| Chapter 2: | Background Study |
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the endeavor to answer a question about a problem to be solved. Basic science is practiced when scientists endeavor to answer questions of a curious nature. Therefore, “science” is not always a problem to be solved.
In the book Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 2000), the types of questions driving inquiry investigations are discussed. There are questions that “lend themselves to empirical investigation, and lead to gathering and using data to develop explanations for scientific phenomena” (pp. 24–25). Questions do not always lead to formal experiments with independent and dependent variables but more informal means can be employed, such as in the observation of a habitat. Data gathering can still occur but a controlled experiment is not always necessary to answer students’ questions in an inquiry investigation.
Assessment of inquiry in the classroom can take place in a variety of ways. When measuring the “abilities of inquiry,” teachers can use informal assessments of observing and listening to students as they participating in inquiry, and can document students anecdotally. In posing a problem for students to solve, designing, modifying, and/or performing an experiment would be evidence of problem-solving (McIntosh, 1995).
Examining students’ hypotheses through a written assessment helps to pinpoint their development in understanding experiments. For instance, are too many variables included in their hypothesis? Are some parts included that are irrelevant to the question being investigated? (DeJong & Van Joolingen, 1998.)
A rich assessment asks students to explain their understanding in various ways, according to the New Standards Project (1997) and the NRC (2000). Performance assessments in the form of explaining observations, making predictions, and representing concepts in different ways, including words, graphs, diagrams or charts, are all ways in which students can communicate their