Orientations to Teaching Science During my time as a classroom teacher I had many diverse experiences that shaped my ideas and notions about what science teaching and learning should look like. I had completed a Master’s degree, facilitated professional development seminars for other science teachers, and been a participant in a teacher action research project. Thus, I had ample opportunities to reflect on and examine my orientations to teaching science in high schools. This is illustrated in the following journal entry, recorded at the start of the study:
I have always believed that students learn science best from working in a hands-on, inquiry-based environment and I have tried to facilitate the creation of such an environment in my own classroom. I want my students to be excited about learning science, to explore their wonderings and build on their prior experiences in order to achieve an enriched understanding and appreciation of the nature of science and scientific concepts. (Journal Entry, 6 January 2009)
Unfortunately, due to external factors such as an overcrowded curriculum and lack of resources, I did not use inquiry strategies as often as I would have liked. Thus: “I often used leading questions and class discussions to supplement hands-on activities. However, I still thought of inquiry learning as the backbone of good science teaching and I wanted it to be as much a part of my own pedagogy as possible” (Journal Entry, 6 January 2009). InusingtheJiTTapproachinmyuniversityteaching,Iwantedtomodelaconstructivist- based, inquiry approach that would expose my students to the types of thinking and questioning that science teachers want their own students to experience. Analysis of my journal entries indicated that my orientations towards teaching science were not changed or transformed as a result of this self-study, but rather, my philosophy of science teaching and learning was re-affirmed by my experiences with, not only the JiTT strategy, but also my students in general. This sentiment was most apparent in a journal entry written after implementation was complete:
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Many of my students had very limited science knowledge and it was apparent towards the end of the study that they enjoyed the challenge of having to think on their feet and respond to the inquiry-based situations presented in the JiTT scenarios. (Journal Entry, 14 April 2009)
Mirroring my comments, more than half of the students indicated that the JiTT strategy aligned with their preferred learning styles in that it built on their prior knowledge and allowed them to engage in exploratory learning:
It explored scientific concepts in a style which stimulated us to critically think, explore and investigate, utilising what we already knew about the concept in question and applying it to the problem. It helped me experience the nature of inquiry learning and how it can be beneficial to students when they are learning. (Student A, Post survey)
Positive student feedback such as this served to further strengthen my beliefs in the constructivist learning theory and in the value of inquiry learning in science.