No silver bullet for inquiry: Making sense of teacher change following an inquiry‐based research experience for teachers

Abstract

Inquiry is seen as central to the reform of science teaching and learning, but few teachers have experience with scientific inquiry and thus possess very naïve conceptions of it. One promising form of professional development, research experiences for teachers (RETs), allows teachers to experience scientific inquiry in the hopes that these experiences will then translate to inquiry in the classroom. As intuitively pleasing as these programs are, scant evidence documents their effectiveness. For this study, four secondary science NO SILVER BULLET FOR INQUIRY 323teachers were followed back to their classrooms following a 6-week, marine ecology RET. The research employed qualitative and quantitative data collection to answer these questions: What were the teachers' initial conceptions and enactment of classroom inquiry, and how did they change after the RET?; How did changes in the nature and use of questions highlight changes in inquiry enactment?; and How were the teachers' changes linked to the RET and are there changes that cannot be explained by the RET experience? Teachers who entered the program with more sophisticated, theory-based understanding of teaching and learning were more apt to understand inquiry as a model and to use classroom-based inquiry throughout their teaching following the program. Implications for professional development are discussed.

At the Elbows of Scientists: Shaping Science Teachers’ Conceptions and Enactment of Inquiry-Based Instruction

“…Teaching science as inquiry is a rather complex task that challenges the majority of teachers, who will require considerable PD and support (Crawford 2012;Luft 2001). Researchers agree that engaging science teachers in authentic PD activities will improve confidence and expertise in the enactment of IBI (Blanchard et al 2009;Dresner and Worley 2006;Rahm et al 2003;Windschitl 2003).…”

“…Collaborative partnerships involving scientists and science teachers, such as Research Experiences for Teachers (RETs), have potential to promote an instructional model that parallels the way scientists solve problems in the real world (Jarrett and Burnley 2003;Morrison and Estes, 2007). Additionally, these experiences provide science teachers with opportunities to integrate their research experiences into classroom activities (Blanchard et al 2009;Dresner and Worley 2006). In addition, opportunities for reflecting on their inquiry experiences allow science teachers to critically examine their classroom practices in light of new experiences and knowledge (Capps and Crawford 2013;Tseng et al 2013).…”

The Influence of RET’s on Elementary and Secondary Grade Teachers’ Views of Scientific Inquiry

“…The traditional format is for the RET to place teachers in the research lab of a practicing scientist (Schwartz, Westerlund, Garcia, & Taylor, 2010). Another, less common format for an RET experience combines science content experience with immersion in a model of inquiry-based science teaching (Blanchard et al, 2009). The difference between the two models concerns the relative weight each places on engaging in scientific research versus an emphasis on understanding the role of scientific inquiry in meaningful science teaching.…”

Science education reform in Confucian learning cultures: teachers’ perspectives on policy and practice in Taiwan

“…According to the Ministry of Education policy documents, instructional and evaluation strategies should be shifted to enable students to participate actively in knowledge construction in order to develop essential scientific literacy competencies, such as analytical reasoning, critical thinking, conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills (Ministry of Education 2003). This shift requires teachers to adopt a variety of new instructional strategies to meet individual students' needs (Blanchard, Southerland and Granger 2009).…”