Inquiry-based Learning Experiences Research Articles

Teacher Performance Level to Guide Students in Inquiry-Based Scientific Learning

The strategies employed by teachers and students in the open inquiry-based learning approach are crucial, especially when presenting researchable questions formulated by students under the guidance of the teacher. This effectively promotes the teaching and learning of various disciplines. Participant observation was conducted in the science classroom for secondary education teachers to establish the level achieved by teachers in the development of the open inquiry-based learning experience and to identify the taxonomic level of researchable questions (RQs). An observation rubric was applied, revealing that 83% of in-service teachers reached a satisfactory level, while 67% of pre-service teachers were classified as unsatisfactory in terms of using the open inquiry-based approach. Both groups formulated high-order inquiry questions, with a clear inclination in favor of in-service teachers compared to pre-service teachers. These results highlight the importance of university training in focusing on inquiry skills, particularly in planning, inferences, and evaluation. Through this observational analysis, valuable information about the current state of open inquiry-based learning is contributed, advancing science education in Peru.

Promoting gender-inclusive leadership perceptions among Japanese university students: A nine-week critical inquiry-based action learning program

The present study investigates gender equality in Japanese university students’ leadership perception and examines the changes in their perspective through a nine-week action learning program at two private Japanese universities. A mixed-methods practical action research design was employed in four upper intermediate-level first-year Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) classes (N = 107). First, quantitative content analysis was performed to determine how the students perceived the concepts of leadership and gender through the images and descriptions used in their PowerPoint presentation materials. Then, the study employed qualitative content analysis to determine the changes in the students’ perceptions of gender equality in leadership through the critical inquiry-based action learning experience. The results showed that integrating gender-inclusive leadership content into the CLIL courses was effective in helping the students develop an impartial and inclusive perspective of leadership and gender. Furthermore, the critical inquiry-based action learning experience enhanced the students’ motivation for language acquisition and engagement in the CLIL courses.

Empowering Leaders: A Work in Progress on Promoting Leadership Roles in Online Learning through Project-Based Learning (PBL)

This article explores the evolving landscape of online learning and the pivotal role of project-based learning (PBL) in fostering leadership skills among student teachers. As education continues to transition to virtual platforms, there is a growing need to cultivate leadership qualities in student teachers to prepare them for the dynamic challenges of the digital age. Student teachers need to develop proficiency in digital pedagogy, which includes not only using technology for teaching but also understanding how to engage students in meaningful ways in an online setting.. Therefore, this work in progress aims to shed light on ongoing initiatives, strategies, and best practices in integrating PBL to promote and develop leadership roles within the online learning environment. By engaging in projects, student teachers learn to facilitate active, inquiry-based learning experiences for their future students.

Implementation of Project-Based Learning Approach in Improving Critical Thinking Skills of Elementary School Students


 
 
 The implementation of project-based learning (PBL) approach has gained attention as an effective method to enhance critical thinking skills among elementary school students. This paper explores the effectiveness of implementing the PBL approach in improving critical thinking skills among elementary school students through a qualitative analysis based on literature review and library research. The study investigates various aspects of PBL implementation, including its principles, strategies, and outcomes related to critical thinking development. Findings suggest that PBL provides students with opportunities to engage in authentic, inquiry-based learning experiences that promote higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. Moreover, the collaborative nature of PBL fosters communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities among students. By immersing students in real-world projects, PBL encourages active participation, creativity, and innovation, leading to a deeper understanding of concepts and issues. Additionally, the integration of technology and multimedia resources enhances the PBL experience, offering students diverse learning opportunities and increasing their motivation and engagement. The findings underscore the importance of well- designed PBL activities and supportive learning environments in maximizing the development of critical thinking skills. Overall, this research contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into the effectiveness of PBL in promoting critical thinking skills among elementary school students.
 
 

The Use of Cooperative Learning in High School English Writing Teaching

Against the backdrop of the new curriculum and college entrance examination reforms, the weightage of high school English writing scores in college entrance examination papers has increased significantly. Consequently, the expectations for high school English writing have also risen, making it an indispensable aspect of language learning. In this regard, teachers must prioritize students' autonomy, cooperation, and inquiry-based learning experiences, particularly in English classrooms, where they should create an enabling environment for effective English education. High school English teachers must emphasize cooperative learning in writing classes to enhance students' language expression and writing skills. Meanwhile, teachers must continually explore efficient methods of improving students' English writing ability. This paper addresses the challenges facing the current cooperative learning mode in high school English writing teaching and proposes measures to overcome them, hoping to inspire and assist the development of cooperative learning in high school English classes.

Using SOURCES to Examine and Understand Immigrants’ Journeys to the United States through Ellis Island

Teaching with primary sources provides educators with opportunities to expose students to authentic analysis, critical thinking, and perspective taking. When students are exposed to primary sources in the classroom, they can examine the point of view of the source, what information they can gain from the source, what information is missing, and the possible bias, think about why the source was created, and consider the narrative surrounding a particular source. By providing students with opportunities to examine and analyze primary sources, teachers can foster organic and authentic inquiry-based learning experiences in the classroom and give them the skills that they need to be participatory and informed citizens. An investigation employing the SOURCES Framework for Teaching with Primary and Secondary Sources affords educators just that opportunity. In order to be properly prepared for college, career, and civic life, students need to be provided the necessary skills to think critically about the sources they will encounter throughout their lives and be given multiple and sustained opportunities to engage with a range and variety of primary sources in authentic ways and to create original, evidence-based narratives. The authors of this article present a student-centered SOURCES investigation that allows students an opportunity to examine immigration journeys to Ellis Island framed around two related essential questions: What did immigrants experience during their journey to Ellis Island? and What was it like for immigrants as they arrived in the United States?

Modular low-cost 3D printed setup for experiments with NV centers in diamond

With the advent of quantum technology, the need for affordable, flexible and robust laboratory experiments not only for students, but also at high school level is increasing. Here, for the first time, we report on a simple modular 3D printed low-cost (<250 €) setup which fulfils these needs for quantum sensing experiments based on nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamonds. Commercially available setups for optically detected magnetic resonance in microdiamonds used as quantum sensor for magnetic fields are not only beyond the reach of any high school (>10 000 €), but also have shortcomings from a didactical point of view, as all the components of the setup are hidden within a ’black box’, doomed to be successful ’plug and play’. In contrast, our open-source experimental kit consists of optical components that are placed inside 3D printed open-framed cubes, that can be arranged freely on a grid. This modular and flexible design can provide an inquiry-based learning experience both at undergraduate and high school level.

Gendered Science Practice at Secondary School and its Effects on Science Motivations

This study explores the effects of gendered inquiry-based learning (IBL) practices on other science learning experiences and motivations including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) career aspirations. For this, PISA 2015 data representing the Finnish 15-year-old student population has been selected and analyzed by multiple group structural equation modeling. According to the results, while girls and boys perceived a similar frequency of conducting IBL at school as a student, boys were more aware that students were allowed to conduct high autonomous IBL activities such as designing their own experiments. Also, boys expressed that they got more feedback from their teachers, and it was moderately related to the IBL engagement. Moreover, the result showed that while boys perceived more IBL experiences, the efficacy of the IBL activities was higher for girls since the relationship between IBL and science motivations was stronger for girls compared to boys. Lastly, this study found that a teacher was more prone to undervalue girls’ science performance than boys during IBL. Based on the findings, this study argues that school IBL practices could be a good source for examining gender equity in science education. Also, the findings recommend gender-inclusive science practices at school in order to increase girls’ interest in STEM careers and to enhance the effects of IBL on students’ science achievement.

Exploring the Design of Teaching Mental Health of College Students Based on Data-Driven Learning

Chinese contemporary college students, this generation has been pampered since childhood, growing up under the wings of their parents, most of them are flowers in the hothouse, now stepping into the university and carrying the double expectations of society and family. With the rapid development of modern technology and social culture, people in modern society are facing fierce competition, frequent stress, fast pace, and unprecedented psychological pressure, which has a significant impact on human health. Therefore, the construction of a university psychological wellness education model has become the focus of theoretical research. As a new type of mental health teaching and learning model, data-driven learning (DDL) not only provides learners with rich, diverse, and realistic mental health data, but also creates an ideal learning environment for learners due to its corpus-based teaching and learning characteristics. This paper explores the design of DDL-based mental health teaching and learning for students, combining theoretical research, and empirical analysis from the actual university, and constructing a comprehensive system of psychological wellness education in college while building a local system of DDL-based psychological wellness education. The experimental results show that the Q-learning algorithm and SA-Q algorithm have no environmental triggering mechanism, while the data-driven control algorithm has the step number of formula 24, 19, and 17, respectively, thus reaching the optimal path. Therefore, in the data-driven psychology classroom, students change from participating in activities according to the course teaching objectives and mental health teachers’ requirements to inquiry-based learning and interactive experiences that focuses on problem solving and task completion.

Designing professional development for special education teachers: Effects on assistive technology competency in developing inquiry-based student experiences

The Professional Development (PD) intervention in this study introduced special education teachers to inquiry-driven practices utilizing assistive technology (AT) to support student diverse learning needs. The study followed multiple case study research design to examine changes in AT competency and mindset of three special education teachers participating in PD. Findings showed that the structure and content of PD supported development of special education teachers’ competency in designing AT-infused inquiry-based experience for students with disabilities. It also affected changes in teachers’ mindset from thinking about their students as incapable individuals to recognizing their academic abilities as they engaged in inquiry-based learning experiences.

Inquiry-Based Teacher Writing Groups as Sites for Professional Learning and Restorying Identities

In this article, we use narrative inquiry to examine one teacher’s experiences of participating in an inquiry-based teacher writing group. Narrative inquiry centers teachers’ stories, revealing the complexities of teaching and writing identities. We argue that, despite the “cover story” of a binary writing identity, teachers’ stories about their lives and their practice reveal much more complex writing and teaching identities. Inquiry-based professional learning experiences invite teachers to bring in their lived experiences and collaborate with one another to (re)story themselves as professionals, writers, and teachers of writing. Rewriting these identities and crafting new storied selves is an important part of professionalizing teaching, fostering teacher agency and supporting sustained professional learning. The findings demonstrate the need for a re-envisioning of teachers’ positioning in professional learning, restructuring professional development to value the work teachers can produce together when given an opportunity to engage as learners in their everyday school contexts.

Understanding the Effect of Inquiry-Based Learning Experiences on Students' Engagement and Social &amp;amp; Academic Success in Public School Science and Math Education

Understanding the Effect of Inquiry-Based Learning Experiences on Students' Engagement and Social &amp;amp; Academic Success in Public School Science and Math Education

An Inquiry Based Learning Experience Using K-W-L in Business Communication Presentations

Technological advancement, particularly in terms of scientific knowledge within the various fields of subject, is an important feature of the twenty-first century. In line with such technological advancement, teaching learning strategies and methods used for teaching students are not discounted (Alsalhi, 2020). The creativity of educators is even more pronounced during the pandemic (Barber, 2020) where all educators have to resort to online teaching. In such online platforms, student engagement poses a challenge for educators to gain student attention and engagement. Educators need to resort various approaches to gain student engagement. The inquiry-based-learning approach using the “K-W-L” strategy or “Know-What-Learnt” chart organizer encourages all students to take ownership and experience learning beyond the classroom context. The Business Communication students used the “K-W-L” as part of the inquiry-based learning experience to question, research, analyze, sort, and present their answers according to what they know, learn and learnt about a topic. Findings suggest student’s receptivity to the using the organizer as a learning tool. Learning occurs both outside and within the classroom whether online or offline. Learning becomes student-centered, discussing discoveries and experiences, and reflecting on new-found knowledge. Learning is not mere regurgitation of contents but is actively acquired through independent questioning.

Junior High School Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inquiry-Based Science Teaching: Enabling or Disabling Dispositions?

This study sought to examine whether junior high school teachers’ attitudes are enabling or disabling dispositions toward inquiry-based science teaching. We used concurrent triangulation mixed methods design involving surveys and multiple case studies to collect quantitative and qualitative data. We sampled 308 integrated science teachers and a subsample of 18 teachers from junior high schools in urban and rural areas. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were satisfactory for research. Credibility and dependability of the semi-structured interview schedule were also sufficient. Findings suggest that most junior high school teachers in the study context hold weak unfavourable attitudes that are disabling dispositions toward inquiry-based science teaching. Findings also suggest that the combination of societal subjective norms, perceived context dependency, and weak unfavourable attitudes of most junior high school teachers adversely influence their intentions and behaviours toward inquiry-based science teaching. Findings further suggest that most teachers in the study context developed weak unfavourable attitudes partly because they never had inquiry-based science teaching and learning experiences when they were students. Again, the teachers developed weak general attitudes toward science teaching partly because most science teaching and learning experiences they had were in specific subjects such as biology, chemistry, and physics instead of general (integrated) science. We recommend frequent attitude-focused inquiry-based science in-service trainings for junior high school teachers. We also recommend reforms in education that engages preservice teachers in attitude-focused inquiry-based science teaching and learning experiences.

The Influences of Socioscientific Issues on General Science Teaching Self-Efficacy

Two common reasons elementary preservice teachers have low self-efficacy with science teaching is their lack of content knowledge and past negative experiences with science teaching or learning. Holding low self-efficacy beliefs has negative impacts on both the method of science instruction and amount of science instruction delivered in the elementary classroom. Many researchers have successfully explored methods for improving elementary preservice teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy by providing positive, inquiry-based learning experiences during a science methods course, but the present study explores how to improve elementary preservice teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy beliefs by engaging them in socioscientific issues (SSI) during their elementary methods course. Using a mixed methods approach, we collected quantitative with the science teaching efficacy beliefs instrument part B (STEBI-B) and qualitative data through short answer responses focused on understanding their perceptions and confidence with science instruction. Our analysis of the qualitative data focused on identifying the influences for any change that resulted from the STEBI results. Our findings illustrate SSI as a commonly identified reason for positive changes in general science teaching self-efficacy. Implications for utilizing SSI as an approach to combat low science teaching self-efficacy are discussed.

Comment on Zacharia et al., A review of data about effectiveness of guidance in computer supported, inquiry based learning laboratories and simulations

This review is in response to “Identifying potential types of guidance for supporting student inquiry when using virtual and remote labs in science: a literature review,” by Zacharia et al. (Educ Technol Res Dev 63:257–302, 2015). This review is focused on the perspective of a high school teacher or college professor attempting to provide a computer supported inquiry learning (CoSIL) environment for use online or in a classroom. The impact of Zacharia et al. is strong, as it is an excellent summary of (1) the optimal phases of inquiry based learning (IBL) experience and (2) the categories of guidance that that are effective at fostering student progress through IBL experiences. Application of this paper is as a Rosetta Stone to allow teachers, game designers and education researchers to communicate and build in the same space to create a blended experience. The limitation of this paper is that there are not yet very many studies of guidance and its effect on computer assisted IBL. Future suggestions are for teachers to use computer based simulations, add discussion and simple, real life activities to provide optimal IBL experience. Teachers can add their own guidance to support computer based simulations thus providing an enhanced experience for shifting to digital.

Inquiry-based Science Education and e-Learning

Science classrooms (even in the time of the pandemic) should provide more challenging, inquiry-based, authentic and higher-order learning experiences allowing students to participate in scientific practices and tasks. Rich scientific databases, e-Learning tools and digital educational resources can serve as a catalyst for science learning. They can offer a better understanding of complex scientific research, making science understandable and interesting to the students.

Pre-service Teachers’ Collaborative Learning Experiences in a Science Content Course

Developing an in-depth understanding, skills, and level of comfort to teach through inquiry requires that pre-service teachers themselves learn through an inquiry-based approach that would allow them to explore various dimensions of such an approach. Productive discourse and collaboration, involving extensive interactions among students, constant and mutual exchange of ideas, and higher-order thinking are critical components of inquiry-based learning. Further research is needed to understand the dynamics of collaborative experiences and the process by which science is learned in collaborative team contexts, particularly with teacher candidates who will be responsible for implementing such approaches in their future classrooms. This qualitative study aimed to explore the dynamics of inquiry-based learning experiences of two teams of elementary pre-service teachers in an introductory science content course. Analysis of observation data indicated that although the team engaged in a less structured activity engaged in slightly more productive communication, both teams experienced inequitable levels of involvement by different team members. Team members assumed different roles and varying degrees of participation and engagement in discourse. Our research indicated possible challenges of collaborative interaction and discourse which are critical to consider as teacher educators and researchers. It is imperative that science content and methods courses offer pre-service teachers opportunities for direct experience and explicit instruction on effective means of productive interactions and discourse.

Inquiry-Based Learning Practices in Lower-Secondary Mathematics Education Reported by Students from China and the Netherlands

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) emphasizes learning through experiencing and constructing. Where IBL is often applied in science education, the conceptualization of IBL practices in mathematics education is less obvious. We compared students’ reports on IBL practices in two different teaching cultures as an attempt to better understand IBL practices in connection with overarching teaching cultures. In this study, we investigated IBL practices in lower-secondary mathematics lessons in the Beijing area and the Netherlands through a survey about the experiences and preferences of 858 Chinese students and 441 Dutch students. Results show that students from the Beijing sample reported experiencing IBL activities in most mathematics lessons, while students from the Dutch sample reported them in some lessons, and both preferred the same amount of IBL activities as they experienced. The Dutch sample reported little experience with posing questions to tackle. The study also suggests a correlation between IBL experience and IBL preference of each class: students with more IBL experience are likely to show a higher preference for IBL activities. Results of this study do not confirm expectations based on stereotypes about the two teaching cultures. The students’ perspective in both samples suggests that providing complex problems and organizing group work have potential for further encouraging IBL in mathematics.

Teacher views on inquiry-based learning: the contribution of diverse experiences in the outdoor environment

In this study, we challenged science teachers’ views of inquiry-based learning as being merely experimental, causal, and controlled. We studied science teachers enrolled in professional development programs that consisted of three different inquiry-based learning experiences in the outdoors: ecology, sociology, and archeology. These three cycles of investigation included online collaborative planning, fieldwork and collaborative online data analysis, and online communication. Data collection included pre- and post-PD, open-ended questionnaires, interviews and written reflections. Qualitative content analysis was informed by the literature referring to procedural and epistemic aspects of inquiry-based learning. Other themes that emerged from the data included the place of collaborative learning, the use of technology, and the contribution of the outdoor environment. We found a clear shift in teachers’ views about inquiry which ranged from vague explanations and descriptions of inquiry as merely student-centered learning, to more sophisticated views. The teachers valued the outdoor environment highly for learning and provided interesting insights into how to integrate in-school and out-of-school learning. Collaborative learning supported by technology was perceived as an effective vehicle for meaningful learning. An incomplete shift into the highest epistemic explanations is explained by insufficient opportunities for face-to-face explicit discussions about scientific inquiry and inquiry-based learning.