TEACHING SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: A 40YEAR PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE

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TEACHING SCIENCE AS INQUIRYA 40-YEAR PERSONAL
PERSPECTIVE

• A Presentation for the 40th Anniversary of
• the Science Teaching Department at the
• Weizmann Institute of Science
• Rodger W. Bybee
• Rehovot, Israel
• 2-3 July 2008

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Teaching Science as Inquiry Teaching -To impart
knowledge or skill -To provide knowledge
of -To advocate for Science -Content
and processes As -To the same extent or degree,
equally -The consequent in correlative
construction Inquiry -A
question -To request information -To
investigate
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In.quir.y (In kwir e) n., pl.ies. 1. An outcome
of science teaching that is characterized by
knowledge and understanding of the processes and
methods of science. 2. Outcomes of science
teaching that refer to specific skills and
abilities integral to the processes and methods
of science. 3. The instructional strategies used
to achieve students knowledge and understanding
of science concepts, principles, and facts and/or
the outcomes described in the aforementioned
definitions 1 and 2.
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• Formative Experiences
• Teaching Science by Inquiry in the Secondary
  School
• Robert B. Sund
  Leslie Trowbridge (1964)
• Greeley Public Schools, 9th grade Earth
  Science (1965-1966)
• Earth Science Curriculum Project (ESCP)

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• Formative Experiences
• Laboratory School, University of Northern
  Colorado
• 9th grade Earth Science Earth Science Curriculum
  Study
• K-6 Elementary Science Science Curriculum
  Improvement Study
• Elementary Science Study
• Science-A Process Approach
• Upward Bound Students BSCS Green Version
• ESCP
• Mentally Retarded SCIS
• Preschool Deaf SCIS
• Undergraduate Pre-Service

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Graduate Study Masters Thesis (1969)
Comparison of Lecture-Demonstration versus
Laboratory Approach to an Undergraduate,
Non- Major Earth Science Course Doctoral
Thesis (1975) Implications of Abraham H.
Maslows Philosophy and Psychology for
Science Education in the United States
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• Historical Goals of Science Education
• Scientific Knowledge
• Scientific Methods
• Social Issues
• Personal Needs
• Career Awareness
• (DeBoer, 1991 Bybee DeBoer, 1994)

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• Prior to Sputnik
• The Report of the Committee of Ten (1894)
• Harvard University Descriptive List of Elementary
  Physical Experiments (1884 and
  1889)
• How We Think John Dewey (1910)
• A Program for Science Teaching 31st Yearbook,
  National Society for the Study of Education
  (1932)
• Instruction in Science Wilbur Beauchamp
  (1933)
• Science in General Education Report of the
  Committee on the Function of Science in General
  Education as Reflective Thinking in the Solution
  of Problems (1938)
• General Education in a Free Society
  (1945)
• Science Education in American Schools 46th
  Yearbook National Society for the Study of
  Education (1947)

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• The Sputnik Era Secondary Level
• BSCS Biology An Ecological Approach
• ESCP Earth Science Investigating the Earth

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• Science As Inquiry in BSCS Biology
• Narrative of Inquiry in the Textbooks
• Laboratory Exercises for Use with the Textbooks
• Laboratory Block Program
• Invitations to Inquiry

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Science As Inquiry in ESCP Earth Science In this
investigative approach, science is presented as
inquiry, as a search for new and more accurate
knowledge about the earth. The student learns
through experiences in the laboratory by using
scientific methods that have led to our present
knowledge of science, as well as to a feeling of
the incompleteness and uncertainty of this
knowledge. (Teachers Guide
for ESCP, 1967, p. 3)
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• The Sputnik Era Elementary Level
• ScienceA Process Approach
• Robert Gagne
• Elementary Science Study
• David HawkinsMessing About in Science
• Science Curriculum Improvement Study
• Robert Karplus, Herb Thier Learning Cycle

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Post Sputnik and Pre Standards (1985-1995) Scie
nce for Life and Living Integrating Science,
Technology and Health (Later BSCS Science
TRACS) 1992 Middle School Science
Technology 1994 BSCS Biology A Human
Approach 1997 Biological Perspectives 1999
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BSCS 5E INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL Engage The
instructor assesses the learners prior knowledge
and helps them become engaged in a new concept by
reading a vignette, posing questions, presenting
a discrepant event, showing a video clip, or
conducting some other short activity that
promotes curiosity and elicits prior knowledge
(Champagne, 1987). Explore Learners work in
collaborative teams to complete lab activities
that help them use prior knowledge to generate
ideas, explore questions and possibilities, and
design and conduct a preliminary inquiry (Renner,
Abraham, Bernie, 1988). Explain To explain
their understanding of the concept, learners may
make presentations, share ideas with one another,
review current scientific explanations and
compare these to their own understanding, or
listen to an explanation from the teacher that
guides the learners toward a more in-depth
understanding (Renner, Abraham, Bernie,
1988). Elaborate Learners elaborate their
understanding of the concept by conducting
additional lab activities. They may revisit an
earlier lab and build on it or conduct an
activity that requires an application of the
concept (Renner, Abraham, Bernie,
1988). Evaluate The evaluation phase helps both
learners and instructors assess how well the
learners understand the concepts and whether or
not they have met the learning outcomes (Kulm
Malcom, 1991).
From Profiles in Science A Guide to NSF-Funded
High School Instructional Materials (2001). The
SCI Center, BSCS. p. 45.
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National Science Education Standards Scientific
inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which
scientists study the natural world and propose
explanations based on the evidence derived from
their work. Inquiry also refers to the activities
of students in which they develop knowledge and
understanding of scientific ideas as well as an
understanding of how scientists study the natural
world. (NRC, 1996, p. 28)
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• Abilities of Scientific Inquiry
• Identify questions and concepts that guide
  scientific investigations
• Design and conduct scientific investigations
• Use technology and mathematics to improve
  investigations and communications
• Formulate and revise scientific explanations and
  models using logic and evidence
• Recognize and analyze alternative explanations
  and models
• Communicate and defend a scientific argument)
• (NRC, 1996)

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• Understandings about Scientific Literacy
• Scientists usually inquire about how physical,
  living, or designed systems function.
• Conceptual principles and knowledge guide
  scientific inquiries.
• Scientists conduct investigations for a wide
  variety of reasons.
• Scientists rely on technology to enhance the
  gathering and manipulation of data.
• Mathematics is essential in scientific inquiry.
• Scientific explanations must adhere to criteria
  such as a proposed explanation must be logically
  consistent it must abide by the rules of
  evidence it must be open to questions and
  possible modification and it must be based on
  historical and current scientific knowledge.
• Results of scientific inquirynew knowledge and
  methodsemerge from different types of
  investigations and public communication among
  scientists. In communicating and defending the
  results of scientific inquiry, arguments must be
  logical and demonstrate connections between
  natural phenomena, investigations, and the
  historical body of scientific knowledge. In
  addition, the methods and procedures that
  scientists used to obtain evidence must be
  clearly reported to enhance opportunities for
  further investigation.
• (NRC, 1996)

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Essential Features of Classroom Inquiry and Their
Variations
Adapted from National Research Council (2000).
Inquiry and the National Science Education
Standards A Guide for Teaching and Learning.
Washington, DC National Academies Press, p. 29.
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Linking Inquiry and Instruction One Perspective
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• PISA 2006 Definition of Scientific Literacy
• PISA defines scientific literacy in terms of an
  individuals
• Scientific knowledge and use of that knowledge to
  identify questions, to acquire new knowledge, to
  explain scientific phenomena, and to draw
  evidence-based conclusions about science-related
  issues
• Understanding of the characteristic features of
  science as a form of human knowledge and inquiry
• Awareness of how science and technology shape our
  material, intellectual, and cultural environments
• Willingness to engage with science-related
  issues, and with the ideas of science, as a
  reflective citizen

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PISA 2006 Scientific Competencies
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PISA 2006 Knowledge About Science Categories
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• PISA 2006 Attitudes Toward Scientific Inquiry
• Support for scientific inquiry
• Acknowledge the importance of considering
  different scientific perspectives and arguments
• Support the use of factual information and
  rational explanations
• Express the need for logical and careful
  processes in drawing conclusions
• Demonstrate awareness of the environmental
  consequences of individual actions

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The PISA Science Framework
Context Life situations that involve science and
technology
Requires you to
Competencies Identify scientific Issues
Explain phenomena scientifically
Use scientific evidence
How you do so is influenced by
Knowledge a) What you know About the
natural world (knowledge of science)
About science itself (knowledge about
science)
Attitudes b) How you respond to
science issues (interest, support for
scientific inquiry, responsibility)
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Identifying Scientific Issues Summary
Descriptions of the Six Proficiency Levels
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Explaining Phenomena Scientifically Summary
Description of the Six Proficiency Levels
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Using Scientific Evidence Summary Descriptions
of the Six Proficiency Levels
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SUMMARY PRIOR TO SPUTNIK Inquiry as Experiments
and Methods
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SUMMARY THE SPUTNIK ERA Inquiry as A Means to
Scientific Knowledge
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SUMMARY THE POST SPUTNIK ERA Inquiry as
Instructional Models to Develop Scientific
Concepts
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SUMMARY THE STANDARDS ERA Inquiry as Content,
Abilities, and Teaching Strategies
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SUMMARY THE POST-STANDARDS ERA Inquiry as
Scientific Competencies
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Teaching Science As Inquiry Reflections On 40
Years in Science Education
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CONCLUSION