Student-Centered, Guided Inquiry Physical Science

Understanding the nature of science is a crucial concept for anyone who teaches science. At the elementary level, there is a well-documented need for stronger preparation in this area. In particular, elementary teachers tend to use very rigid models for the scientific method, more direct instruction, and “cookbook” lab experiments. This is partly because these teachers are using the methods that they saw used when they took their own science and science methods courses during their preparation programs. This study was an investigation of the effects of using a much more student-centered, guided-inquiry approach to a physical science class for future elementary teachers on student understanding of the nature of science, content knowledge in physical science, and beliefs about how science should be taught. It was found that students left the class with a much more accurate view of the nature of science, comparable overall average grades (but with some significant differences among certain grade categories), and more positive feelings about how to teach authentic science to elementary students when compared to students who took this class using a more traditional format. Details of how the course was designed and implemented, along with corresponding data and suggestions for implementation are presented.