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Setting theoretical and empirical foundations for assessing scientific inquiry and discovery in educational programs
Author(s) -
Zachos Paul,
Hick Thomas L.,
Doane William E.J.,
Sargent Cynthia
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/1098-2736(200011)37:9<938::aid-tea5>3.0.co;2-s
Subject(s) - scientific discovery , competence (human resources) , scientific reasoning , logical reasoning , mathematics education , psychology , scientific misconceptions , discovery learning , science education , epistemology , engineering ethics , management science , cognitive science , social psychology , engineering , philosophy
This study was designed to develop measures of student competence in conducting scientific inquiry. Two assessment techniques were developed. The first measures Scientific Inquiry Capabilities , variables which are indicators of diverse aspects of competence in conducting scientific inquiry. The second measures Scientific Discovery , an indicator of success in attaining scientific concepts as a result of direct investigations into natural phenomena. Thirty‐two high school students were presented with tasks requiring the building and testing of logical–mathematical models of natural phenomena. The relationship between each Scientific Inquiry Capability and success in making discoveries was tested. Several Inquiry Capabilities were identified as strongly correlated with success in Discovery, notably: Proportional Reasoning, the Coordination of Theory with Evidence, and the Disposition to Search for Necessary Underlying Principles. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 938–962, 2000