Assessing the scientific inquiry practices of teachers and investigating their relationship with student learning

© 2018 Dr. Dennis DanipogThis study explored the nature of classroom instruction of teachers in the Philippines, particularly their enactment of specific inquiry-based teaching practices as they implemented the newly designed Grade 7 chemistry curriculum, and how each specific practice related to student learning outcomes. Specifically, it examined whether teachers’ inquiry practices of engaging in questioning, designing and conducting investigations, collecting data, analyzing data, developing explanations, and communicating information were related to students’ chemistry achievement. Data were collected from chemistry tests (pretest and posttest) of 495 Grade 7 students, 57 lesson observations in 12 classes, and questionnaire responses of ten chemistry teachers. Test data were analyzed using Rasch (1960) modeling. The relationship between each practice of scientific inquiry and chemistry achievement was determined using multilevel modeling with Bayesian estimation. Observations revealed that teachers enacted the six practices of scientific inquiry in varying degrees in their classrooms. They seemed to be more comfortable to enact the practices of engaging in questioning and communicating information than the practices of designing and conducting investigations, collecting data, analyzing data, and developing explanations in chemistry teaching. Teacher-centered inquiry instruction was more evident than student-centered inquiry instruction, which suggests that inquiry in most chemistry classrooms was structured. The study found that out of six scientific inquiry practices, only engaging in questioning showed a significant positive relationship with students’ chemistry achievement. The findings have direct implications for education administrators in designing professional development programs, as well as science curriculum development, the teaching of science through inquiry, and future research