Finding out how they find it out: An empirical analysis of inquiry learners' need for support

Yvonne G. Mulder (1) , Ard W. Lazonder (2) , Ton Dejong (3)

1 Instructional Technology
2 Instructional Technology, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences
3 University of Twente

Inquiry learning environments increasingly incorporate modelling facilities for students to articulate their research hypotheses and (acquired) domain knowledge. This study compared performance success and scientific reasoning of university students with high prior knowledge (n = 11), students from senior high-school (n = 10), and junior high-school (n = 10) with intermediate and low prior knowledge respectively, in order to reveal domain novice's need for support in such environments. Results indicated that the scientific reasoning of both groups of high-school students was comparable to that of the experts. As high-school students achieved significantly lower performance success scores, their expert-like behaviour was rather ineffective; qualitative analyses substantiated this conclusion. Based on these findings, implications for supporting domain novices in inquiry learning environments are advanced.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Yvonne G. Mulder, Ard W. Lazonder, Ton Dejong. Finding out how they find it out: An empirical analysis of inquiry learners' need for support. International Journal of Science Education, 2009, pp.1. ⟨10.1080/09500690903289993⟩. ⟨hal-00535589⟩