Having accepted the constructivist philosophy in education, starting from 2005 in Turkey, the primary aim of the
instruction has become helping students acquire skills rather than gain scientific knowledge (MEB, 2005). As a
logical consequence of this change, science learning has been viewed as construction of scientific knowledge by the
learner via observation and experimentation. Thus, the metaphor “students as scientist” (Driver, 1985) come to the
fore with its main emphasis on scientific process skills. In this line, teaching methods shifted from lecture-based
towards student-centred approaches. The traditional Turkish teaching has therefore become constructivist in a sense
that students are provided opportunity to carry out investigations to test their ideas and construct their own
knowledge, making inquiries as little scientists. Yet, on examination of the new primary science programme,
instructional activities appear do not support inquiry-based learning where students can make their own inquiries.
Experiments included in the programme are generally in recipe form on which the procedure needs to be followed is
written. Having acknowledged the importance of this type of laboratory work, we think that inquiry based learning
(IBL) approaches might be more effective in helping students to acquire scientific process skills. When engaging in
inquiry, students describe objects and events, ask questions, construct explanations, test those explanations against
current scientific knowledge, and share their ideas with others. They identify their assumptions, use critical and
logical thinking, and consider alternative explanations. In this way, students actively develop their understanding of
science by combining scientific knowledge with reasoning and thinking skills (NRC, 1996). Scientific experiments
are, by nature, inquiry-based activities; students must learn to propose hypotheses, design experiments, and select
appropriate materials (Correiro, Griffin & Hart, 2008). All of these activities will certainly contribute to not only
students’ scientific inquiry skills but also their understanding of science concepts. Hofstein & Lunetta (2004) add to
this list by emphasizing the central role played by the science laboratory in contributing to students’ perception of
science and attitudes by stimulating interest and enjoyment, and motivating students to learn science.