Contemporary instructional approaches described in science
education literature draw heavily on the constructivist
philosophy. Although there are many forms of constructivism,
all of the instructional applications of constructivism view
children as active agents in their personal construction of new
knowledge (Fosnot, 1996; Gunstone, 2000). Further, these
instructional approaches aim to promote active learning
through the use hands-on activities with small groups and
with sense-making discussions. A common expectation is that
learners are more likely to construct an understanding of
science content in this type of inquiry-based learning
environment (Trundle, Atwood, Christopher, & Sackes, in press).