Does Inquiry-Based Teaching Differently Influence Science Achievements of African, Hispanic, and Caucasian American Students? Findings Based on Data From TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) 2007

• In Event: Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: Do Various Teaching Approaches and Students’ Self-Concepts Affect Achievement Across Racial Groups and Subjects Differently? Findings Using the Data From Large-Scale International Studies

Abstract

Caucasian American students outperformed African and Hispanic American students in learning science continuously (Gonzales, et al., 2008). Science teaching reform was initiated to help students across racial groups to achieve higher performance and reduce the achievement gap (Lee & Fradd, 1998). Inquiry-based teaching was proposed to help attain the above reform goals, which involves scientific inquiry processes, such as making observations, posing questions, planning investigations, collecting and analyzing the data, proposing explanations and communicating the results (National Research Council, 1996). The traditional didactic instruction is seen ineffective to attain these goals since it stresses transmitting the established concepts and facts to students by having them listen to teachers’ lectures, take notes, and observe the experiment that teachers demonstrated (Smerdon, Burkam, & Lee, 1999). Although inquiry-based instruction is found useful in promoting student achievements generally (Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, & Chinn, 2007; Kahle, Meece, & Scantlebury, 2000; Lee, Buxton, Lewis, & LeRoy, 2006; White & Frederiksen, 1998), few examines whether and to what extent the inquiry-based and the traditional didactic instructional approaches influence the science achievements of African, Hispanic, and Caucasian American students differently. This study explores these questions

The following two contentious assumptions frame the focuses, design, and analysis of study. The first is an implicit assumption that inquiry-based teaching is effective in improving all students learning science across racial groups and reducing their learning gaps (National Research Council, 1996). The second assumption underlying the culturally responsive teaching argues that different racial groups need different teaching approaches relevant to their different learning needs, styles, and habits in order to improve their learning (Ladson-Billings, 1995).

Drawing on the US data from TIMSS 2007, this study used the science achievement scores of three US racial groups of students as three dependent variables and the inquiry-based teaching or traditional didactic instruction identified and grouped based on teacher survey on their teaching activities as the two independent variables. Multiple regression method was used in the analysis to answer our research questions.

Our analysis showed that neither teaching approach was significantly related to the science achievement scores of Caucasian American students. In contrast, the achievement scores of African American students were positively related to the inquiry-based instruction but negatively related to traditional didactic teaching (p< .05). For Hispanic students, inquiry-based instruction had a significantly positive relationship to their science achievement scores but the traditional didactic teaching was not significantly related to their performance.

These findings questions whether inquiry-based instruction can improve students’ science achievements across different racial groups (National Research Council, 1996). Findings indicates that inquiry-based instruction may be culturally responsive to African and Hispanic American students but not Caucasian American students necessarily following the suggestions of culturally relevant teaching (Ladson-Billings, 1995). The findings also confirmed that traditional didactic instruction may be ineffective for student science learning (Smerdon, et al., 1999) as it was either negatively or insignificantly related to the achievement scores of all three racial groups.

Authors

• Su Gao, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Jian Wang, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Emily Lin, University of Nevada - Las Vegas