TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TEACHING ENVIRONMENT AS PREDICTORS OF THE USE OF INQUIRY LABORATORY ACTIVITIES BY HIGH SCHOOL BIOLOGY TEACHERS.

摘要

The study attempted to determine predictors of the use of inquiry laboratory activities by high school biology teachers. Items from the Laboratory Program Variables Inventory (LPVI) were used to measure the extent to which inquiry is incorporated into the laboratory activities of the respondents.; The subjects in this study were 398 high school biology teachers from an eleven state region of the upper midwest United States.; Each subject was mailed a 66 item survey questionnaire. Thirty-nine items asked for personal and professional information. Fifteen items elicited information about the teaching environment and the kind of biology class taught. Twelve items obtained information used to determine the extent to which the respondent used inquiry activities in the laboratory aspect of her/his biology teaching.; Null hypotheses tested were (1) There will be no relationship between teacher charateristics and the use of the research methodologies of biology (inquiry) by teachers in high school biology laboratory activities; (2) There will be no relationship between characteristics of the physical teaching environment and the use of the research methodologies of biology by teachers in high school laboratory activities; (3) There will be no relationship between biology teachers having had experience in scientific research and the use of the research methodologies of biology by teachers in high school laboratory activities; and (4) There will be no single combination of teacher characteristics and characteristics of the physical teaching environment which will best predict the use of the research methodologies of biology by teachers in high school biology laboratory activities.; Data for each hypothesis was analyzed using stepwise multiple regression. Additional analysis of hypothesis three was done by use of linear regression. Differences among kinds of biology classes was tested by a oneway analysis of variance.; Two significant predictor variables were found among the teacher characteristics. Three of the predictor variables for the characteristics of the teaching environment were identified as significant predictors. Analysis of the scientific research experience variables yielded one significant predictor. When teacher characteristics and characteristics of the teaching environment were combined for simultaneous analysis, four significant predictor variables were identified.