Teacher Behaviors and Student Inquiry in Biology

Abstract

Much emphasis has recently been placed on inquiry as an outcome of instruction in biology. Problem-solving, the nature of science, and processes of science are also given frequently as desirable outcomes. Schwab (1963, p. 40) says the essence of teaching science as inquiry is to show conclusions in the framework of the way they arise and are tested. Anderson (1968), in a discussion of teaching the nature of science, also emphasizes the aims and methods employed by the scientist. Gagne (1963, p. 145) makes this statement about various authors writing about inquiry: I judge them to mean, that what it is is a set of activities characterized by a problem-solving approach, in which each newly encountered phenomenon becomes a challenge for thinking. It would appear that, however it is being phrased, inquiry is being seen as a desirable outcome of science instruction because of the productive mental processes and favorable affective conditions involved. Some would say also that this concern is justified because of the potential of scientific thinking in arriving at decisions in various nonscience areas of life. Many classroom techniques have been devised to promote inquiry learning. Laboratory experiments, lab blocks, invitations to inquiry, and the case study approach are a few examples. Often these approaches are quite structured: problems are stated, sequence is prescribed, and numerous and detailed questions are asked. Laboratory experiments used by BSCS, for example, give considerable information about the topic and frequently prescribe quite specifically the design of the experiment and the format of the data. Unstructured activities, on the other hand, are generally seen as those in which the teacher presents the problem and aids the student in the design and execution of an experiment by means of questions that are spaced and sequenced according to student needs. Schwab (1966, p. 55) has described three levels of openness and permissiveness in laboratory inquiry based on whether problems and methods for finding answers are given or left open. In the remainder of this paper, attention is given to the role of teacher behaviors in promoting student inquiry. The two major aspects discussed concern the degree of attention given to inquiry and the nature of that attention.