Shaping the Construction of Learner Questions

• In Event: Exploring Scientific Thinking

Abstract

The formation of research questions is an integral component of scientific investigations and a developing skill of elementary grade learners. This paper presents a longitudinal analysis intended to understand how an explicit instructional design conditioned and refined the investigative questions developed by fifth grade learners. Throughout this curriculum unit learners used motion-detecting cameras and a photo management tool to investigate local wildlife. As learners’ understanding of the affordances of the tools increased, so did the answerability and complexity of investigative questions. The research topics chosen by learners were also influenced by the instructional design.

Authors

• Alexandra Silva, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Chandan Dasgupta, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Tia Renee Shelley, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Brenda A. Lopez Silva, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Leilah Lyons, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Tom Moher, University of Illinois at Chicago