Is ‘doing science’ in New Zealand classrooms an expression of scientific inquiry?

Haigh, Mavis; Forret, Michael

doi:10.1080/0950069042000276730

Cited by 25 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…He describes how this 'art and craft', or 'connoisseurship', gives scientists the "capacity to use theoretical and procedural knowledge in a purposeful way to achieve certain goals ' (p. 133), and comes from the experience of 'doing science' in holistic investigations in many different contexts. Authentic scientific inquiry can thus be viewed as a complex social practice that involves participants interpreting, negotiating and justifying their inquiry approach in order to build believable and plausible explanations about how the physical world works (Haigh et al, 2005;Hofstein & Lunetta, 2003;Sandoval, 2005;Wallace & Louden, 2002).…”

Section: Pedagogy For Authentic Scientific Inquirymentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Chin & Kayalivizhi, 2002;Hipkins et al, 2001;Nakhlel, Polles & Malina, 2002;Watson et al, 1999). Findings from predominantly large scale surveys indicate much of the practical work students engage in at senior secondary level focuses on recipe-style laboratory exercises and a 'control of variables', or 'fair testing', model of science investigation, which involves closed problem-solving and produces learning outcomes that are predominantly content and skill-based (Haigh et al, 2005). Gott et al (1999) report little pedagogical attention is given to problem solving, design and critical evaluation with the result "that most pupils can carry out practical tasks adequately but that few can understand, interpret or evaluate their data" (p. 100).…”

Section: Science Inquiry Learning In Current Classroom Programmesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Student Experiences of Carrying out a Practical Science Investigation Under Direction

Hume

Coll

2008

International Journal of Science Education

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This paper reports on the reality of classroom-based inquiry learning in science, from the perspectives of high school students and their teachers, under a national curriculum attempting to encourage authentic scientific inquiry (as practiced by scientists). A multiple case study approach was taken, utilising qualitative research methods of unobtrusive observation, semistructured interviews and document analysis. The findings showed purposeful and focused learning occurring, but students were acquiring a narrow view of scientific inquiry where the thinking was characteristically rote and low-level. The nature of this learning was strongly influenced by curriculum decisions made by classroom teachers and science departments in response to the assessment requirements of a high stakes national qualification. As a consequence of these decisions, students experienced structured teaching programmes in which they were exposed to programme content that limited the range of methods that scientists use to fair testing and to pedagogies that were substantially didactic in nature. In addition, the use of planning templates and exemplar assessment schedules tended to reduce student learning about experimental design to an exercise in "following the rules" as they engaged in closed rather than open investigations. Thus, the resulting student learning was mechanistic and superficial rather than creative and critical, counter to the aims of the national curriculum policy that is intent on promoting students' knowledge and capabilities in authentic scientific inquiry.

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Section: Pedagogy For Authentic Scientific Inquirymentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Science Inquiry Learning In Current Classroom Programmesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Student Experiences of Carrying out a Practical Science Investigation Under Direction

Hume

Coll

2008

International Journal of Science Education

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“…Very little inquiry is occurring in school science classrooms (Abd-El-Khalick et al, 2004) so many students are lacking in inquiry skills such as asking questions (Hofstein, Navon, Kipnis, & Mamlok-Naaman, 2005), designing experiments (Sandoval & Reiser, 2004), collecting data, and drawing conclusions (Kanari & Millar, 2004). As a result, inquiry tasks can bewilder many students (Haigh, France, & Forret, 2005) and many teachers feel that low achieving students in particular can struggle in inquiry lessons (von Secker & Lissitz, 1999). These findings suggest that students who are unfamiliar with hands-on inquiry may operate at relatively low skills levels, so this would need to be considered in the present study.…”

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confidence: 99%

Student interest generated during an inquiry skills lesson

2008

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''Situational interest'' is a short-term form of motivation which occurs when a specific situation stimulates the focused attention of students (e.g., a spectacular science demonstration could arouse transient interest amongst nearly all the students in a class, even those who are not normally interested in science). However, there have been very few studies of situational interest and its potential to motivate students in science classrooms. The purpose of this project was to investigate situational interest and its sources. Small groups of grade 9 students participated in a science lesson which focused on inquiry skills, and data were obtained on their interest levels and sources of interest. The results indicated that interest arousal was substantial but did fluctuate throughout the lesson, according to the types of activities in which students were involved. The main source of interest was novelty, although choice, physical activity, and social involvement were also implicated. ß

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“…In carrying out such projects, students must apply their existing knowledge to identify researchable questions, design feasible investigation procedures, collect and analyze available data resources, and construct convincing conclusions. Such activities provide opportunities for students to practice the inquiry abilities defined by the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) and can serve to motivate student interest in science (Hughes, 2004;Hume & Coll, 2008), develop expertise and confidence for problem solving (Bencze & Bowen, 2009), and improve critical thinking and learning capabilities (Haigh, France, & Forret, 2005). Although science fairs have been held for many decades around the world, there are some criticisms.…”

Section: Potential Benefits Of a Science Fairmentioning

confidence: 98%

Data and Claim: The refinement of science fair work through argumentation

Chen

Lin

Hsu

et al. 2011

International Journal of Science Education, Part B

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This study adopts case studies using open-ended questionnaires, pupils' notes, teachers' journals, science fair projects, photos, videos, and other materials in order to explore the use of argumentation in promoting students' elaboration of their science projects. The participants in this study are seven sixth-grade pupils from four different classes, comprising five girls and two boys. The results reveal that the use of argumentation in the elaboration process not only helps the students to examine the validity of science projects but also guides them to reflect on the consistency of the projects' objective, experimental design, results, and conclusion. It was also found that rebuttals are not evident in scientific projects, and though the data claim that warrants are key elements of the elaboration process in a science fair, their meanings are not easily understood by primary-school students. Teachers are required to continuously explain the importance of argumentation. In addition, formulating conclusions based on empirical data is difficult for students. On the other hand, collecting and refining data as evidence to support or disprove a given temporary conclusion are less complicated tasks for the students.

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Is ‘doing science’ in New Zealand classrooms an expression of scientific inquiry?

Cited by 25 publications

References 16 publications

Student Experiences of Carrying out a Practical Science Investigation Under Direction

Student Experiences of Carrying out a Practical Science Investigation Under Direction

Student interest generated during an inquiry skills lesson

Data and Claim: The refinement of science fair work through argumentation

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