Learning to Think at a Higher Level in Science: A Mixed-Methods Research Study

• In Event: Science Inquiry for Teaching and Learning

Abstract

We used a mixed methods research design with an instructional intervention of guided inquiry and formative assessment that included explicit instruction to improve higher order thinking of students in grade 6 science. In the first study the researchers taught the intervention to 37 students. In the second study one teacher from the first year taught her class (n=15), and we taught the intervention in an additional school (n=20). For both studies there was a comparison group. Data comprises pre-posttest scores of critical and higher order thinking, student responses to formative assessment tasks, and audio recordings/transcripts of pre-post instructional student focus groups. The results show, quantitatively and qualitatively, that higher order thinking improved for students in the intervention groups.

Authors

• Henry W. Schulz, Memorial University

• Beverly Ann Fitzpatrick, Memorial University