Understanding Postsecondary Students’ Perceptions About Learning in Science From Within an Inquiry-Oriented Biology Laboratory

• In Event: Researching Self- and Coregulated Learning as Situated in Contexts: Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice

Abstract

Educators are increasingly aware of the importance of building inquiry processes into science curricula (DeBoer, 1991; Hofstein, Nahum, & Shore, 2001; Minner, Levy, & Century, 2004; Tamir, Stavy, & Ratner, 1998). However, more research is needed into how authentic inquiry might be embedded into science classrooms in ways that promote important outcomes, such as the development of scientific literacy (Chinn & Malhotra, 2002). To that end, this study investigated how first-year, post-secondary students’ engagement in an inquiry-based Biology laboratory might be associated with the quality of their learning engagement, conceptions about Biology as a field of study, and attitudes towards Science.

In this project, we applied Butler and Cartier’s situated model of self-regulation (Butler & Cartier, 2004; Cartier & Butler, 2004, see also Butler et al., 2011) to consider what would characterize positive engagement within an inquiry-oriented activity. Self-regulated learning is defined as an ensemble of thoughts and actions oriented towards understanding, orchestrating, and managing engagement in activities (Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001). Drawing on a situated model of SRL allowed us to conceptualize and study how individuals’ prior learning experiences (e.g., with science instruction) might interact with features of context (e.g., inquiry activities; pedagogical support) to shape engagement (e.g., in reading and learning from scientific literature; in designing, implementing, and revising a project design), and in that context, influence students’ emerging knowledge, beliefs and conceptions (see Butler et al., 2008).

To investigate students’ evolving perspectives in relation to their participation in inquiry learning, a multidisciplinary team was assembled from Faculties of Science and Education. The team constructed a research design comprising multiple, complementary strategies (see Butler et al., 2005). As the project unfolded across two terms, students’ participation in inquiry-oriented activities were associated with shifts in students’ perspectives, assessed through: (a) a comprehensive self-report questionnaire addressing all of the influential components in the Butler and Cartier model; (b) systematic thematic analysis of course evaluations (Merriam, 1998), and (c) in-depth, ethnographically-grounded analyses of focus group interviews (Hesse-Biber & Levy, 2004; Neuman, 1997; Ragin, 1994).

This combination of data and analytic lenses provided a rich understanding of the complexity of students’ self-regulated learning and conceptions about science in the context of an inquiry-oriented laboratory. For example, findings revealed that participation in the inquiry-based activities and attendant supports could be associated with students’ enhanced understanding about biology as a field of study (e.g., as interconnected to real-life ecological systems) and positive attitudes towards learning in biology. While some students experienced challenges with shifting from more traditional approaches to learning, as developed in prior learning environments, many reported adopting new, more analytic approaches to learning, and most reported developing skills and understanding about scientific processes. Further, compared to peers in lecture-based courses only, students also taking an inquiry-based laboratory course in term 2 appeared to be protected from disengaging from and from regressing to more surface approaches to learning. To be described clearly in the final poster, important implications for research, theory and practice are suggested by this combination of findings.

Authors

• Kathy Nomme, The University of British Columbia

• Carol Pollock, The University of British Columbia

• Joanne Nakonechny, The University of British Columbia

• Sylvie C. Cartier, University of Montreal