Teaching Science Through Inquiry and Experience

Timetable

15 h of lectures

30 h of workshops

Module aim (aims)

The module aims to:

1. Develop students’ understanding of the foundations of contemporary science education, including the aims, characteristics, and challenges of effective science teaching.

2. Introduce key instructional strategies used in science education, particularly inquiry-based science education (IBSE), learning by doing, visualization, modelling, and experiential approaches.

3. Examine the pedagogical principles underlying inquiry-based learning, including questioning, argumentation, experimentation, modelling, and evidence-based reasoning.

4. Develop students’ understanding of the Nature of Science (NoS) — including the empirical, tentative, theory-laden, and socially embedded character of scientific knowledge — and its importance in science education.

5. Support students in integrating NoS perspectives into science teaching, helping learners understand how scientific knowledge is generated, justified, and revised.

6. Prepare students to design science learning experiences that engage learners in scientific practices and reflect authentic features of scientific inquiry.

7. Develop students’ ability to align teaching strategies with learning goals such as conceptual understanding, scientific reasoning, and informed views of science.

8. Foster reflective awareness of the teacher’s role as a facilitator of inquiry, discussion, and evidence-based dialogue in science classrooms.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

B2 level of English, basic knowledge in scientific subjects (biology, chemistry, geography, or physics)

Syllabus

This module introduces the foundations of contemporary science education, focusing on how students learn science through active engagement in scientific practices. It examines key instructional strategies such as inquiry-based science education (IBSE), learning by doing, visualization, modelling, and experimentation. Particular attention is given to the Nature of Science (NoS), including the empirical, tentative, theory-laden, and socially embedded character of scientific knowledge. Students explore how argumentation, evidence-based reasoning, and modelling function both in science and in science classrooms. The module also addresses the design of learning environments that promote conceptual understanding, scientific reasoning, and informed views of science. Emphasis is placed on translating educational theory into the design of effective science learning activities.

By the end of the module, students will be able to:

- Explain key principles of contemporary science education, including inquiry-based learning and experiential approaches.

- Describe central aspects of the Nature of Science (NoS) and their relevance for science teaching.

- Apply inquiry-based and experiential strategies (e.g., modelling, experimentation, visualization) to selected science topics.

- Use argumentation and evidence-based reasoning frameworks in educational contexts.

- Examine how different instructional strategies influence students’ conceptual understanding and engagement.

- Critically evaluate the effectiveness of teaching approaches in promoting scientific reasoning and informed views of science.

- Design a science learning activity or lesson plan based on inquiry-based principles.

- Integrate Nature of Science elements and scientific practices into the designed activity.

- Justify instructional decisions using principles from science education research.

FINAL ASSESSMENT: A group project involving the design of science learning activities based on the principles of Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE)

 

 

 

Reading list

1.  Professional Development for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching and Learning (2018) O. E. Tsivitanidou, P. Gray, E. Rybska, L. Louca, C. P. Constantinou, Springer Cham

2. García-Carmona, A. (2020). From inquiry-based science education to the approach based on scientific practices: A critical analysis and suggestions for science teaching. Science & Education, 29(2), 443-463.

3. Abd‐El‐Khalick, F., Boujaoude, S., Duschl, R., Lederman, N. G., Mamlok‐Naaman, R., Hofstein, A., ... & Tuan, H. L. (2004). Inquiry in science education: International perspectives. Science education, 88(3), 397-419.

4. Erduran, S., & Dagher, Z. R. (2014). Reconceptualizing nature of science for science education. In Reconceptualizing the nature of science for science education: Scientific knowledge, practices and other family categories (pp. 1-18). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.