Moving from Levels of Inquiry to the Flexible Phases of Inquiry Theory: A Literature Review of Inquiry-Based Teacher Education

Abstract

The purpose of our article is to examine the phases of inquiry-based learning and how to best prepare future teachers for inquiry-based teaching. While preservice teachers (PST) may leave teacher preparation with an understanding of the tenets of inquiry, their experiences in methods courses and experiences teaching in the field do not adequately prepare them to implement inquiry-based learning in classroom instruction. Part of this problem of practice relates to how the process of inquiry is ill-defined and muddy (Authors, 2020). To investigate this problem of practice, we use a literature review methodology in order to examine and compare how teacher candidates are prepared with inquiry-based methods. We used Banchi and Bell’s (2008) Levels of Inquiry as a lens for reporting on different levels of inquiry-based preparation of teacher candidates. This lens was informative, though ultimately too restricting. We found that the types and degrees of inquiry-based teacher preparation vary greatly from context to context. This variation inspired our design of the Flexible Phases of Inquiry model. The Flexible Phases of Inquiry Theory is a framework to support educators’ understanding of how the levels of inquiry are not fixed, but rather overlapping and dynamic.

Keywords

• Flexible Phases of Inquiry Theory
• inquiry-based learning
• inquiry-based teaching
• levels of inquiry
• teacher education

References

1. Anderson, R. D. (2007). Inquiry as an organizing theme for science curricula. In S. K. Abell & N. Lederman (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (pp. 807-830). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
2. Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008). The many levels of inquiry. Science and Children, 46(2), 26-29. http://www.nsta.org/publications/browse_journals.aspx?action=issue&id=10.2505/3/sc08_046_02
3. Betts, P., McLarty, M., & Dickson, K. (2017). An action research project by teacher candidates and their instructor into using math inquiry: Learning about relations between theory and practice. Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research, 19(1). https://dx.doi.org/10.4148/2470-6353.1011
4. Biggers, M., & Forbes T. C. (2012). Balancing teacher and student roles in elementary classrooms: Preservice elementary teachers‟ learning about the inquiry continuum. International Journal of Science Education, 34(14), 2205-2229.
5. Blumenreich, M. (2012). Urban teacher candidates discover inquiry-based learning while developing oral history projects. I. E. Inquiry in Education Journal, 3(1). Retrieved from: http://digitalcommons.nl.edu/ie/vol3/iss1/3
6. Cartwright, T., Smith, S., & Hallar, B. (2014). Confronting barriers to teaching elementary science: After-school science teaching experiences for preservice teachers. Teacher Education & Practice, 27(2), 464-487. http://rowman.com/Page/Journals
7. Creswell, J. (2002). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
8. Davis, E. A., & Smithey, J. (2009). Beginning teachers moving toward effective elementary science teaching. Science Education, 93(4), 745-770. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sce.20311

9. Diego-Medrano, E., Coneway, B., & Williams, J. D. (2016). Inquiry circles as a vehicle for comprehending informational texts: Preservice teachers' reactions and perceptions. Texas Journal for Literacy Education, 4(2), 57-68. http://www.texasreaders.org
10. Eckhoff, A. (2017). Partners in inquiry: A collaborative life science investigation with preservice teachers and kindergarten students. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45, 219-227. doi: 10.1007/s10643-015-0769-3.
11. Forbes, C. T. (2011). Preservice elementary teachers' adaptation of science curriculum materials for inquiry-based elementary science. Science Education, 95(5), 927-955. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sce.20444
12. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Basic Books.
13. Gunckel, K. L. (2011). Mediators of a preservice teacher's use of the inquiry-application instructional model. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 22(1), 79-100. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43156589
14. Haefner, L. A., & Zembal-Saul, C. (2004). Learning by doing? Prospective elementary teachers’ developing understandings of scientific inquiry and science teaching and learning. International Journal of Science Education, 26(13), 1653-1674.
15. Herron, M.D. (1971). The nature of scientific inquiry. School Review, 79(2): 171–212.
16. Kazempour, M., & Amirshokoohi, A. (2013). Exploring elementary preservice teachers' experiences and learning outcomes in a revised inquiry-based science lesson: An action research. Journal of Education and Learning, 2(2). doi:10.5539/jel.v2n2p144
17. Lammert, C. (2020). Becoming inquirers: A review of research on inquiry methods in literacy preservice teacher preparation. Literacy Research and Instruction, 59(3), 191-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388071.2020.1730529
18. Magee, P. A., & Flessner, R. (2012). Collaborating to improve inquiry-based teaching in elementary science and mathematics methods courses. Science Education International, 23(4), 353-365. http://icaseonline.net
19. Ni Shuilleabhain, A., & Bjuland, R. (2019). Incorporating lesson study in ITE: organisational structures to support student teacher learning. Journal of Education for Teaching, 45(4), 434-445.
20. Putman, S. M., & Rock, T. (2016). Action research: Using strategic inquiry to improve teaching and learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
21. Rosenthal, J. L. (2018). Teacher candidates in the garden. Science Activities, 55(1), 20-27. doi: 10.1080/00368121.2017.1403875
22. Wallace, C. S., & Coffey, D. J. (2019). Investigating elementary preservice teachers' designs for integrated science/literacy instruction highlighting similar cognitive processes. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 30(5), 507-527. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2019.1587569
23. Zhou, G., & Xu, J. (2017). Microteaching lesson study: An approach to prepare teacher candidates to teach science through inquiry. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology, 5(3), 235-247. doi: 10.18404/ijemst.296039