Open-ended investigations in high school science: teacher learning intentions, approaches and perspectives

TY - JOUR

T1 - Open-ended investigations in high school science

T2 - teacher learning intentions, approaches and perspectives

AU - Dunlop, Lynda

AU - Turkenburg, Maria Gertrudis Wilhelmina

AU - Knox, Kerry Jane

AU - Bennett, Judith Merryn

N1 - © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.

PY - 2020/6/19

Y1 - 2020/6/19

N2 - Open-ended investigative work is important for science at the high school level because it provides students with experiences approaching the authentic practice of scientists. In England context, some teachers provide opportunities for open-ended investigation, even though at post-16 (pre-university) A-Level they are no longer required to do so. This qualitative study had two aims: to identify teachers’ intended learning outcomes for open- ended investigations and to understand the different ways that teachers perceive, interpret and teach open-ended investigative projects. Questionnaires (n = 17) and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with high-school teachers (n = 12) were used. Analysis of questionnaire data suggested five ‘key ideas’ related to teachers’ intended learning outcomes for open-ended investigations: state of the field, research design, data handling, iteration, and ‘real’ science. Interviews revealed repertoires for addressing learning relating to each of these key ideas. Phenomenographic analysis of interview data suggested six qualitatively different ways of perceiving open-ended investigation, which corresponded to different emphases for student learning: the teacher-scientist, the teacher-inquirer, the instrumentalist, the independence-builder, the scaffolder and the personal developer perspectives. The findings are expected to be useful for informing teacher professional development and reflection, and for those developing curricula, teaching materials or assessments involving open-ended investigation.

AB - Open-ended investigative work is important for science at the high school level because it provides students with experiences approaching the authentic practice of scientists. In England context, some teachers provide opportunities for open-ended investigation, even though at post-16 (pre-university) A-Level they are no longer required to do so. This qualitative study had two aims: to identify teachers’ intended learning outcomes for open- ended investigations and to understand the different ways that teachers perceive, interpret and teach open-ended investigative projects. Questionnaires (n = 17) and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with high-school teachers (n = 12) were used. Analysis of questionnaire data suggested five ‘key ideas’ related to teachers’ intended learning outcomes for open-ended investigations: state of the field, research design, data handling, iteration, and ‘real’ science. Interviews revealed repertoires for addressing learning relating to each of these key ideas. Phenomenographic analysis of interview data suggested six qualitatively different ways of perceiving open-ended investigation, which corresponded to different emphases for student learning: the teacher-scientist, the teacher-inquirer, the instrumentalist, the independence-builder, the scaffolder and the personal developer perspectives. The findings are expected to be useful for informing teacher professional development and reflection, and for those developing curricula, teaching materials or assessments involving open-ended investigation.

KW - investigation

KW - inquiry

KW - open-ended

KW - teachers

U2 - 10.1080/09500693.2020.1778211

DO - 10.1080/09500693.2020.1778211

M3 - Article

VL - 42

SP - 1715

EP - 1738

JO - International Journal of Science Education

JF - International Journal of Science Education

IS - 10

ER -