Reintroducing “the” Scientific Method to Introduce Scientific Inquiry in Schools?

Abstract

There are some crucial critiques on scientific inquiry and “the” Scientific Method in current science education. Recent research literature is replete with arguments against inquiry’s legitimacy to be included in science classes, and it has even been abandoned from the Next Generation Science Standards. Critics of scientific inquiry in schools blame it to be a caricature of authentic inquiry suffering from five shortcomings: (1) knowledge becomes desocialized from its generative contexts, (2) scientific inquiry in schools suggests methodological monism favoring (3) a primacy of experimentation, (4) which portrays scientific inquiry as a knowledge automaton (5) raising an illusion of determination with regard to the generation of knowledge. This article argues for a reorientation of scientific inquiry in schools tentatively embracing “the” Scientific Method anew since critics appear not to sufficiently consider that scientific inquiry operates differently in schools from science. It will be shown that most critiques can be defused when untangling such an illegitimate mix-up of science proper with school science. It will be argued that current (and recent) descriptions of how science generates knowledge lack authoritative validity and should be fundamentally revisited. “The” Scientific Method will be shown to be a valid idealization that can serve as a frame of reference for introductory science classes. Still, it is understood that science education needs to extend beyond “the” Scientific Method if it is to prepare for science-related careers.

Teachers' perceptions of Brandon's Matrix as a framework for the teaching and assessment of scientific methods in school science

“…The depiction of 'the scientific method' in many textbooks has dominated imagery of science for decades (McComas, 2020, Reiff-Cox, 2020, Emden, 2021. The introduction outlines the prevailing presentation of science as having a single scientific method, which does not reflect the diversity of approaches used by scientists.…”

“…Brandon (1994) describes the nature of a practical investigation, which he identifies as an experiment and/or an observation, and by whether it involves the manipulation of variables, testing of hypotheses or simply measuring parameters. Through his two-by-two matrix, Brandon (1994) illustrates how not all investigations in science rely on hypothesis testing and not all observational work is non-manipulative (Brandon, 1994;Emden, 2021). Brandon's Matrix provides a framework to aid understanding of methods used in scientific investigations, and how the findings from a range of different methods can be used to explain different scientific concepts and phenomena.…”

Scientific inquiry, pluralism, and complementarity

“…The shifting relationship and emphasis between NOS and SI in science education reform documents shows that integrating the nature of scientific inquiry (SI) with the nature of scientific knowledge (NOS) remains a challenge for educators (Lederman, 2019;Osborne, 2014). Scientific inquiry practiced in the school setting will be quite different from scientific inquiry practiced by working researchers (Emden, 2021). Students rarely encounter the intellectual struggles characteristic of scientific work (R. A.…”

Education and New Developments 2022 – Volume I

“…But to resort to that methodology, teachers need to have to have a clear understanding of the scientific method (or preferable named as scientific inquiry). Nevertheless, some critiques have already arisen regarding the use of the scientific inquiry in schools because it has been represented as an inflexible, rigid rendering of the actual processes of the scientific method (the scientific inquiry in science proper) leading learning to desocialization of knowledge (Emden, 2021). Within this p-ISSN: 2184-044X e-ISSN: 2184-1489ISBN: 978-989-53614-3-4 © 2022 theoretical framework the purpose of this study is to diagnose geology science teachers' knowledge of the geological scientific method and how they teach it in their inquiry-based classrooms.…”