Utforskende arbeidsmåter i naturfag i grunnskolelærerutdanningen

Abstract

Inquiry-based science education (IBSE) has received increased attention in science education (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2019), and therefore, science teacher education should provide pre-service teachers (PSTs) with experiences and insights into how IBSE can be utilized with their own students. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate how IBSE is employed within science teacher education for primary and lower secondary levels (years 1-10) and to further develop the use of this approach. The dissertation seeks to answer the research question: How can PSTs in science teacher education be prepared to use IBSE to support students' learning in science? The theoretical framework of the dissertation is based on the double didactic triangle (Ellebæk et al., 2022; Nielsen, 2023) , and the concept of knowledge domains. The framework of knowledge domains encompasses the epistemic, conceptual, social, and procedural knowledge domains (Duschl, 2008; Furtak et al., 2012), as well as the pedagogical (Crawford & Capps, 2018) and affective domains (Jones & Leagon, 2014), given that the focus of the dissertation is connected to teacher education. The dissertation consists of four articles. Article 1 is a systematic literature review, examining 142 studies on the research on IBSE in PST education to investigate how and with which outcomes IBSE is used. The results indicate that the PSTs work with inquiry in the role of learner (inquiry-based learning, IBL) and in the role of teacher (inquiry-based teaching, IBT). Few studies addressed the transition between these two roles. Additionally, IBSE was primarily used within the conceptual, procedural, pedagogical, and affective knowledge domains, whereas fewer studies addressed the epistemic and social domains. The findings highlight both the benefits and challenges of incorporating IBSE in PST education. The article discusses fruitful ways of implementing IBSE in PST education and suggests areas for future research. In Article 2, the study examined how Norwegian teacher educators reflected on how IBSE is implemented in PST education. Through seven focus group interviews, it revealed that IBSE is implemented in different ways and to different extents. Teacher educators prioritized providing PSTs with a theoretical introduction to IBSE and modeling IBSE through specific examples. Less emphasis was placed on IBSE where PSTs was in the teacher role and on reflection on IBSE. Based on the findings, recommendations for how IBSE can be implemented in PST education are provided. In Article 3, the study identified which descriptions of IBSE the PSTs emphasized at the start and end of a science education course in PST education. The PSTs' perspectives were categorized within three areas: The Teacher's Role, The Students' Role, and The Objective of IBSE. In The Teacher's Role, the teacher was initially described as a facilitator of practical activities, but by the end of the course, the teacher was more frequently described as a guide in inquiry-based activities. In terms of The Students' Role, they were initially described as active participants employing a "trial and error" approach, whereas by the end of the course, students were still active but now in a researcher role. Regarding The Objective of IBSE, PSTs initially described it as the acquisition of subject knowledge, but by the end of the course, they described it as involving scientific practices and scientific thinking. The descriptions are discussed in relation to the central ideas of IBSE and the epistemic, conceptual, social, and procedural knowledge domains. In Article 4, an inquiry-based activity was developed to provide PSTs with experiences with educational models and scaffolding in IBT. The activity is based on Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI), and the PSTs investigated an unknown content in a bucket and developed and refined scientific arguments about the bucket's contents. The study also explored how the activity facilitated PSTs' scientific argumentation. The analysis of the PSTs' arguments show that they differed in whether they argued for the bucket's contents as an entity or individual items of the bucked. This affected their discussions. A holistic approach to the facilitated PSTs' scientific argumentation bucket's contents enhanced the PSTs' opportunities for systems thinking and higher-level learning. Based on the analysis, a revised teaching activity with additional scaffolding is presented. The dissertation contributes to the research field and PST education through an extensive literature review in Article 1 on the use of IBSE in PST education and through the development of a two-dimensional framework based on this review. The framework offers theoretical and methodological contributions that provide new perspectives for analysis. Additionally, the dissertation provides empirical contributions in Articles 2 and 3, which shed light on how IBSE is implemented and perceived in Norwegian PST education. Furthermore, it includes the development of an inquiry-based activity in Article 4. The dissertation can serve as a foundation for further research on how PSTs in science teacher education for primary and lower secondary levels (years 1-10) can be better equipped to use IBSE to support student learning. The findings may also influence the development of professional development courses for science teachers. Although the empirical studies are based in a Norwegian context, the dissertation contributes to the broader knowledge within the international research community regarding the implementation of IBSE in PST education across different countries. As such, the findings have the potential to impact international practices in preparing PSTs in science teacher education for primary and lower secondary levels (years 1-10) to effectively utilize IBSE in science education.