Moving the Essence of Inquiry into the Classroom: Engaging Teachers and Students in Authentic Science

Facilitating children in classrooms in developing images of science consistent with current practice, and in understanding what science is, what science is not, and the relevancy of science to society has been a long-standing goal of science education in the United States. US education reform documents in the last decade consider inquiry, combined with teaching about nature of science, a central component of science instruction at all grade levels. But, inquiry can be a confusing term. This chapter will focus on promising ways to support teachers and children in developing in-depth understandings of science, using essential features of scientific inquiry, in particular the use of evidence by scientists and making sense of observations. The construct of authenticity as an important theoretical construct will be discussed. In a process of grappling with and making sense of data and through negotiation of ideas with peers and experts in a social context, the learner gains an individual and internalized understanding of science.

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