Proposing Questions for Scientific Inquiry and the Selection of Science Content in Initial Elementary Education Teacher
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Proposing Questions for Scientific Inquiry and the Selection of Science Content in Initial Elementary Education Teacher Training Marta Cruz-Guzmán 1 & Antonio García-Carmona 1
& Ana M. Criado
1
# Springer Nature B.V. 2018
Abstract This article presents a qualitative study of the type and quality of questions formulated by prospective elementary teachers (PETs) when designing scientific inquiry activities, depending on the school science content selected. The data were acquired during teacher training instruction on these aspects with 67 participant PETs. The results showed that the PETs in general posit questions that are interesting, but not always conducive to starting some scientific inquiry in class. Within the set of high-order questions for inquiry (relating variables), it was found that those oriented to making predictions presented the most difficulties. The content the PETs selected to formulate questions covered a wide variety of topics or phenomena related to physics, chemistry, biology, and astronomy. The highest quality questions proposed in greater numbers were proposed in order to study Changes of State and Plants. Likewise, all the questions formulated about phenomena related to Flotation, Magnetism, and Gravity were of high order, while the poorest quality questions (not scientifically researchable) were related to the study of Machines. It was also found that the PETs frequently identified the variable with the object rather than with a property or magnitude. To conclude, some suggestions are made to improve teacher training with regard to inquiry-based science teaching and learning. Keywords Asking questions . Elementary education . Experimental activity . Initial teacher training . Scientific inquiry . Science content
* Antonio García-Carmona [email protected] Marta Cruz-Guzmán [email protected] Ana M. Criado [email protected]
1
Departamento de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales y Sociales, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad de Sevilla, Calle Pirotecnia S/N, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
Res Sci Educ
Introduction Learning science through inquiry is one of the most widely accepted approaches in the international science education community (Harlen 2013; Next Generation Science Standards [NGSS] 2013; Rocard et al. 2007), especially learning science through doing science (Hodson 2014). One way to implement this approach in class is by designing suitable experimental activities (AEx) which encourage pupils to observe, research, and construct knowledge about the natural world through direct interaction with the phenomena (Criado and García-Carmona 2011; García-Carmona et al. 2018; Science Community Representing Education [SCORE] 2013). From an early age, children can participate in scientific inquiry processes adapted to their skills (Cruz-Guzmán et al. 2017a; Cutler et al. 2012; Duschl et al. 2006; Eshach and Fried 2005; Kohlhauf et al. 2011; Nayfeld et al. 2011). In Spain, for example, the official elementary education curriculum (Boletín Oficial del Estado [BOE] 2008) states t
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