The Effect of Guided Inquiry
Laboratory on
Conceptual Understanding
Miha Lee
California State University, Northridge
Rationale =>
Teaching for conceptual
understanding
To secure the unique role of school
instruction
To incorporate school experiments
effectively into science instruction
Importance of Study
The theory of conceptual change suggests
problems with students’ preconceptions, but
doesn’t show the way to teach for conceptual
understanding.
The theory of inquiry usually focus on
promoting the ability to solve problems not
the conceptual understanding.
This study tried to put two theories into one
practice.
RESEARCH QUESTION
How do inquiry-based laboratory
activities affect students’
conceptual understanding?
Two Research Questions
How did the students’ concept of
metal evolve through guided
inquiry-based laboratory activities?
What were the strengths and
limitations of the inquiry based
laboratory for conceptual
understanding ?
LITERATURE REVIEW
• Theory of Conceptual change
• Method of Inquiry Laboratory
Literature Review 1
Theory of Conceptual Change
The importance of prior knowledge in CC
=> Driver, Taber
The classical conceptual change theory =>
Posner & Strike, Hewson, Chin & Brewer,
Chan, Burtis & Bereiter
The new approach to conceptual change
=> diSessa
Literature Review 2
Method of Inquiry
The importance of school experiment
=> Hofstein & Lunetta
The importance of inquiry
=>
NRC 2000
Guided inquiry as integration of lab and
inquiry => Mayer, Domin
Laboratory for conceptual change =>
Minstrell, Lawson