression in their stage of concern, most professional development program participants did not progress in their concern stage, and some developed increased resistance to IBL as a teaching strategy. This suggests that teachers may need more robust and tailored support when adopting IBL for their classrooms.

Highlights

Introduction and Problem StatementHigh school science student proficiency in the United States lags compared to other highly developed countries (Desilver, 2017; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2016; The Nation’s Report Card, 2015)
Research comparing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) jobs versus unemployed STEM workers showed a national average of 13 STEM jobs posted online for everyone unemployed STEM worker, and that four Midwest states had more than 45 posted STEM jobs per unemployed STEM worker (New American Economy, 2017)
This study focused on the SOCQ to determine how high school teachers feel about adopting inquiry-based learning (IBL) as a teaching strategy

Summary

Introduction

Introduction and Problem StatementHigh school science student proficiency in the United States lags compared to other highly developed countries (Desilver, 2017; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2016; The Nation’s Report Card, 2015). Research comparing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) jobs versus unemployed STEM workers showed a national average of 13 STEM jobs posted online for everyone unemployed STEM worker, and that four Midwest states had more than 45 posted STEM jobs per unemployed STEM worker (New American Economy, 2017). These statistics indicate that an inadequate number of students are gaining necessary proficiency in high school science to facilitate successful transition to STEM based jobs in the work force. The purpose of this study was to determine the stages of concern experienced by high school teachers before and after adopting IBL as a classroom teaching strategy for science subjects

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Results

Conclusion