Creating Inquiry-Based Science Educators

University of Michigan- Dearborn

Richard H. Moyer Ed. D. Professor of Science Education and

Natural Sciences

FASS Orlando; 4 May 2005

Science Education TeamChris Burke, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Science Education

Susan Everett Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Science Education

Gail Luera, Ph. D., Assistant Professor of Science Education

Richard Moyer, Ed.D., Professor of Science Education

John Devlin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physics

Judy Nesmith, M.S., Senior Lecturer, Biology

Paul Zitzewitz, Ph.D., Professor of Physics

Charlotte Otto, PhD., Professor of Chemistry

Julie Henderleiter, Ph. D., Assistant Professor of Chemistry,Grand Valley State UniversityFIPSE External Evaluator

Cynthia Bida, M.S. Biology Instructor, HFCC

Stewart Vining, M.S. Biology Instructor, HFCC

UM-D • One of 3 U of M campuses• About 9,000 students enrolled• About 800 students in elementary education

program• Commuter campus• Most students work 20+ hours/week

Student Demographics• 15% are of Arabic ancestry• 50% are non-traditional (>25 years old)• 4% are Hispanic• 1.5% African American• 95% of Alumni remain in Michigan• About half are transfer students, mostly from

HFCC which is next door

Context For Reform• Previous science content classes

– students take one physical science, one life science class

– traditional lecture/lab

• Guiding philosophy for new content courses is idea that “teachers teach as they were taught”

• Reforms focus on elementary (K-8) program– additional reforms being developed at secondary and

graduate level

All Elementary Education Students Take Six Science

Courses

• Since F’02 all students must take six courses (17cr.)

• Science for Elementary Teachers (3cr)

• Learning by Inquiry: Physical Science (3 cr)

• Learning by Inquiry: Earth/Space Science (3 cr)

• Learning by Inquiry: Life Science (3 cr)

• Science Methods (3 cr)

• Capstone Course (2 cr)

• Course syllabi available on SOE web site

Learning By Inquiry Courses

• These new courses reflect our commitment to model inquiry pedagogy

• Courses developed by a team of scientists (content specialists) and science educators

• Developed over a one year period meeting at least every other week

• First time courses were co-taught by science educator and scientist, thereafter by scientists

• Content guided by NSES and MCF• Courses meet for 4 hours two times a week• Class size limited to 24

All courses follow 5E Learning Cycle Pedagogy

• Engage– Focus on an explorable question

• Explore– Attempt to experimentally answer question(s)

• Explain– Based on exploration

• Extend and Apply– Relate to prior knowledge and experiences

• Evaluation

Introduction to Science Education…Science for Elementary Teachers

An introduction to the nature and processes of scienceExps 220

EXPS 220• Prerequisite course

• Focuses on Nature of Science, process skills

• Models learning/teaching by inquiry

• Content limited– density

– forms of energy

– circuits

• Students often comment, “this is so different from other science classes I have had,” “maybe I can like science”

• Course culminates with designing, carrying out and presenting a science experiment

Technology Integration• Additional focus on modeling

technology integration– use of probeware, laptops in courses

– course web page

– students develop assignments as web pages for SEP

Natural Science Sequence

Learning by

Inquiry Courses:

In Physical Science…

Exploring Powerful Ideas

NatSci 231

Learning By Inquiry: Physical Science

• Course integrates physics and chemistry• Three major concepts:

– motion, light, and matter

• Students when confronted with fact that they have to construct their own learning often start out frustrated– work through process and eventually see value of

learning by inquiry

Earth/Space Science…

Focusing on key concepts in geology and astronomy

NatSci 232

Learning By Inquiry: Earth/Space Science

• Focuses on geology and astronomy concepts that should be taught at grades K-8

• Specifically teaches concepts that research has demonstrated are often misunderstood– why we have seasons

• Campus on Rouge River so students can directly see concepts they are studying

• Visit planetarium at community college next door

And Life Science…

Building knowledge with explorable questions

NatSci 233

Learning By Inquiry: Life Science

• Course focuses on ecology and plant and animal biology – ecosystems, plant and animal systems

– structures and functions

• Students often first believe that they know these life science concepts already, only to be confronted with a different scientifically correct concept– i.e.,where do plants get their food?

Science Teaching MethodsProviding instruction and practice in developing and teaching inquiry lessons

EDD 485

• After students have been taught by inquiry method this course brings the pedagogy to the forefront through: – discussions of constructivism

– current science education reform movements

• Students peer teach inquiry lessons and then go into schools and teach lessons

• Course focuses on issues like assessment, teaching controversial issues, safety

• Time spent analyzing NSES and MCF-Science so students see big picture

• Final project is developing a science unit that teaches state science objectives using inquiry method

Capstone Course

Integrating the “big ideas” in science and field experiences

Exps 420

Capstone Course Goals

• Students will deepen their understanding of and recognize the importance of one of the “big ideas” in science (from 2061)– Energy, Scale and Structure, and Systems

• Students will conduct an action research project that will identify their own or K-8 students’ misconceptions related to a big idea

• Students will participate in building a community of learners of pre- and in-service teachers

Action Research• Action Research (AR)

– Method of developing reflective practitioners– Teachers research practical problems

• UM-D students work with classroom teachers (UM-D alumni) who have practiced AR– Students assess K-8 students’ prior

knowledge related to the term’s big idea– Teach lessons to address K-8 students’

misconceptions related to big idea– Reassess to determine current knowledge

Program Evaluation Priorities• Teaching behavior (what pedagogy is used when alumni teach

science?)– Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol– self-assessments– Lesson plans

• Science content knowledge– High school MI Educational Assessment Program (MEAP)

released items– MTTC

• Attitude toward teaching science and learning science content– Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument– self reflections

• Are faculty teaching behaviors in other courses changed to incorporate inquiry-based methods?

Teaching Behavior

• Rtop scores of small sample of students in graduate class (after inquiry courses) averaged 79/100.

• There is a significant correlation between science content knowledge and the ability to create an inquiry (5 E Learning Cycle) Lesson (r = .33, p < .001).

• Students who had not taken any of the Inquiry Courses were, as a group, not as competent writing inquiry lessons.

Science Content Knowledge

• There is a significant correlation (r = .188, p = .038) between gains in overall content knowledge and the number of inquiry courses

• There is no correlation between content knowledge and self-report of:– Minorty status– Age– Gender

Efficacy

• There is a significant correlation (r = .217, p = .024) between efficacy and the number of inquiry courses taken.

• Efficacy gain score is negative for minority students

• No significant differences in efficacy for age

• Male students were less likely to believe that their science teaching would make a difference in student understanding.

Statistically Significant Findings

• Content knowledge (MEAP and MTTC) increases

• Efficacy (Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument) increases

• Student’s confidence in teaching big ideas increases

• Students who have completed inquiry sequence are better able to write inquiry lessons

ResourcesRelated documents available on the web

• Course syllabihttp://www.soe.umd.umich.edu/soe/UMD_SOE_PR_2001/sep/pr_elemsci/index.htm

• Science Electronic Portfoliohttp://www.umd.umich.edu/sep

FIPSE grant web pagehttp://www.soe.umd.umich.edu/Scied/fipse.htm

• For updates on evaluation findings contact Gail Luera grl@umich.eduRichard Moyer rhmoyer@umich.edu