Notes on Inquiry Based Science Education

adapted from Assessment & Inquiry-Based Science Education: Issues in Policy and Practice, Wynne Harlen

Inquiry is not the only approach used in Science education. There are aspects
of learning science, such as knowledge of scientific vocabulary, conventions and use
of equipment, that are best learned through direct instruction. However, knowledge
of facts and procedures are means to the end of developing understanding through
inquiry, thus the major element in assessment should reflect the understanding,
skills and competences that are the goals of IBSE.

Scientific inquiry leads to knowledge an understanding of the natural and

made world through direct interaction with the world and through the generation
and collection of data for use as evidence in supporting explanations of phenomena
and events.

IBSE means students progressively developing scientific ideas through

learning how to investigate and build their knowledge and understanding of the
world around. They use skills employed by scientists such as raising questions,
collecting data, reasoning and reviewing evidence in the light of what is already
known, drawing conclusions and discussing results. This learning process is all
supported by an inquiry-based pedagogy, where pedagogy is taken to mean not
only the act of teaching but also its underpinning justifications.

Emphasize on:

Progressively developing key ideas underlines the importance of identifying a few

overarching ideas that help make sense of the phenomena in the world around, and
the ensuring that through science learning activities, students make progress
towards developing these ideas

Learning how tobuild their knowledge and understanding implies the active role
of the students in their learning, which is part of formative assessment (quality of
information that is gathered and provided in feedback)

Using skills employed by scientists being rigorous /excited and honest in collecting
and using sufficient and relevant data to test hypotheses or answer the questions
raised, check and repeat data collection, where possible, interpret and attempt to
explain findings (keep careful records, consult related existing work in drawing
conclusions and present work to others in writing or sharing of ideas)

Raising questions Students are engaged in answering questions of real interest to

them that have stimulated their curiosity, whatever the origin of the question.
Raising and answering questions is sometimes equated with problem-solving, where
the focus is on finding a solution that works. However, in science the single
solution is not enough. Developing theories and models in order to explain
phenomena requires that ideas are evaluated against alternative explanations and
compared with evidence. Knowing why the wrong answer is wrong can help secure
a deeper and stronger understanding of why the right answer is right.

Thus, learning science through inquiry is a complex process in which

knowledge and skills of collecting and using evidence are linked together
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interactively. The skills that are essential to the building of understanding are both
physical and mental skills, concerned with generating evidence and using evidence
to test ideas that may help to explain an event or phenomenon being studied.

Rationale:

Students cannot learn in school everything they will need to know in adult
life. What they must acquire is the prerequisites for successful learning in future life.
These prerequisites are of both a cognitive and a motivational nature. Students
must become able to organize and regulate their own learning, to learn
independently and in groups, and to overcome difficulties in the learning process.
This requires them to be aware of their own thinking processes and learning
strategies and methods.

Goals:

Inquiry is making sense of experience rather than learning by transmission

of facts.

Student Learning through inquiry Student Learning through

Transmission Methods
- Students pursue questions which - Students activities follow a
they have identified as their own sequence set out in a textbook or
even if introduced by the teacher by the teacher with little attention
- They do not know the answer to the to placing what they do in the
questions they investigate context of a question they want to
- They know enough about the topic answer
to engage with the question - They may read about how to
- They make predictions based on conduct investigations but have
their emerging ideas about the little opportunity to experience the
topic process for themselves
- They take part in planning - They may observe demonstrations
investigations to test their by the teachers but may not
predictions understand the reasons for what is
- They conduct investigations
being done
themselves - When they do undertake practice
- They use appropriate sources and
activities they follow instructions
methods of collecting data relevant
taking little part in deciding what to
to testing their predictions
do
- They draw conclusions and try to
- The experiments they observe or
explain what they find
conduct are designed to confirm a
- They compare their findings and
conclusion already known:
conclusions with what others have
experiment to show that...
found and concluded
- They do not always know why
- They keep notes and records during
certain steps in an experiment or
their work
investigation have to be carried out
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 - They engage in discussion of the - They write accounts of
methods used and the results of investigations in a structured form,
their investigations often copied from a book or dictated
by the teacher
- They record the right answer even
if they did not observe what ought
to have happened
- They work independently or in pairs
and are discouraged from
discussing their work

Key component practices of Formative Assessment:

Students being engaged in expressing and communicating their

understandings and skills through classroom dialogue, initiated by open and
person-centered questions
Students understanding the goals of their work and having a grasp of what is
good quality work
Feedback to students that provides advice on how to improve or move
forward and avoids making comparisons with other students
Students being involved in self-assessment so that they take part in
identifying what they need to do to improve or move forward
Dialogue between teacher and students that encourages reflection on their
learning
Teachers using information about on-going learning to adjust teaching so that
all students have opportunity to learn

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 The practice of formative assessment, through teachers and students collecting
data about learning takes place and feeding back information to regulate the
teaching and learning process, is clearly aligned with the goals and practice of
inquiry-based learning. It also supports student ownership of their learning through
promoting self-assessment and participation in decisions about next steps, helping
students to take some responsibility for their learning at school and beyond.

Key component practices of Summative Assessment:

Students may be involved in special tasks or tests as part of, or in addition to,
regular work
Takes place at certain times when achievement is to be reported, not a cycle
taking place as a regular part of learning
Relates to achievement of broad goals expressed in general terms rather
than the goals of particular learning activities
Involves the achievement of all students being judged against the same
criteria or mark scheme
Requires some measures to assure reliability
Provides limited opportunities for student self-assessment

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 Sources of evidence may be written answers, artifacts constructed by
students, portfolios, observation of actions, discussion or presentations of work.

Students are all judged by the same criteria, or mark schemes (rubrics),
whereas, in formative assessment criteria may be student-referenced in order to
help students recognize their progress from different starting points.

Provide a high level of support to raise the effort and test performance of low
achieving and disaffected students to a far greater degree. High support meant creating
an environment of social and educational support, working hard to increase students
sense of self-efficacy, focusing on learning related goals, making goals explicit, using
assessment to help students succeed and creating cognitive maps which made
progress evident. They also displayed a strong sense of responsibility for their students.
Low teacher support meant teachers not seeing the target grades as attainable, not
translating the need to work harder into meaningful activities, not displaying
recognition of change and motivation on the part of students, and not making personal
connections with students in relation to goals as learning.- Roderick and Engel

Planned formative assessment might have some similarity to summative

assessment by teachers. The importance of preserving the distinction lies in the role
of assessment in helping learning for if we do not consider this then all assessment
may become summative.
Assessment, pedagogy and the curriculum

Consequently, assessment tends to act as a brake on the implementation of

inquiry-based instruction. The challenge is to change assessment practices so that
they have a supporting role in teaching and learning science through inquiry rather
than a restraining one.

What we teach is influenced by how we teach, and what and how we assess
influences both how and what we teach. It is no use suggesting that the content

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 should be focused on big ideas if
the assessment requires memorizing
multiple facts or if the pedagogy does
not forge links that are necessary to
form these big ideas; it is no use
wanting pupils to develop
responsibility for their own continued
learning if teaching does not allow
time for reflection and room for
creativity. Nor can we hope for
positive attitudes towards science if
the curriculum content seems to
pupils to be remote from their
interests and experience.

When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. Tests are

often the chosen means to set targets and the high stakes leads to practices that
raise test scores without a genuine improvement in learning, thus the test ceases to
be a useful measure of learning. The same effect can be seen in assessment where
performance is judged against criteria.

For any learner there is an area just beyond current understanding (where a
person is in conscious control of ideas and knows that he or she is using them)
where more advanced ideas can be used with help. Vygotsky called this area the
zone of proximal (or potential) development. It is in essence, what we have called
the next step that the student can be expected to take identified through
formative assessment. Scaffolding is an apt term used to describe helping
students to take this next step in understanding through introducing new ideas or
better scientific practices and providing vocabulary that enables students to express
their ideas more precisely.

Recognizing that, in the company of other learners, students can exceed

what they can understand and do alone, throws into doubt what is their true level
of performances. Is it the level of independent performance or the level of
assisted performance in the social context? It has been argued that the level of
performance when responding to assistance and the new tools provided by others
gives a better assessment than administering tests of unassisted performance.

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Implications for assessment of IBSE:

Assessment consistent with the view of learning underpinning IBSE would be

based on what students can do in their interactions with others.
- When classroom or laboratory activities involve scaffolding by teachers and
interaction among students, such activities are equally opportunities for
assessing students assisted performance and add further argument for
teachers having a central role in assessment.
- Students conduct an investigation and receive comments on it which are
returned to the student. The students responses to the comments contribute
to the overall assessment.

The role of assessment in understanding major global problems:

A crucial goal is to prepare students to be informed citizens who understand

the reasons for problems created by human activity and what is required to solve
them and are motivated to participate in responsible action. There are many
aspects to consider but two important questions are:

1. What are the essential ideas or concepts that need to be understood?

2. How is understanding of these essential or core concepts to be engendered?

Learning through inquiry enables active learning through which learners make
sense of their investigations of the world around. How ideas are developed point to
the role of collaboration, discussion and dialogue with others (collective thinking).

Assessments act to optimize the challenge of students new experiences so that

they are neither too distant from their existence ideas and competences nor too

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familiar so that there is little change in what they can do or know. They need to
provide education of relevance to facing global problems.

Implementing Formative Assessment of IBSE

A. Promoting classroom dialogue

- Expect students to explain things

- Value students ideas even if these are unformed and highly conjectural
- Avoid giving an impression that only the right answer is acceptable
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 - Judge when to intervene or when its better to leave discussion among
students

B. Using questioning to generate evidence of, and to help the

development of, students ideas and competences

Questions relating to inquiry skills are worded according to relevant skills in a

particular situation and as much as possible, students should be able to give an
explanation. For example:
What do you think will make this plant grow faster? (prediction)
What do you think made a difference to how fast this plant grew?
(interpretation of data)
What do you notice about? (observation)

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 Carefully worded questions deserve thoughtful answers and students need to be
allowed time to respond to a question.
- Increase the wait time.
- Avoid rephrasing a question if it not readily answered.
- Some find it best not to allow students to raise their hands to answer these
kinds of thoughtful question, rather expect everyone to be able to answer,
given time to think. They call on students by name to contribute. This signals
that thought, not speed, is valued and encourages all students to give
attention to the question and so become engaged in listening to others.

C. Providing feedback to students

1. It should be in the form of comments with no marks, grades or scores.
2. Whether oral or written, comments on students work should identify what
has been done well, what could be improved and how to set about the
improvement.
3. Comments should help students to become aware of what they have learnt.
4. Teachers should check that students understand their comments.
5. Time should be planned for students to read, and if appropriate, respond to
comments.

D. Using feedback from students to regulate teaching

An important source of feedback to the teacher comes from students self-

assessment and peer assessment. If the students are not clear about what they
should be trying to achieve through their work, they may be using inappropriate
criteria for judging success. Teachers have to judge the value of an intervention
from the impact of their questioning and other actions. The process is cyclical and
each decision changes. Not all interventions will have the desired positive impact;
what happens in classrooms does not always goes as planned. It may be necessary
for a teacher to change plans when students are struggling rather than risk a sense
of failure. In this way the feedback enables teachers to regulate teaching to
maximize learning.

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E. Encouraging students to participate in assessing the quality of their
work

In order to assess their work, students not only need to know the purpose of
what they are doing but they need to have some notion of the standard they should
be aiming for, that is, what is good work in a particular context. Some of this is
conveyed implicitly through the feedback that teachers give to students. Below are
some ways to communicate to primary students criteria for evaluating their work.

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 In case of peer assessment, teachers may need help in recognizing the issues
of equity that are raised and in addressing the influence of social class, gender and
general ability when practicing peer assessment.

Implementing Summative Assessment of IBSE

I. Assessment of understanding and inquiry skills

Understanding exists at various levels and in different ways of explaining

phenomena but meet the expectations appropriate to their stage of learning. For
example, young students might explain the phenomenon of dissolving in terms of
what happens when some solids are added to some liquids. Older students will be
expected to explain it in terms of molecular behavior that can apply to solutions of
gases and liquids in liquids. Progressive understanding that accompanies expanded
experience can also be seen as the development of successively bigger ideas,
linking more phenomena and being more powerful in explaining things. Big ideas
are ones that can be applied in different contexts; they enable learners to make
sense of a wide range of phenomena by identifying the essential links or
meaningful patterns between different events, objects, or phenomena without
being diverted by differences in superficial features. They can be ideas of science
(such as about forces and movement) or about procedures of science (about
manipulation of variables).

Clues to assessment in science that afford inferences to be drawn about

students understanding:
- The assessment task has to involve application of knowledge, not only recall.
- This means that the task has to be novel but at the same time must not be so
far from their experience that it has no meaning for the students.
- In recognition that science is about the real world, not an imagined one, the
task must be authentic, about real things and real data.

Some points about assessment of science inquiry skills follow from this:
Students need to be involved in using the inquiry skills in order to assess
what they can do.
Since the context and subject of the situation in which the skills are to be
used affects the ability to use the skills, the task should be set in a familiar
context if possible or several contexts should be used to reduce the sampling
error.
The tasks should be authentic and engaging to the students.

The task they are undertaking may involve

- carrying out in practice a complete inquiry to address a given question or
problem providing opportunity for evidence to be collected about the use of a
range of the skills
- producing a plan on paper for a complete inquiry to address a given question
or problem
- considering a particular part of a given investigation, such as the variables
that need to be manipulated or controlled, the evidence that needs to be
collected, or the interpretation of some given data

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II. Methods of summative assessment of IBSE goals

For understanding, the task should require an explanation of an event or

interpretation of data or a prediction involving application of some concepts. For
skills, the task has to be accomplished by using one or more of the inquiry skills,
such as predicting, planning, carrying out an investigation or interpreting given
data. However, it is not possible to assess skills without involving some knowledge
of the subject matter of its use. At the same time, tasks used for assessing
understanding will require some use of skills (explaining, interpreting, predicting).
Thus there will always be some aspects of understanding and skill required in all
tasks. What determines whether a task is essentially assessing understanding or
skill will be the level of demand on one or the other, and the credit given to different
kinds of responses in scoring.
III. The potential and limitations of tests for assessing IBSE goals

A. Written items (1)There is demand for reading and understanding the

question and, depending on the answer format, for writing ability. (2) Since
there is a limit to the length of the test there is a tendency to favor including
more short items which can be spread over several contexts and more closed
items which can be answered by selection rather than giving an answer in
their own words.

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B. Performance items

Since they take time, a student can only undertake a small number of such
investigations. Thus task sampling error is large and it means that to obtain a

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 reliable score it would require a number of tasks. Describe each investigation
and the range of different ways in which students respond.
C. Alternatives to tests

Genuine inquiry takes place when students seek to answer a question that is
new to them and to which they do not already know the answer. But who to
judge what is new for a particular student?

The experiences that students need in order to develop their desired skills,
understanding and attitudes also provide opportunities for their progress to
be assessed. The key factor is judgment by the teacher.

IV. Implementing teacher-based summative assessment

Summative assessment by teachers uses agreed procedures and is subject to

quality control measures appropriate to the use of the results that is stricter control
for higher stakes use. The process requires: some evidence or data, criteria by
which to judge it and procedures for arriving at a judgment.

Evidence or data relating to science understanding and inquiry skills may come
from
Observing students involved in scientific investigation
A portfolio of work collected over a period of time including accounts,
reflections, photographs and other products of inquiry
Students notebooks and/or electronic postings
Presentations made by students individually or in groups

Criteria should be, as much as possible, detailed but generic, being applicable to a
wide range of classroom activities. Well specified help teachers make reliable
judgments. For example, the student can group materials according to their
physical properties can be applied to information from a variety of learning tasks,
while the student knows that magnets attract certain materials but not others, and
can repel each other can be applied to work relating to magnets. It is common for
criteria to be identified at different levels so that the outcome of the assessment
can be expressed in terms of the level at which a student is performing.

Procedures for making judgments may start from the criteria, then search for
evidence that meets them, or start from the evidence and then search the criteria
to see which if any best describe the work. In most cases there is a combination of
these approaches, with a to-ing and fro-ing between the data and criteria in order to
find the best fit. Rather than trying to match a particular piece of work to a
particular criterion, teachers take evidence from several relevant activities and form
an on balance judgment as to the criterion that best matches the evidence.

V. Improving the reliability of teacher-based assessment

a. Group moderation Meeting to discuss inferences that can be drawn from

observing students and studying their work provides teachers with insights
into the assessment process and improves not only their summative

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 assessment but also their formative use of assessment. Teachers review
samples of students work to verify decisions about particular students work
and to arrive at shared understanding of criteria and how they are applied.

b. Using samples Providing examples of students work and showing how

certain aspects relate to the criteria of assessment helps in conveying what
the criteria mean in practice. Good examples also indicate the opportunities
that students need in order to show their achievement of skills an
understanding. Below is an example of a students report of their group of 10-
year olds investigation on the strength of metals.

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 c. Using a test or task Short test or special task is used whenever the
teacher judges that a student can pass the test, not at a fixed time, and is
administered on an individual basis in an informal manner that prevents test
anxiety in students. The teacher compares the test results with the results of
their own classroom assessment.

VI. Examples of teacher-based assessment

A record booklet for each student, wherein teachers intend to record, at the end
of each year, whether or not the student has achieved specified skills and
knowledge, as a simple yes or no provides help to teachers with the
implementation and the assessment of inquiry skills. In addition, four sources of
assessment data are proposed to assess students: (1) the study of students
notebooks, (2) observation during class activities, (3) students written or oral
accounts of a practical investigation, including what they did and what they found,
and illustrated by diagrams; and (4) giving a standardized test.

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VII. Advantage and disadvantages of tests and teacher-based
assessment

Tests provide information about only a sample of goals but steps can be taken
to ensure optimum reliability. Striving for reliability, however, lead to the
inclusion of goals most easily tested thus tending to exclude less easily
tested goals, such as higher level skills and practices.
In teacher-based assessments, a wider range of achievement and learning
outcomes can be included but reliability may be low unless steps are taken to
ensure that comparable standards are applies. But moderation procedures
provide valuable professional development.
Tests provide teachers with clear examples of the meaning of learning goals,
but they direct teaching in specific directions which are the same for all
students. Assessment by teachers allows teachers to greater freedom to
pursue learning goals in ways that suits their students.
Tests that are provided externally to the school enable teachers to distinguish
their role as teacher that as assessor. Responsibility for assessment unites
the role of teacher and assessor and may seem to increase teachers
workload.
In some circumstances the results of tests can be used to provide feedback
that helps learning, but generally these opportunities for formative use are
limited. When teachers gather evidence from students on-going work, it can
be used formatively, to help learning, as well as for summative purposes.

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 It is well known that tests induce anxiety in many students. Not all are
affected equally and the impact is often exacerbated by frequent test-taking
practice. Assessment by teachers reduced this source of error and inequality.
Time spent by teachers in preparing students for tests can be more
effectively used for learning when assessment is on-going. Financial
resources are also released when fewer commercial tests are purchased.
Users of assessment data often have more confidence in tests than in
teachers assessment, especially for older students. Any change requires
greater openness about both test accuracy and procedures that can enhance
assessment by teachers.

Changing Assessment Practices

Rich questioning, comment-only marking, sharing criteria with learners,

student self-assessment and peer-assessment involve teachers (1) to change the
way they thought of their goal as being to help students learn, in contrast to
getting through the curriculum, (2) to change expectations of students, in that all
are able to learn given time and the right approach, and (3) to give students more
control and sharing with them responsibility for learning.

Primary Connections project in Australia promotes an inquiry approach

through a five phase lesson structure, 5Es: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and
Evaluate. The purposes of the Evaluate phase are: (1) to provide an opportunity for
students to review and reflect on their learning and new understanding and skills,
and (2) to provide evidence for changes to students understanding, beliefs and
skills. Strategies included quizzes, writing a newspaper article, creating an
imaginary animal based on criteria, drawings, diagrams, word loops, concept maps,
concept cartoons, role plays and presentations. Teachers noted that a range of
tasks, including individual questioning and novel situations was necessary to assess
students understanding, all of which make heavy demands on teachers time.

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Implications for the assessment of IBSE

Since not all science teaching will involve inquiry, there should be a variety of
assessment tasks and procedures to match the variety of different learning goals.
There is a place for direct instruction in conventions, vocabulary and basic
knowledge which can be checked by teacher-made tests or quizzes. But all
assessment must not be of the kind where answers can be recalled. Otherwise there
will be no information about the extent of students inquiry skills and scientific
understanding.

Four key elements in bringing about change in assessment practices:

1. Motivation to change
2. Goals to aim for
3. Opportunities for teachers to discuss, compare and share solutions
4. Means to evaluate changed practice

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