Inquiry-based Science Education

Professor Robyn Gillies has worked extensively in both primary and secondary schools to embed STEM education initiatives into the science curriculum. This includes helping teachers to embed inquiry skills into the science curricula so they capture students’ interests, provide opportunities for them to explore possible solutions to problems, explain phenomena, elaborate on potential outcomes, and evaluate findings. Professor Gillies is a Chief Investigator on the Science of Learning Research Centre (SLRC), her recommendations on how teachers can translate research into practice have been widely profiled in the international literature and on the website of the Smithsonian Science Education Center in Washington, DC.

• Chapter 1: Inquiry-based scienceBACKGROUNDINQUIRY-BASED SCIENCEUSING INQUIRY-BASED SCIENCE TO CHALLENGE THINKINGCooperative Learning ActivitiesStrategies to help students learn to work cooperatively togetherGroup sizeGroup composition.Type of taskIndividual reflection activityGroup’s Action PlanCharacteristics of Complex TasksCHALLENGES IMPLEMENTING INQUIRY-BASED SCIENCECHAPTER SUMMARYADDITIONAL READINGSChapter 2: Visual, embodied and language representations in teaching inquiry based-science: A case studyINTRODUCTIONTYPES OF REPRESENTATIONSPurpose of the case studyMETHODContext for the studyInquiry-based science unitData collectionTeacher measuresRESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe inquiry-based science lessonsLesson 1: Engage Lesson 2: ExploreLesson 3: ExplainLesson 4: ElaborateLesson 5: EvaluateCHAPTER SUMMARYADDITIONAL READINGSChapter 3: Developing scientific literacyINTRODUCTIONBACKGROUNDSCIENTIFIC LITERACYQuestions that challenge children’s understandingsQuestion Stems and Cognitive ProcessesThe discourse of scienceEncouraging audience participationLinguistic Tools that promote student discussionAccountable TalkExploratory TalkPhilosophy for Children (P4C)CHAPTER SUMMARYADDITIONAL READINGSChapter 4: Promoting scientific discourseINTRODUCTIONDIALOGIC TEACHINGExample of Dialogic TeachingDialogic interactions in a cooperative group settingSTRATEGIES TO PROMOTE DIALOGIC INTERACTIONSDIALOGIC STRATEGIES FOR STUDENTSCritical Thinking SkillsCHAPTER SUMMARYADDITIONAL READINGSChapter 5: Structuring cooperative learning to promote social and academic learningINTRODUCTIONCOOPERATIVE LEARNINGBENEFITS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNINGAdvantages of small, cooperative group instructionTypes of cooperative learning groupsKEY ELEMENTS IN COOPERATIVE LEARNINGSkills that Facilitate Interpersonal CommunicationSTRATEGIES FOR CONSTRUCTING COOPERATION IN GROUPSSTRATEGIES FOR ASSESSING COOPERATIVE LEARNINGCHAPTER SUMMARYADDITIONAL READINGSChapter 6: The Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) Taxonomy: Assessing students’ reasoning, problem-solving and learningINTRODUCTIONTHE SOLO TAXONOMYFIVE LEVELS OF THE SOLO TAXONOMYINTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMESExamples of the increasing complexity in students’ language: Using the SOLO TaxonomyCHAPTER SUMMARYADDITIONAL READINGS