Abstract
In this paper, we characterize the inquiry practices of four elementary school teachers by means of a pedagogical framework. Our study revealed core components of inquiry found in theoretically-driven models as well as practices that were regarded as integral to the success of day-to-day science teaching in Singapore. This approach towards describing actual science inquiry practices—a surprisingly neglected area—uncovered nuances in teacher instructions that can impact inquiry-based lessons as well as contribute to a practice-oriented perspective of science teaching. In particular, we found that these teachers attached importance to (a) preparing students for investigations, both cognitively and procedurally; (b) iterating pedagogical components where helping students understand and construct concepts did not follow a planned linear path but involved continuous monitoring of learning; and (c) synthesizing concepts in a consolidation phase. Our findings underscore the dialectical relationship between practice-oriented knowledge and theoretical conceptions of teaching/learning thereby helping educators better appreciate how teachers adapt inquiry science for different contexts.
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This study was funded by a research grant (RI 6/06 SL) from the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University.
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Poon, CL., Lee, YJ., Tan, AL. et al. Knowing Inquiry as Practice and Theory: Developing a Pedagogical Framework with Elementary School Teachers. Res Sci Educ 42, 303–327 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-010-9199-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-010-9199-9