A Design-Based Approach to Professional Development: The Need to See Teachers as Learners to Achieve Excellence in Inquiry-Based Science Education

Abstract

Reform documents in science education emphasize inquiry as the primary context for learning science. At the same time it is reported that teachers face many challenges in implementing inquiry-oriented approaches and little attention has been given to how to prepare future or in-service teachers in this regard. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ developing understanding of inquiry, as they engaged in the design of software-based inquiry learning environments. Participants consisted of ten teachers enrolled in a graduate teacher preparation science course. Data collected included questionnaires about the participants’ definition of inquiry at the beginning and at the end of the course, reflective diaries, ongoing design work using a web-based platform for learning and teaching through inquiry, and individual end-of-course interviews. The data were analyzed qualitatively. Analyses showed that at the beginning of the course, the participants held normative but simplified views of inquiry while by the end of the course the participants provided more refined characterizations of inquiry as a complex process. The examination of the participants’ design process indicated that a major challenge was how to translate theory about inquiry into an interactive curriculum, taking into account the affordances of the tool used. Even though teachers’ designs indicated that not all problems were solved, the course activities helped participants begin to bridge theory and practice.