How the Scope of Inquiry Shapes Student Learning Autonomy in Year 4 Science

This article presents a case study of the relationship between the scope of inquiry that classroom teachers provided to Year 4 students during inquiry-based science lessons and the learning autonomy evidenced by those students. This study investigated the practices of two primary school classroom teachers engaging in similar teaching contexts and curriculum imperatives, but each teacher provided a different scope of inquiry to students during their learning. The findings indicate a complex, non-linear relationship between the scope of inquiry provided by teachers and the student learning autonomy demonstrated. Predictably, students who experienced a narrow scope of inquiry, as provided by teachers, demonstrated a low level of learning autonomy. However, this study found that when students experienced inquiry with a broad scope provided by the teacher, they demonstrated a large range of learning autonomy, not only high levels of learning autonomy but also low levels. Moreover, when students experienced inquiry with a broad scope provided by the teacher, they manifested more diverse emotions, ranging from frustration to enjoyment, when compared with times that they experienced a narrow scope of inquiry. The findings demonstrated that students could remain on task in a broad scope of inquiry environment, but found that the minimal guidance provided was challenging. The results of the current study underscore the importance of a balance between a broader scope and a narrower scope of inquiry to optimise student learning. The non-linear relationship between the scope provided and the student level of learning autonomy experienced has ramifications for unresolved conflicts about closed vs open inquiry and for quantitative research on this complex construct.