September/October 1998
Science Education Reform Dialogue
Inquiry is a "Hands-on" and "Minds-on" Experience for Both Students and Teachers:
An Interactive Q&A with Experts on Professional Development for Science Teachers Efforts at reforming science education in the 1990s are beginning to focus more and more on training teachers to teach science using an inquiry-based approach. We asked a number of experts in the field of professional development to talk about how an inquiry-based approach to science can be instituted in schools. For more information, see the full text of our article on science reform "From Sputnik to TIMSS: Reforms in Science Education Make Headway Despite Setbacks" in our September/October 1998 issue.
The panel of experts for this Q&A are:
Susan Loucks-Horsley, director of the Professional Development Project for the National Institute for Science Education (NISE)
Kathy Dunne, director of professional development at Learning Innovations - A Division of WestEd, Inc. in Stoneham, MA.
Susan Mundry, senior research associate with WestEd, Inc.
HEL: What does "inquiry-based" or "inquiry science" mean?
A: Inquiry is a process through which scientific knowledge is produced. That process is important to educators for many reasons. First, it underscores that science is not just a set of facts to be memorized, but rather a way of understanding the natural world: a way of finding out why natural phenomena occur. This implies that the processes employed to inquire into the natural world are as important as what is found out. This is why, in the National Science Education Standards published by the National Research Council in 1996, the abilities to conduct inquiry and to understand inquiry are both identified as content standards. We want students to know how to inquire -- that is, to develop hypotheses, design experiments, create scientific explanations, and respect the need for evidence -- and to understand how scientists work.
Second, inquiry is related to learning in school. Cognitive research has pointed out that learning does not occur through simple acquisition; learners have to be actively involved in exploring new ideas and constructing their own understandings in order for them to accept anything as true.
Thus, inquiry into the natural world fosters real learning through experience. But just as scientists do not simply manipulate materials, inquiry learning does not just happen through "hands-on" experiences. Scientists take what they do and what they observe and develop explanations. They synthesize and reason critically about what they think they understand. They subject it to additional tests and to review by others. So inquiry is also a "minds-on" experience that results in new knowledge based on an accumulation of evidence. Inquiry learning involves pursuing questions, gathering data, developing explanations for the data, and applying what is learned to new situations.
HEL: How do you teach "inquiry science," and just how is it different from the way we've taught science before?
A: Traditionally science has been taught as a body of knowledge, as a set of facts that one needs to learn. Science teaching looked like (and still does in many cases) teachers or textbooks telling, students asking questions to clarify what they have been told, and then "telling" it back on tests to prove they learned it. When teachers used labs, they were to confirm what students had already been told, giving students an opportunity to observe the phenomena in order to reinforce it.
Inquiry science, or learning how to do science as well as learning scientific concepts and related facts, is taught differently, if simply reversing the order of traditional teaching. If one asks questions first, whether it is the teacher or the student, then next must come some experiences that help address those questions. Why do some things float and others sink? Why does a light bulb light? These questions are followed by experimenting and posing explanations. It is then that the lecture or textbook reading comes in: these tools help explain the scientific explanation, which students are now ready to incorporate into their thinking. And they can then use that information when faced with other related questions or problems.
Several learning models exist that guide teachers to teach in this way; i.e., in ways that parallel the learning process we understand from research. One example is the "5 E" model -- Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate -- that teachers can use to create lessons and units and full courses of study. Note that "Explain" is present, countering the idea that teachers should not "tell" students anything any more. It is just not the first step.
HEL: Is inquiry science taught differently at the elementary, middle, and high school level?
A: The basic ideas of inquiry science are the same: that students should learn how to do science as well as understand fundamental scientific concepts and related facts; and that inquiring into scientific phenomena is an important way of learning. The difference, as students get older, is that developmentally they can work in the abstract more, rather than relying on concrete experiences in the Engage and Explore phases as elementary and often middle teachers must do. Once upper grade students understand deeply some of the fundamental scientific concepts, they can elaborate their understanding through more intellectual pursuits. The caution is to be sure that they do understand fundamental ideas. The Harvard-Smithsonian video series called The Private Universe points out that even many graduates of Harvard and MIT cannot explain basic scientific phenomena such as the seasons and photosynthesis.
HEL: Where can teachers go to learn about "inquiry science"?
A: Depending upon the questions teachers are most curious about, there are several very rich and thoughtful resources that provide images of classroom instruction through video and others that provide research-based descriptions and definitions of the elements of effective science teaching through inquiry.
If teachers are most interested in seeing images of effective science teaching and learning that emphasize the inquiry process, the Technology Education Resource Center (TERC) in Cambridge, MA, has produced a videotape series entitled "Sense Making in Science?" This series includes seven videotapes. Three of the tapes describe and illustrate aspects of an inquiry-based approach to professional development. The other four provide concrete classroom examples of science teaching and learning in the classroom. The episodes on the video tapes include extended 10-15 minute segments from three classrooms showing how scientific work and discussion unfold, the various roles that teachers and students take on, and other complexities of teaching and learning in action.
The North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) has also
developed a video library and facilitator guide entitled "Science Images: Visions of Effective Science Instruction." It includes eight video tapes of classroom episodes in grades 1 through 8. The video library contains a leadership team guide, a facilitator's guide, and a viewer's guide to support its use in a variety of professional development settings.
If teachers’ questions are more focused on descriptive information and definitions of what inquiry science is and how it relates to the National Science Education Standards, looking carefully at the Standards is a first step (see reference below). An addendum to the Standards that focuses on inquiry will be published this winter or spring for the very purpose of illustrating inquiry as a scientific enterprise and as a way of learning and of teaching. Several other resources may be useful. Among them are:
1) A Benchmarks for Science Literacy - Project 2061
American Association for the Advancement of Science. New York: Oxford University Press. (1993). ISBN 0-19-508986-3
2) Achieving Scientific Literacy: From Purposes to Practices by Rodger Bybee (1997). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Press. ISBN 0-435-07134-3
3) National Science Education Standards.
National Research Council. (1996). Washington, DC: National Academy Press. ISBN 0-309-05326-9
4) Elementary School Science for the '90's by Susan Loucks-Horsley et al. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (1990). Alexandria, VA
HEL: How can school districts go about doing their own training?
A: The video resources listed above are a starting point. They provide rich images of real classroom teaching that focus on effective science teaching and learning and emphasize the process of inquiry. These resources are particularly useful as tools to reflect on teachers' practice and develop knowledge around what inquiry science looks like.
If the purpose of district training is to support teachers in applying knowledge of inquiry science meaningfully in their classrooms, then it would be important to include and go beyond the professional development provided through video series like these. Video series provide a response to the question, "What does it look like?" It's quite another thing to actually do it. A strategy that research is pointing to as particularly successful is selecting a strong standards-based curriculum and providing long-term professional development to teachers to help them use it well. Because professional development is only one component of the system needed to transform science teaching and learning, having a strong set of curriculum materials combined with professional development to help teachers teach inquiry science effectively will go a long way to systemic change. This can be particularly helpful for elementary teachers who typically feel (and actually are) unprepared to teach science, and also for middle school teachers who often teach out of their certification area.
Another strategy to consider is the development of a teacher leader cadre. Teacher leaders across grade levels would be trained and coached in the design, implementation, and assessment of inquiry science in their own classrooms (and, if a curriculum were adopted, it would be an excellent vehicle to do so). First they would have opportunities to try on, revise, and reflect on their own classroom practice. The next logical step would be to support them in tackling the authentic task of designing and facilitating training for others within their district. A caution here: Because teachers are able to consistently implement inquiry science does not also mean that they are ready to design and implement professional development for others around inquiry science without initial and ongoing support and coaching. Outside facilitation and coaching for the teacher trainers are essential. However, once districts enhance the capacity of key individuals within the district and provide for regular "integrity checks" to ensure that the professional development meets the districts' criteria for success, then such a model can be sustained.
HEL: What is the best format for training teachers in this method?
A: The best way for teachers to learn about and be able to apply inquiry science is to experience and reflect on inquiry science examples in an ongoing way. This means that the design of the professional development strategies should model an inquiry approach to learning and that teachers are provided with opportunities to engage in actual classroom investigations as they deepen their own understanding about inquiry science. Such investigations could come from the new curriculum materials, should a set be adopted.
Because teachers come with different needs, it is best to provide multiple professional development strategies to support teachers in moving from an awareness and knowledge of inquiry science to the practicing of and reflecting on inquiry science. A combination of strategies such as workshops and institutes, study groups, curriculum implementation and adaptation, mentoring and coaching, action research, and immersion into science needs to be considered in providing for effective ongoing professional development.
A key resource is Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics by Susan Locks-Horsley, Peter Hewson, Nancy Love, and Kathy Stiles (Corwin Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8039-6662-8). In particular, chapter four highlights 15 professional development strategies and provides a useful way to help trainers select the strategy that is best suited to fill a particular professional development purpose. HEL: Do we need to replace our textbooks to do inquiry-based science?
A: As districts move to improve science teaching and learning, they will need to either replace or review and revise their curriculum materials. Textbooks that emphasize that children memorize facts, figures, and formulas without engaging in scientific inquiry themselves will need to be replaced with different instructional materials. Further, as we seek to teach fewer concepts in depth--as suggested by standards documents and the recent studies of international curriculum conducted by the Third International Mathematics and Science Study--texts that are "a mile wide and an inch deep" are ineffective.
Currently some teachers construct their own curriculum units, drawing upon kits and text-based materials. Others rely on a textbook to guide their science teaching. Still others, whom we consider most fortunate, have access to reform-based curriculum materials that have been recently developed to help students achieve national standards and with research-based principles of learning in mind. Whatever instructional materials the teacher uses, it is important that the materials engage students in investigations that allow them to explore science concepts in depth and over time.
Science education reformers also suggest that instructional materials follow a learning model that leads students through multiple stages. These stages lead students to 1) observe the natural world and ask questions and generate hypotheses; 2) explore ideas, look for information, design and conduct experiments, engage in debate and collect and organize data; (3) propose explanations and solutions (e.g., communicate information and ideas, construct explanations, submit to evaluation by peers) and learn what scientists have come to understand about the phenomena they are working with (i.e., this is where lectures and library research enter into the cycle of learning); (4) and, finally take action by applying knowledge and skills, sharing information and ideas and asking new questions.
Some newer textbooks that have accompanying guidelines for investigations may meet this purpose. However, many do not. Even texts that claim to be revised for alignment with the national standards may have simply organized their chapters and discussion questions around the standards, not introduced investigation-rich learning, nor selected a limited number of concepts on which to focus. The National Science Education Standards present a vision of what science teaching and learning should be in grades K-12. Most states have developed curriculum guides or frameworks to help teachers and administrators make choices about instructional materials. Teachers and administrators should review their texts with these documents in mind and make a decision about what instructional materials to use. As they do, they should make every effort to develop a shared view of the science program from grades K-12 and engage teachers in selecting instructional materials that match the science program. Unless the district or school is prepared to invest significant time and resources, it is unwise to engage teachers in developing their own curriculum materials. Further, it is risky to piece together curriculum materials from various places
-- one unit from one curriculum developer and one from another--unless there is careful attention to ensuring that the pieces form a coherent whole and develop deep conceptual understanding in students.
HEL: What about assessments? How do you "grade" students in "inquiry science"?
A: Assessment of student learning is critical and should be conducted continuously by the teacher and the students. Ongoing assessment in the classroom guides instruction and improves teaching and also documents students' progress throughout the year. In addition, some external assessments such as standardized tests and performance assessments given by the district or state or for college entrance provide general achievement information about large groups of students, often in relation to each other.
Inquiry science like other areas in the curriculum has a set of skills and knowledge associated with it. Like other content areas, teachers observe and record the extent to which students develop this knowledge and skills. However, in order to observe students and probe deeply into their ideas, teachers need to use new methods of assessment that go beyond the Friday pop quiz or the multiple choice exam. Many teachers are beginning the year by gathering baseline information about what children's ideas about science concepts are and tracking how these ideas change and develop over
the year. The children's grades often summarize the growth (or lack of growth) the teacher has observed. Assessment is also accomplished when students write and/or make presentations about their scientific ideas as they engage in the inquiry process. Journals are often used for this purpose, and teachers examine journals for the presence of more complex ideas over time. Rubrics are often constructed and used to measure or grade students on the extent to which they show understanding of expected content in their writing or presentations. Many of the reformed curriculum materials provide guidelines for these types of assessments.
In addition, some teachers are learning to document student performance every day by having students keep records, and by tape- and video-recording students working in groups. The Continuous Assessment in Science Project in Burlington, VT helps teachers to develop the skills they need to understand children's ideas and how they change over time and to record their growth.
According to the National Center for Improving Science Education (1991) and the National Science Education Standards, several features should characterize teacher assessment in the classroom. These are that teachers should draw their information on a student from a variety of places. They may use some traditional tests, but the assessment should be balanced by other data sources. In addition, self-evaluation by students should be built into most assessment activity. These should give students the opportunity to assess what they know and what they still need to learn.
Further, they suggest that classroom instruction and most assessment should be intertwined and indistinguishable from one another. Assessment should become part of the normal course of activity in the classroom, with students and teachers assessing understanding and helping students move to the next level. To achieve this, teachers need to develop better skills and techniques for student observation; identify what in the curriculum is valued and, therefore, should be assessed; and design authentic instructional tasks and accompanying rubrics that provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
Kathy Dunne is Director of Professional Development at Learning Innovations - A Division of WestEd in Stoneham, MA. She directs the professional development services provided by Learning Innovations to schools, districts, and state departments of education. She works with the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education of the National Research Council to provide professional development for 70 state science and mathematics supervisors from 46 states. She is currently coordinating the development of a professional development guidebook for WGBH's Investigating Science Classrooms Project. Kathy provides consultation, training, and facilitation to school districts, state departments of education, and institutions of higher education in the areas of professional development planning and design, cognitive coaching, mentoring for new teachers, and effective communication and presentation strategies.
Susan Loucks-Horsley is Director of the Professional Development Project for the National Institute for Science Education (NISE), Director of Professional Development and Outreach at the National Research Council’s Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education (CSMEE), and Program Director for Science and Mathematics at WestEd. Her Professional Development Project of the NISE is centered on the recently published book, Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and
Mathematics (Corwin, 1998). Her work at CSMEE includes promoting, supporting, and monitoring the progress of standards-based education, especially the National Science Education Standards. At WestEd, she directs the National Academy for Science Education Leadership, an initiative that supports cohorts of new leaders of science education reform through two years of skill building, networking, and mentorship.
Susan Mundry is a Senior Research Associate with WestEd, Inc. Her responsibilities include designing and conducting field research for the national evaluation of the Eisenhower Professional Development Program; coordinating research activities for the National Institute for Science Education's professional development initiative (in partnership with the University of Wisconsin, Madison) and designing a Leadership Academy for science and mathematics educators funded by the National Science Foundation. Prior to joining WestEd, Ms. Mundry was Associate Director of The NETWORK, Inc. where she managed and contributed to dozens of educational research and technical assistance projects over fifteen years
We would like to hear from you. Do you have any questions to ask or comments to add about science reform? Please send email to: hepg@harvard.edu. We will post questions periodically and keep an archive of them for your review.
|
