Learning to Teach Inquiry - A Course in Inquiry-Based Science for Future Primary School Teachers

Oct 15, 2026

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The document describes the development of an inquiry-based science course designed for students training to become primary school teachers. It focuses on enabling teacher trainees to carry out inquiry-based science activities themselves, since personal participation is presented as the most effective way to learn to teach through inquiry. The course structure combines varied activities with hands-on practice in science process skills and supports understanding of how scientific investigations are conducted, with an adaptable design for multiple disciplines.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Fishy beginnings

What is inquiry-based science?

Designing a simple experimental lesson

Course structure overview

Learning to Teach Inquiry: A Course in Inquiry-Based Science for Future Primary School Teachers Angelika Kremer, Mark Walker, Kirsten Schlüter Biology Didactics Group, Department of Chemistry and Biology, The University of Siegen, Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 2, 57068 Siegen Email: [sekretariat@biologie.uni-siegen.de](sekretariat@biologie.uni-siegen.de) Abstract: We developed a course in inquiry-based science for students training to become primary school teachers. The emphasis of the course was teaching students to do inquiry-based science activities themselves, as this is the best way of learning how to teach using inquiry-based methods. Keywords: Inquiry-based science, teacher education, college science, biology, open learning. Introduction Documents such as the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993) emphasize the importance of teaching science through inquiry. Despite these recommendations inquiry-based science is not widely used as a method for the teaching of science in schools. One of the possible reasons for this are the teachers responsible for its use in the classroom (Keys & Bryan,2001) . Teachers may have little experience of conducting inquiry-based investigations themselves and therefore have little understanding about what inquiry involves and how it can be taught. We decided to tackle this problem by developing a course in inquiry-based science for students training to become primary school teachers. The emphasis of the course is in increasing student’sown personal experience of inquiry-based science. The course contains a number of varied and interesting inquiry-based activities in which students are expected to participate and complete (TABLE 1) . We feel that these activities more effectively teach students about inquiry than traditional lecturing. While completing these inquiry-based activities students gained practice in using science process skills, and gained an understanding of how scientific investigations are conducted. The unique structure of the course means it could easily be adapted to teach scientific investigation skills to students from a variety of scientific disciplines and not only those planning a teaching career. TABLE 1. Summary of course structure. | Session | Activity | | --- | --- | | 1 | Fish Behavior * | | 2 | Lectured Lesson: Inquiry-based design | | 3 | Designing an inquiry-based lesson; presentation of group ideas. How big is a water drop? * | | 4 | Snail racing *
Egg Drop Challenge * | | 5 | Lectured lesson: Open Learning | | 6 | How does a candle burn? * | TABLE 1. cont.'d. | 7 + 8 | Designing and planning of an inquiry-based science lesson. | | --- | --- | | 9 | Teaching of designed lessons to groups of 3 to 5 schoolchildren. | | 10 | Evaluation of taught lessons and course summary
. | *Inquiry-based activity. Fishy beginnings The course begins with a simple observation experiment. In groups of three, students were asked to observe a fish tank which contained either a Dwarf Shell Dweller Cichlid (Lamprologus ocellatus) or a Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens) and to investigate how each behaved. Students could use a variety of materials, including shells and brightly colored paper, but were not told what to do with these materials or what they should try to find out. The aim of this activity is to introduce students to more open methods of learning. Most students beginning the course are used to doing very structured experiments during science lessons, and expect to receive a list of instructions and be told what results they should expect to find. Many of the students given this activity are at first perplexed. ‘What do we have to do?’ ‘What are we supposed to find?’ were common questions. However, after some time some students started to experiment without being directed. Some placed shells in the fish tanks and observed how the fish swam into them for protection. Others

FAQs

What is the main goal of the inquiry-based science course?

The course is designed to train future primary school teachers to teach science through inquiry by letting them conduct inquiry-based science activities themselves.

How does the course structure support learning about inquiry?

It uses varied inquiry-based activities and includes discussion about what students choose to study, do, and interpret, which is contrasted with traditional lecturing.

What theoretical content is covered in the second session?

The second session provides a lecture on the theoretical background of inquiry-based science, including its characteristics and different types (open, guided, structured).

What task do students complete to demonstrate understanding of inquiry-based teaching?

Students design a simple inquiry-based experimental lesson for homework, and then groups present their lesson ideas after preparation time.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Blitz