Donna Messina | SMEC 2010

Learning and Teaching Through Inquiry: Bringing change to the science classroom

 Increasing concern is being voiced worldwide regarding the quality of science and mathematics education.  The release of the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) results in 1999 heightened this concern and ongoing studies have helped validate the need for change in science and mathematics education.  Effective reform requires bringing inquiry teaching and learning to the forefront in K-12 schools. In order to meet this challenge successfully, substantial changes in teacher preparation and professional development, as well as teaching practice, are necessary.  Physics by Inquiry1, by Lillian C. McDermott and the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington, provides both a curriculum and an instructional approach that helps teachers develop a deep of understanding of physics and physical science topics relevant to the K-12 classroom.  These research-validated, professional development materials provide an opportunity for teachers to learn as they are expected to teach, that is, through a process of inquiry.  The results of studies conducted to assess the effects of the curriculum on changes in teachers’ content understanding, their teaching practice and their students’ achievement will be discussed.    

1 “Physics by Inquiry,”L.C. McDermott and the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington, Wiley (1996).