TEACHING SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: A 40-YEAR PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE

1. TEACHING SCIENCE AS INQUIRY:A 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

2. “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

3. In.quir.y (In´ kwir´ ē) 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.

4. 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)

5. 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

6. Graduate Study Master’s Thesis (1969): Comparison of Lecture-Demonstration versus Laboratory Approach to an Undergraduate, Non- Major Earth Science Course Doctoral Thesis (1975): Implications of Abraham H. Maslow’s Philosophy and Psychology for Science Education in the United States

7. Historical Goals of Science Education • Scientific Knowledge • Scientific Methods • Social Issues • Personal Needs • Career Awareness • (DeBoer, 1991; Bybee & DeBoer, 1994)

8. 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)

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

10. 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

11. 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)

12. The Sputnik Era: Elementary Level • Science—A Process Approach • Robert Gagne • Elementary Science Study • David Hawkins—”Messing About in Science” • Science Curriculum Improvement Study • Robert Karplus, Herb Thier “Learning Cycle”

13. Post Sputnik and Pre Standards (1985-1995) Science 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

14. 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.

15. 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)

16. 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)

17. 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 inquiry—new knowledge and methods—emerge 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)

18. 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.

19. Linking Inquiry and Instruction: One Perspective

20. PISA 2006: Definition of Scientific Literacy • PISA defines scientific literacy in terms of an individual’s: • 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

21. PISA 2006 Scientific Competencies

22. PISA 2006: Knowledge About Science Categories

23. 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

24. 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)

25. Identifying Scientific Issues: Summary Descriptions of the Six Proficiency Levels

26. Explaining Phenomena Scientifically: Summary Description of the Six Proficiency Levels

27. Using Scientific Evidence: Summary Descriptions of the Six Proficiency Levels

28. SUMMARY PRIOR TO SPUTNIK: Inquiry as Experiments and Methods

29. SUMMARY THE SPUTNIK ERA: Inquiry as A Means to Scientific Knowledge

30. SUMMARY THE POST SPUTNIK ERA: Inquiry as Instructional Models to Develop Scientific Concepts

31. SUMMARY THE STANDARDS ERA: Inquiry as Content, Abilities, and Teaching Strategies

32. SUMMARY THE POST-STANDARDS ERA: Inquiry as Scientific Competencies

33. Teaching Science As Inquiry Reflections On 40 Years in Science Education

34. CONCLUSION