No abstract

In this study, we employed a new instructional model that helps students develop scientific writing and presentation skills. Argument-driven inquiry (ADI) is one of the most novel instructional models that emphasizes the role of argumentation and inquiry in science education equally. This is an exploratory study where five ADI lab activities take place with a group of students guided by their classroom teacher. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of laboratory instruction that was designed based on ADI on students’ ability to write and present scientifically. For this purpose, three sets of instruments were used: argumentative writing assessment, poster evaluation checklist, and student assessment of their learning gains (SALG) survey. The results showed that students developed their writing skills in all three aspects: argument structure, argument content, and writing mechanism. However, the highest score in terms of these improvements was obtained in the quality of students’ argument content. Also, the current study findings explicitly showed that ADI activities could help students improve their scientific presentation skills. At the end of the ADI activities, each group got higher than 50 points out of 65 points, while their scores were nearly 30 points at the beginning of activities.

The present study investigated how students’ self-efficacy changed after participation in four lab investigations that were designed on the basis of a new laboratory instructional strategy, namely, argument-driven inquiry (ADI). The study was conducted with 64 10th grade students from two intact classes in a public high school in the northeast of Turkey. One class was randomly assigned as an experimental group, and the other as a comparison group, and data were collected to allow for a comparison of students’ self-efficacy across treatment conditions. Both experimental and control groups had the same chemistry courses and laboratories. However, the experimental group conducted laboratory activities that were designed using the ADI instructional model, and the control group performed traditional laboratory instruction. The Students Perceptions in Chemistry Evaluation (SPiCE) Instrument was used to measure students’ perceptions of their own inquiry skills (self-efficacy) and attitudes about various aspects of chemistry. Additionally, the Interest in Science Pursuits Instrument was used to evaluate whether students’ interest in pursuing science endeavors changed after their laboratory experience. The results indicate that the ADI instructional model improves students’ perceptions about self-efficacy, inquiry skills, and lab skills as compared to traditional laboratory instruction. However, the findings showed that there was no significant difference between the experimental and the control group concerning students’ attitudes toward chemistry. With regard to students’ interest in pursuing science endeavors, there was also no significant difference between the experimental and the control groups.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of the explicit nature of science instruction embedded in the Argument-Driven Inquiry method compared with an implicit inquiry method on eleventh-grade students’ conceptions of NOS. The study used a pre-/post-test control group design to investigate the influence of the explicit nature of science instruction embedded in the Argument-Driven Inquiry method on eleventh grade students’ understanding of NOS. The qualitative method was used to identify the students’ views of NOS. The study involved 45 students (grade 11) enrolled in a chemistry course at a public Anatolian high school in the northeast of Turkey. The explicit group included 24 students (10 girls and 14 boys) and the implicit group included 21 students (12 girls and 9 boys) with their ages ranging from 17 to 18 years. Both groups were instructed for two 45 minute sessions per week over the course of 9 weeks. However, the explicit group participated in laboratory activities designed by the ADI method with explicit NOS instruction, whereas the implicit group was taught by a structured inquiry (SI) instructional model. Students were interviewed using the VNOS-B interview schedule to evaluate the students’ understanding of NOS. In data analysis, we coded views as an informed view that had the accepted views, a transitional view that had partially accepted views or a naïve view that had unaccepted views of the seven characteristics of NOS based on the literature. The results of the study showed significant differences between the pre- to post-test scores for the explicit group in terms of NOS views. However, the post-instruction views of the implicit group were not different from their previous NOS views. We believe that the explicit nature of science instruction embedded in the ADI method has a noticeable potential in order to improve high school students’ views about NOS.

The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the alternative conceptions of high school students and preservice teachers on the concept of atomic size. The Atomic Size Diagnostic Instrument was developed; it is composed of eight, two-tier multiple-choice items. The results of the study showed that as a whole 56.2% of preservice teachers and 59.4% of high school students correctly answered six or more questions out of eight. New alternative conceptions about atomic size, which could be grouped under three main considerations, were found. These alternative conceptions were related to the number of protons, ionic charge, and period and group number.