The Scientific Method and Scientific Inquiry: Tensions in Teaching and Learning

摘要

Typically, the scientific method in science classrooms takes the form ofdiscrete, ordered steps meant to guide students' inquiry. In this paper, we examine howfocusing on the scientific method as discrete steps affects students' inquiry and teachers'perceptions thereof. To do so, we study a ninth-grade environmental science class in whichstudents first reviewed a typical version of the scientific method, then brainstormed aboutwhich sites on school grounds could be good earthworm habitats and how to test their ideas.Our discourse analysis explores the dynamics between the "steps" of the scientific methodand students' engagement in more authentic scientific inquiry. We argue that focusing onthe scientific method as discrete steps can distract students from their ongoing, productive inquiry and can also draw teachers' attention away from students' productive inquiry.