inquiry understandings and their abilities to teach using inquiry pedagogy. The study focuses upon these questions: How do preservice science teachers’ understandings about inquiry change over time? How do preservice science teachers’ abilities to implement inquiry pedagogy change over time? Implications arise when mentor teachers become involved during student teaching, influencing students teachers’ perceptions about inquiry teaching and learning. Specific roadblocks to inquiry teaching are identified through interviews with the preservice teachers that point to some of the difficulties also faced by teachers in the field. Multiple science teaching methods courses demonstrate continued growth in preservice teachers’ understandings and abilities to teach using inquiry pedagogy.
Existing Literature
This research presents a multifaceted investigation of the links between science teaching methods courses, field experiences, and preservice teachers’ individual conceptualization and actualization of inquiry teaching methods in the secondary science classroom. Theory regarding scientific inquiry is presented with exploration into the practice of teaching using inquiry pedagogy.
Inquiry in the context of this study includes “scientific inquiry” as part of the enterprise of science and “inquiry pedagogy” practiced in the science classroom. Inquiry pedagogy includes investigations into authentic questions generated by student experiences. Generally, student inquiry in the science classroom is represented along a continuum from very little student-centered participation in “structured” inquiry, to a moderate to large portion of student-centered work in guided-inquiry, and finally a totally student-driven form of inquiry called “open” inquiry.
The National Science Education Standards (NSES) (National Research Council [NRC], 1996) document stressed the need for