Inquiry-Based Science and Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Upper Elementary Science Education

The research question addressed in this project is: How can curriculum design in upper elementary science education enlist students in practice and demonstration of higher-order thinking skills? The purpose for this project was to explore how inquiry-based science can further develop students’ higher-order thinking skills of synthesis and evaluation. Synthesis and evaluation were chosen because they are transferable to other content areas as well as everyday life. In the literature review, many different research studies were examined in order to learn more about inquiry-based science, higher-order thinking skills, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and curriculum design. The project is a two and a half week science unit for fourth grade that is exploring inquiry-based pedagogy and higher-order thinking skills. The unit topics are erosion, renewable, and nonrenewable resources. The major learnings, new connections, limitations, future research, and benefits to the profession are discussed. The conclusion discusses the importance of inquiry-based teaching in order to foster and further develop students’ higher-order thinking skills while using the Next Generation Science Standards