Inquiry-based professional development practices for science teachers

Abstract

In science education reform movements, there is an emphasis on teaching science through inquiry, and teacher education is an important part in this process. In this context, this study aims to investigate the effect of inquiry-based professional development training on science teachers’ beliefs and self-efficacy about inquirybased teaching and science process skills. A group of 30 science teachers participated in the study. The data collection tools used were “Beliefs about Inquiry-based Teaching Scale,” the “Inquiry-based Science Teaching Self-efficacy Scale,” and the “Science Process Skills Test.” During two days of short-term professional development training, teachers attended five workshops that introduced the inquiry method. Analyses of the collected data showed that professional development training was effective in improving teachers beliefs (t = −6,57; p = .00), self-efficacy (t = −5,80; p = .00), and process skills (t = -−5,76; p = .00). The results of the study suggest that additional research about the improvement of students’ science learning and about the effect of professional development on different variables such as teachers’ learning design skills should be done.