Abstract

In spite of the strong emphasis on teaching science as inquiry in the science education community, very little inquiry-based teaching is taking place in actual K-12 science classrooms. One of the reasons for this deficiency may be ascribed to the lack of experience that teachers have with authentic scientific inquiry in the course of their own education. This paper addresses a need for providing beginning teachers with authentic inquiry experiences as well as subsequent instruction that links their experiences to teaching situations. It is argued that teacher education programs should include these two components so that teachers may better develop the knowledge and skills necessary for teaching science as inquiry. Two areas of research literature are reviewed: scientific inquiry and the use of technology to enhance teachers ‟ understanding of scientific inquiry. Through the literature review, this paper develops a rationale for examining the effectiveness of a teacher preparation program that makes use of a programmable data-collecting device as a tool to enhance teachers‟ understanding of scientific inquiry. 3

Citations