Levels of Inquiry: Revising the
“Traditional” Curriculum into an
Inquiry-Oriented Classroom Culture
Norman G. Lederman
[email protected]
What is Science?
What is Science?
“TO SCIENCE, PILOT OF INDUSTRY,
CONQUEROR OF DISEASE, MULTIPLIER
OF THE HARVEST, EXPLORER OF THE
UNIVERSE, REVEALER OF NATURE’S
LAWS, ETERNAL GUIDE TO TRUTH.”
- Inscription on the ceiling
of the Great Hall in the National
Academy of Science
What is Science?
“SCIENCE IS AN INTERNALLY
CONSISTENT SET OF LIES DESIGNED TO
EXPLAIN AWAY THE UNIVERSE.”
Arthur Boucot
(personal conversation)
What is Science?
• Body of Knowledge
(Concepts, theories, laws, etc)
• Process/Method/Practices
(Inquiry-derivation of knowledge)
• Nature of Science
(Characteristics of knowledge)
Scientific Inquiry:
How Is It Defined/Used in Curriculum
Reform?
1. Teaching approach
2. Instructional Outcome
a) Performance
(What students should be able to do)
b) Knowledge
(What students should know)
Doing Scientific Inquiry:
Systematic approaches used by scientists to
answer their questions of interest.
Scientific inquiry involves:
a) Traditional science process skills
- Observing
- Inferring
- Classifying
- Predicting
- Measuring
- Questioning
- Interpreting
- Analyzing
b) Combination of these processes with scientific
knowledge, scientific reasoning, and critical
thinking to develop scientific knowledge
Inquiry and NSES
(p.19)
Table 2-2. Content Standard for Science as Inquiry: Fundamental
Abilities Necessary to Do Scientific Inquiry
Grades K-4
n Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment.
n Plan and conduct a simple investigation.
n Employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses.
n Use data to construct a reasonable explanation.
n Communicate investigations and explanations.
Grades 5–8
n Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
n Design and conduct a scientific investigation.
n Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
n Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
n Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and
explanations.
n Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions.
n Communicate scientific procedures and explanations.
n Use mathematics in all aspects of scientific inquiry
Inquiry and NSES
(Cont’d)
Table 2-2. Content Standard for Science as Inquiry: Fundamental
Abilities Necessary to Do Scientific Inquiry
n
n
n
n
n
n
Grades 9–12
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.
Inquiry and NSES
(p.20)
Table 2-3. Content Standard for Science as Inquiry: Fundamental
Understandings About Scientific Inquiry
Grades K-4
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
Scientific investigations involve asking and answering a question and comparing
the answer with what scientists already know about the world.
Scientists use different kinds of investigations depending on the questions they are
trying to answer.
Simple instruments, such as magnifiers, thermometers, and rulers, provide more
information than scientists obtain using only their senses.
Scientists develop explanations using observations (evidence) and what they
already know about the world (scientific knowledge).
Scientists make the results of their investigations public; they describe the
investigations in ways that enable others to repeat the investigations.
Scientists review and ask questions about the results of other scientists' work.
Grades 5–8
Different kinds of questions suggest different kinds of scientific investigations.
Current scientific knowledge and understanding guide scientific investigations.
Mathematics is important in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
Technology used to gather data enhances accuracy and allows scientists to analyze
and quantify results of investigations.
Inquiry and NSES
(Cont’d)
Table 2-3. Content Standard for Science as Inquiry: Fundamental
Understandings About Scientific Inquiry
Grades 5–8
n
Scientific explanations emphasize evidence, have logically consistent
arguments, and use scientific principles, models, and theories.
n
Science advances through legitimate skepticism.
n
Scientific investigations sometimes result in new ideas and phenomena for
study, generate new methods or procedures for an investigation, or develop
new technologies to improve the collection of data.
n
n
n
n
n
n
Grades 9–12
Scientists usually inquire how physical, living, or designed systems function.
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 a possible modification; and it must be based on historical
and current scientific knowledge.
Results of scientific inquiry - new knowledge and methods- merge from
different types of investigations and public communication among scientists.
Important Knowledge About
Scientific Inquiry
•
Scientific investigations all begin with a question, but
do not necessarily test a hypothesis
•
There is no single set and sequence of steps followed
in all scientific investigations (i.e., there is no single
scientific method)
•
Inquiry procedures are guided by the question asked
•
All scientists performing the same procedures may
not get the same results
Important Knowledge About
Scientific Inquiry (Cont’d)
•
Inquiry procedures can influence the results
•
Research conclusions must be consistent with the data
collected
•
Scientific data are not the same as scientific evidence
•
Explanations are developed from a combination of
collected data and what is already known
Science and Engineering Practices (NGSS)
1. Asking questions (for science) and defining
problems (for engineering)
2. Developing and using models
3. Planning and carrying out investigations
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and
designing solutions (for engineering)
7. Engaging in arguments from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating
information
Forms of Scientific Inquiry
–
Descriptive: purpose is to describe; may derive
important variables and factors that give rise to
other types of investigations
–
Correlational: purpose is to describe relationships
among variables
–
Experimental: purpose is to derive causal
relationships among variables
Is there a single “Scientific Method”?
The Scientific Method(s)
INDUCTIVE
DEDUCTIVE
Formulate hypothesis
Formulate hypothesis
Apply for grant
Apply for grant
Perform experiment or
gather data to test
hypothesis
Perform experiment or gather
data to test hypothesis
Alter data to fit hypothesis
Publish
Revise hypothesis to fit data
Backdate revised hypothesis
Publish
Finished
Twirly
How Historians, Philosophers,
and Science Educators Have
Defined “Nature of Science”
The characteristics of scientific
knowledge that are necessarily
derived from how the knowledge
is produced.
Selection of Aspects of
Nature of Science
• Developmentally Appropriate
• Empirically Supported by Research
• Justifiably Important for ALL Science
Students
• No Contentious Claims
What Aspects of Nature of Science Can
We Reasonably Expect to Teach?
•
Tentativeness
•
Creativity
•
Observation vs. Inference
•
Subjectivity
•
Functions and Relationships of Theory
and Law
•
Socially and Culturally Embedded
•
Empirically Based
Nature of Science (NGSS)
•Scientific investigations use a variety of methods
•Scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence
•Scientific knowledge is open to revision in light of
new evidence
•Science models laws, mechanisms, and theories
explain natural phenomena
•Science is a way of knowing
•Scientific knowledge assumes an order and
consistency in natural systems
•Science is a Human Endeavor
•Science addresses questions about the natural and
material world.
Teaching Examples
For more examples, go to:
msed.iit.edu
Mystery Bones
• Paleobiologist’s
construction of
bones
• How did they
come up with
this?
Do Scientists Use Their Imaginations?
One
Paleobiologist’s
imagination
Another
Paleobiologist’s
imagination
“With their shorter-thanaverage wings, these
pterosaurs are acrobats, not
high soarers like some of their
cousins. S. crassirostris never
stray far from their home
island, and generally restrict
their territories to shallower
waters where the small fish
are.”
Daphnia Lab
Stimulant
Water
Depressant
Pendulum Activity
Research on Scientific Inquiry
and Nature of Science
A few generalizations can be justified from the
volumes of research related to teachers’ and
students’ understandings of nature of science and
scientific inquiry:
1.
K-12 students do not typically possess “adequate”
conceptions of nature of science and scientific
inquiry
2.
K-12 teachers do not typically possess “adequate”
conceptions of nature of science and scientific
inquiry
Research on Scientific Inquiry
and Nature of Science (cont’d)
4.
Conceptions of nature of science and scientific
inquiry are best learned through explicit
instructional attention as opposed to implicitly
through experiences with “doing science.”
5.
Teachers’ conceptions of nature of science and
scientific inquiry are not automatically and
necessarily translated into classroom practice
6.
Teachers’ do not regard understandings of nature
of science and scientific inquiry as an instructional
outcomes with status equal to that of “traditional”
subject matter outcomes.
Communicating Functional Understandings
of Scientific Inquiry and Nature of Science
1. Implicit Approach
a)
By ”doing science” students will come to understand the
NOS and Scientific inquiry
b)
Popular in the 60s and 70s reforms
c)
Assumptions of the implicit approach:
•
Understanding of the NOS and Scientific inquiry is an affective
outcome, similar to “attitude”
•
Learning about the NOS and Scientific inquiry is a by-product of
doing science
d)
Research does not support the effectiveness of this
approach for enhancing conceptions of NOS and Scientific
inquiry
e)
Learning outcomes are primarily skills-based
Using History of Science to Teach About
Scientific Inquiry and Nature of Science
2. Historical Approach
What Does the Research Say?
•
Historical reflection often assumes that present
beliefs have resulted from a linear and logical
progression from past beliefs
•
Students often develop the impression that past
beliefs and scientists were simply uniformed and
ignorant
Using History of Science to Teach About
Scientific Inquiry and Nature of Science
What Does the Research Say?
(Cont’d)
•
It is virtually impossible (if constructivism is
correct) for students to suspend prior beliefs (e.g.,
during a role play activity)
•
Has demonstrated only moderate success when
the focus has been on tentative, creative,
subjective aspects of NOS
•
Has not been effective with respect to
understandings of scientific inquiry
Communicating Functional Understandings
of Scientific Inquiry and Nature of Science
3. Explicit Approach
a)
Treats the understanding of NOS and Scientific inquiry as
a cognitive outcome, not a by-product
b)
The goal of improving students’ views is planned for,
taught, and assessed
c)
Instruction is geared toward various aspects of the NOS
or scientific inquiry and utilizes elements from the history
and philosophy of science
d)
Encourage reflection that connects aspects of the NOS
and scientific inquiry to the classroom activities and the
activities of scientists
e)
Research consistently supports the effectiveness of this
approach
STUDENTS
WON’T
LEARN
WHAT IS
NOT
TAUGHT
How Do You Revise
“Traditional” Curriculum into
an Inquiry-Oriented Classroom
Culture?
Continuum of Scientific Inquiry
• Level 0
Problem area, methods of solution and "correct "
interpretations are given or are immediately obvious from
either statements or questions in the students' laboratory
manual or textbook. Includes activities in which students
simply observe or "experience some unfamiliar
phenomena or learn to master a particular laboratory
technique.
Continuum of Scientific Inquiry
(Cont’d)
• Level 1
Laboratory manual proposes problems and
describes ways and means by which the
student can discover relationships he/she does
not already know from manuals and texts.
• Level 2
Problems are provided, but methods as well as
solutions are left open.
Continuum of Scientific Inquiry
(Cont’d)
• Level 3
Problems, as well as solutions and methods, are left
open. The student is confronted with the "raw"
phenomenon.
(Adapted from Schwab, 1964; Herron, 1971)
Continuum of Scientific Inquiry:
Concrete Guidelines for Assessing Levels of Inquiry
Level
Problem/Question Procedure
Solution
0
Given
Given
Given
1
Given
Given
?
2
Given
?
?
3
?
?
?
Teacher Change and Curriculum Innovation
• Teachers need to see a reason for change
– What do students not understand that we want
them to understand?
• Professional development for teachers on
both subject matter and pedagogy
– Needs to be frequent and prolonged
• Change is gradual, all is not changed
overnight
• Assessment
IF YOU WANT
STUDENTS
TO LEARN
SOMETHING
YOU NEED TO
TEACH IT
AND
ASSESS IT
VNOS – D+
Views of Nature of Science - version D+
VNOS – D+
1. What is science?
1. What makes science (or a scientific
discipline such as physics, biology, etc.)
different from other subject/disciplines
(art, history, philosophy, etc.)?
VNOS – D+
(Cont’d)
3.Scientists produce scientific knowledge. Do you think this
knowledge may change in the future? Explain your
answer and give an example.
4.(a) How do scientists know that dinosaurs really existed?
Explain your answer.
(b) How certain are scientists about the way dinosaurs
looked? Explain your answer.
VNOS – D+
(Cont’d)
4. (c) Scientists agree that about 65 millions of years ago
the dinosaurs became extinct (all died away). However,
scientists disagree about what caused this to happen.
Why do you think they disagree even though they all
have the same information?
4. (d) If a scientist wants to persuade other scientists of
their theory of dinosaur extinction, what do they have to
do to convince them? Explain your answer.
VNOS – D+
(Cont’d)
5. In order to predict the weather, weather persons
collect different types of information. Often they
produce computer models of different weather
patterns.
(a) Do you think weather persons are certain (sure)
about the computer models of the weather
patterns?
(b) Why or why not?
VNOS – D+
(Cont’d)
6. The model of the inside of the Earth shows that
the Earth is made up of layers called the crust,
upper mantle, mantle, outer core and the inner
core. Does the model of the layers of the Earth
exactly represent how the inside of the Earth
looks? Explain your answer.
VNOS – D+
(Cont’d)
Scientists try to find answers to their questions by doing
investigations / experiments. Do you think that
scientists use their imaginations and creativity when
they do these investigations / experiments?
a. If NO, explain why.
b. If YES, in what part(s) of their investigations (planning,
experimenting, making observations, analysis of data,
interpretation, reporting results, etc.) do you think they
use their imagination and creativity? Give examples if
you can.
7.
VNOS – D+
(Cont’d)
8. Is there a difference between a scientific theory
and a scientific law? Illustrate your answer with
an example.
9. After scientists have developed a scientific
theory (e.g., atomic theory, evolution theory),
does the theory ever change? Explain and give
an example.
10.Is there a relationship between science, society,
and cultural values? If so, how? If not, why
not? Explain and provide examples.
VASI
Views About Scientific Inquiry
VASI
1.
A person interested in birds looked at hundreds of
different types of birds who eat different types of food.
He noticed that birds who eat similar types of food,
tended to have similar shaped beaks. For example,
birds that eat hard shelled nuts have short, strong
beaks, and birds who eat insects have long, slim beaks.
He wondered if the shape of a bird’s beak was related
to the type of food the bird eats and he began to collect
data to answer that question. He concluded that there
is a relationship between beak shape and the type of
food birds eat.
VASI
a.
b.
c.
•
•
(Cont’d)
Do you consider this person’s investigation to be
scientific? Please explain why or why not.
Do you consider this person's investigation to be an
experiment? Please explain why or why not.
Do you think that scientific investigations can follow
more than one method?
If no, please explain why there is only one way to
conduct a scientific investigation.
If yes, please describe two investigations that follow
different methods, and explain how the methods differ
and how they can still be considered scientific.
VASI
(Cont’d)
2. Two students are asked if scientific investigations must
always begin with a scientific question. One of the
students says “yes” while the other says “no”.
Whom do you agree with and why? Give an example.
3. a)If several scientists ask the same question and follow
the same procedures to collect data, will they
necessarily come to the same conclusions? Explain why
or why not.
– b) If several scientists ask the same question and follow
different procedures to collect data, will they necessarily
come to the same conclusions? Explain why or why not.
VASI
(Cont’d)
4. Please explain if “data” and “evidence” are different from
one another. Give an example.
5.Two teams of scientists are walking to their lab one day and
they saw a car pulled over with a flat tire. They all asked,
“Are different brands of tires more likely to get a flat?”
– Team A went back to the lab and tested various tires’ performance on
three types of road surfaces.
– Team B went back to the lab and tested one tire brand on three types of
road surfaces.
• Explain why one team’s procedure is better than the other
one.
VASI
(Cont’d)
6.The data table below shows the relationship between plant growth in a
week and the number of minutes of light received each day.
Minutes of light each day
Plant growth-height (cm per week)
0
25
5
20
10
15
15
10
20
5
25
0
Given this data, explain which of the following conclusions you agree with
and why.
•Plants grow taller with more sunlight.
•Plants grow taller with less sunlight
Or
•The growth of plants is unrelated to sunlight.
•Are the data what you expected? Why or why not?
VASI
(Cont’d)
7.The fossilized bones of a dinosaur have been found by a group of
scientists. The scientists put the bones together into two different
possible arrangements.
Skeleton 1
or
Skeleton 2
a. Describe at least two reasons why you think most of the scientists agree
that the animal in skeleton 1 had the best positioning of the bones?
b. Thinking about your answer to the question above, what types of
information do scientists use to explain their conclusions?
c. When scientists do any investigation, what type of information do they
use to explain their conclusions?
Thank you!!
Kiitos!!
Norman G. Lederman
Email: [email protected]