UMGC Differences Between Nature and Nurture Discussion I need a discussion post completed by 5/30/2020 at 5:00 pm and two additional replies to original po

UMGC Differences Between Nature and Nurture Discussion I need a discussion post completed by 5/30/2020 at 5:00 pm and two additional replies to original post from my classmates. The discussion is posted in this question Student’s Name:
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Abstract
Particularly, teachers’ questions are a key ingredient to meaningful learning and
scientific inquiry. Therefore, teachers’ questions can be termed as a meaningful resource in
scientific learning and investigations. There are different capacities of teachers’ questions that
can be utilized in enhancing learning. Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to draw from
existing research on the ambitious science teaching website
(https://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/) and ascertain the types of questions and number of
occurrences of each in archived inquiry-based lessons. The focus of the paper is thus on three
key areas: (1) the types of teacher’s questions and students’ responses; (2) the benefits of
effective questioning in inquiry-based learning; (3) the six opportunities of inquiry based
learning which comprise of: (a) investigation of the problem; (b) identifying possible
solutions; (c) making observations in both the laboratory and casual settings; (d) being
inquisitive about research problems; (e) creative thinking, in addition to (f) utilizing intuition.
Introduction
Inquiry-based learning in science is fundamentally crucial, given that it involves
adopting an investigative approach and strategy for teaching and learning. Furthermore, it
entails a strategy through which students are provided an opportunity to investigate the
research problem from the lowest learning level. Particularly, the primary need for inquirybased learning in relation to the education community is to guarantee students enhanced
critical thinking skills, alongside the effective handling of learners’ needs by the instructors.
Vale (2013) states that science starts through asking questions and seeking answers to those
questions. It is particular that encouraging questioning is crucial in enhancing the true spirit
of science. Therefore, the art of asking questions constitute an essential skill in fostering
scientific investigations. Good questions are an excellent way to begin a process of inquiry.
Questioning helps in promoting independent thinking in school setting in different ways. The
internet offers archived information that can actually form the basis of research. Therefore, it
is important to integrate already existing information in fully developing answers to
important scientific questions.
Inquiry-based learning involves the adoption of stimulatory techniques by learners, as
well as between the learners and their instructors. On this basis, participants’ creativity is
enhanced, while their critical thinking skills are expanded. Instructors and students who are
able to think critically, communicate effectively and analyze issues are the principal
beneficiaries of inquiry-based learning. They transcend the concept of the knowledge
domain, also applying their abilities for communication, learning, collaboration and critical
thinking (Marshall, Smart, & Alston, 2017). Accordingly, evidence-based learning’s adoption
in the science education field assists with raising teaching activities’ effectiveness.
Consequently, the primary goal underpinning this approach’s application to science learning
should the enhancement of teaching activities’ efficacy for both the teacher and learners. The
originality derives from the teacher’s questioning strategies.
The purpose of the study is to ascertain the types of questions and number of
occurrences of each in archived inquiry-based lessons. Besides, the study will describe the six
opportunities presented by inquiry-based learning. Through this, the study will ascertain to
what extent effective questioning occurs in inquiry-based science lessons.
Research Questions:
The research questions guiding my study are:
1) What are the types of questions and number of occurrences of each in archived
inquiry-based lessons?
2) To what degree does effective questioning occur in inquiry-based science lessons?
Literature Review
Inquiry-based Learning using archived Data
According to Ucar, Trundle and Krissek (2011), the purpose of teaching strategies is
to promote a scientific understanding of natural phenomena. It is particular that instructional
strategies are likely to be efficient if they are made up of inquiry-based learning. Inquirybased learning supports the conceptual comprehension of science concepts. Students are
encouraged to actively participate in learning. This means that when students conduct
inquiry, they gain first-hand experiences in the event of data gathering and data analysis, in
authentic ways. Furthermore, using inquiry-based learning, it is evident that it makes science
more authentic. Students gain scientific understanding of targeted concepts. Inquiry-based
learning is seen as authentic as it involves students being accountable for their own learning
and collecting existing data so as to answer questions and describe different phenomena
(Ucar et al., 2011).
Moreover, Ucar et al. (2011) postulates that inquiry-based instructional activities
require students to perform data gathering and data analysis. However, collecting data in
science classrooms is definitely time consuming and expensive. Therefore, using information
available on the internet such as different data sets from global corporations, government
agencies and colleges, offers a practical solution. Inquiry activities that utilize the world wide
web help students in accessing archived data, which can be utilized for scientific
investigations. Using the internet to accessed archived data, students acquire up-to-date
information. It is also highly likely that students get motivated, which now eliminates any
possible frustration during the actual data collection. Ucar, and Trundle (2011) state that webbased, real-time data offer a promising technique to carry out scientific inquiries within
classroom environments. Inquiry-based instructional strategies can be utilized in efficiently
performing inquiry activities within science classes.
Pedaste et al. (2015) state that inquiry-based learning is gaining popularity in science
curricula. The success of inquiry-based learning is due to the recent developments in
technology that allow the inquiry process to be supported by electronic learning
environments. Therefore, inquiry-based learning is an educational strategy where students
follow procedures as well as practices that are similar to professional scientific research in
constructing knowledge.
Application of Inquiry-Based Learning
It is no doubt that over the last couple of decades, the world has witnessed
incremental growth in discussions surrounding inquiry-based learning’s application within
the field of science education, having attracted the interest of academics, government
departments and other interested parties (Puddu, 2017). Inquiry-based learning’s application
to science education is fundamentally important, given that it involves adopting an
investigative approach and strategy to teaching and learning.
Furthermore, inquiry-based learning in science assists students with creative thought
and their engagement with scientific-oriented questions in situations where they have to learn
(Suárez, Specht, Prinsen, Kalz, & Ternier, 2018). In this case, they should prioritize the
collection of data and evidence, as well as evaluation of the explanation while considering
potential alternative explanations and solutions, while learning not just to communicate but
also to justify their decision during the process.
Inquiry-based Learning and Student Engagement
Smallhorn et al. (2015) assert that inquiry-based learning combines student-centred
hands-on activities with scientific discoveries. The teacher acts as a facilitator of the learning
activity. In this case, the teacher promotes student discussion and offers guidance rather than
directing the activity. Therefore, inquiry-based learning promotes the development of
independent learners since students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own
learning.
Fitzgerald, Danaia and McKinnon (2019) state that the adoption of inquiry-based
learning in the science classroom have been a crucial part of the recommendations for
efficiency in learning. Inquiry-based learning is student-centered, with the aim of designing a
course that incorporates peer-teaching, problem and inquiry-based learning (Walker & Shore,
2015). Inquiry-based learning’s application in in science seeks the promotion of literacy and
skills development, alongside the strengthening of students’ science literacy and research
skills via inquiry lab instruction.
Furthermore, Abdi (2014) states in inquiry-based learning, students become engaged
in many of the activities as well as thinking processes that scientists utilized in gaining and
coming up with new knowledge. Teachers are supposed to utilized inquiry-oriented learning
to ensure that they engage student interest in science and offer opportunities for students to
utilize appropriate data in collecting evidence, solve problems using logic and evidence, and
emphasize on the essence of writing scientific explanations using appropriate evidence.
Methodology
Training is considered to be among the basic strategies for passing skills from
instructor to learner. However, learning in sciences necessitates more than just theoretical
components. Learners need room to ask for clarity during their experimentation with
learning concepts (Marshall, Smart, & Alston, 2017). Such a situation may only be attained
via the application of inquiry-based learning.
In inquiry-based learning, teacher’s questions have the potential to (a) drive the
process of scientific knowledge construction; (b) enhance debate as well as discussion; (c)
monitor the comprehension of students; and (d) enhance the student’s motivation by
stimulating epistemic curiosity.
How does questioning drive the process of scientific knowledge construction?
Learning can be termed as a generative process. Learners are encouraged to construct
meanings that are in line with archived ideas rather than through passive acquisition of
knowledge. When teachers ask questions, students are supposed to respond in a contextual
manner. This is a catalyst for deep thinking and reasoning.
How does questioning enhance debate?
Questions aid learners to co-construct knowledge through discussion and debate.
Questions provoke alternative view points and stimulate learners to consider the pros and
cons of the different viewpoints. In addition, questions foster critical thinking.
How does questioning support self-monitoring?
Usually, asking questions serve as a way of reflecting. Questions can be seen as
thought-starters. Students self-evaluate themselves through questions.
How does questioning enhance student motivation?
When teachers ask questions, they pique curiosity. This can arouse interest as well as
motivation in inquiry-based lessons. This is key to the learning process.
The sampling process will concentrate on science classes. To achieve this target, I
will use the website ambitiousscienceteaching.org in order to collect data from archived
videos of science classrooms. I will adopt a random sampling method for selecting learners
and instructors to participate in the research activity. I will obtain data from analyzing
records, narratives and checklists, with the teachers’ questions and students’ responses
analyzed in accordance with convergent and divergent techniques.
Setting
The ambitiousscienceteaching.org website offers a vision of ambitious science
instruction for elementary, middle school and high school classrooms. It is particular that
ambitious teaching aims to support students to deeply comprehend science ideas, get
involved in the activities of the science discipline, and solve authentic problems. The website
further features 4 core sets of teaching practices that support the learning goals.
The ambitiousscienceteaching.org website contains 5 videos each of which illustrates
different concepts.
First Video- an overview of ambitious teaching
In the first video, as narrated by Mark Windschitl and Jessica Thomson from the
University, they note that teachers work with limited resources to get their students excited
about science and help them in the comprehension of the natural phenomenon. Teachers are
thus interested in getting to know how they can get better at work. Teachers want to achieve
instructional excellence through ambitious science teaching. For instance, teachers focus on
puzzling and complex phenomena, take advantage on opportunities to make sense through
talk, making things visible, attending to who is participating with the use of scaffolding and
tools.
Different themes of learning are highlighted here. They include; (1) learning is
oriented around complex and puzzling phenomena; (2) students’ ideas and experiences are
treated as resources for learning; (3) teachers provide varied opportunities to reason through
talk; (4) thinking is made visible; (5) students construct, revise models and explanations; (6)
use specialized tools to support talk and writing; and (7) activities build towards cumulative
understandings.
Second Video- planning for student engagement
Teachers utilize planning practices to design a unit of instruction. Science is basically
relationships between a natural phenomenon and a causal relationship that aids in the
comprehension of why something in the world unfolds the way it does. This means that the
study of processes and events rather than abstract ideas intrigues students.
Third Video- eliciting student’s ideas
The main objective as a science teacher is to alter students’ thinking over time. It is thus
essential to know that students comprehend the target science ideas. Eliciting student’s ideas
helps in revealing the range of resources that students utilize to reason, how to activate prior
knowledge about a particular topic and help students in adapting to upcoming instructions
based on how students reason.
Fourth Video- Supporting on-going changes in student thinking
There are different ways of engaging students, such as, students might perform handson work with materials, utilize computer simulations, collect and analyze different data types.
Through this, students develop new ideas.
Fifth Video- pressing students for evidence-based explanations
The goals of evidence-based explanations are to; (1) engage all students in authentic
disciplinary discourse around using evidence; (2) hold students accountable for using
multiple data sources in constructing explanations; and (3) support students using evidence to
support explanatory models.
Data Collection
The purpose of the study was to ascertain the different types of questions and number
of occurrences of each in archived inquiry-based lessons.
Data Collection Tools
Therefore, the study employed a qualitative methodology. Through the observation of
records, narratives and checklists, data will be analyzed given that the objective of the study
is to establish the different types of questions and number of occurrences of each in archived
inquiry-based lessons. The website ambitiousscienceteaching.org will be used to collect data
from archived videos of science classrooms.
Participatory observation is an essential dimension for data collection. As an observer,
I was able to collect live data from real situations. Through the ambitious learning website, it
is possible to spot see what happens in classrooms based on inquiry learning through viewing
the videos. Through observations, it is possible to understand the context of classroom
activities and operate inductively. In this research, special focus has been given to teachers’
dialogue interactions throughout class sessions with an emphasis on the teacher and student
movements and the teacher’s questions.
Timeline
The first thing is to (1) have students’ resources to stimulate thinking and creativity;
(2) plan for student engagement; (3) elicit student ideas; (4) support changes in student
thinking; (5) and encourage students to focus on evidence-based explanations.
Data Analysis
Data analysis was based on the teachers’ oral questions obtained from the ambitious
learning website https://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/. Teachers asked questions in the
course of their teaching. Bloom’s categorizations of higher and lower order
thinking/questioning will be adopted as a means of carrying out data analysis. Additionally, a
convergent and divergent evaluation of questions is applied, guided by the Ambitious
Website.
Therefore, the purpose of the study was supported by the following convergent and
divergent questions;
Divergent Questions
•
What parts of the topic are addressed here?
•
What are the most important lessons learned from the topic?
•
What do you already know that might be useful here?
•
How can you simplify this problem?
•
What are some of the assumptions that we might make?
•
What are the best ideas in the curriculum?
Convergent Questions
•
What is the hypothesis of the study?
•
Are you able to provide evidence-based explanations?
Results
There is a significant relationship between the number of questions asked and student
achievement. Teachers’ questions help to stimulate thinking and creativity. Since teachers
encouraged students to focus on evidence-based explanations, the focus for students was on
facts and procedures in the science class. This was crucial in generating a productive
discussion. It is particular that the questions asked focused on comprehension, application,
and prediction.
Summary and Conclusions
This research paper has shown that teachers’ questions can help students to
experience a high level of learning, explore and scaffold ideas. This steers thinking and
advances the student’s understanding of different scientific concepts and phenomena.
Teachers need to use questions to understand students’ learning problems. Research indicates
that questioning helps in enhancing student performance on science-related tasks. Therefore,
formulating researchable questions for scientific investigations and learning new materials
supports an active-based and inquiry-based learning.
References
Abdi, A. (2014). The Effect of Inquiry-Based Learning Method on Students’ Academic
Achievement in Science Course. Universal journal of educational Research, 2(1), 3741.
Fitzgerald, M., Danaia, L., & McKinnon, D. H. (2019). Barriers inhibiting inquiry-based
science teaching and potential solutions: perceptions of positively inclined early
adopters. Research in Science Education, 49(2), 543-566.
Marshall, J. C., Smart, J. B., & Alston, D. M. (2017). Inquiry-based instruction: A possible
solution to improving student learning of both science concepts and scientific
practices. International journal of science and mathematics education, 15(5), 777796.
Pedaste, M., Mäeots, M., Siiman, L. A., De Jong, T., Van Riesen, S. A., Kamp, E. T., … &
Tsourlidaki, E. (2015). Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and the inquiry
cycle. Educational research review, 14, 47-61.
Puddu, S. (2017). Implementing Inquiry-based Learning in a Diverse Classroom:
Investigating Strategies of Scaffolding and Students’ Views of Scientific Inquiry (Vol.
247). Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH.
Smallhorn, M., Young, J., Hunter, N., & da Silva, K. B. (2015). Inquiry-based learning to
improve student engagement in a large first year topic. Student Success, 6(2), 65-72.
Suárez, Á., Specht, M., Prinsen, F., Kalz, M., & Ternier, S. (2018). A review of the types of
mobile activities in mobile inquiry-based learning. Computers & Education, 118, 3855.
Ucar, S., & Trundle, K. C. (2011). Conducting guided inquiry in science classes using
authentic, archived, web-based data. Computers & Education, 57(2), 1571-1582.
Ucar, S., Trundle, K. C., & Krissek, L…
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