Inquiry-Based Learning In Arizona’s Middle School Science Classrooms

Abstract

Throughout my own college career, I’ve witnessed the benefits of inquiry-based science instruction in students of all ages. I’ve seen the intrinsic motivation and passion come out in children as they have the opportunity to form questions, work within a student community, and interact with meaningful and applicable scientific problems. This thesis explores inquiry-based learning in middle school science classrooms, and its current prevalence in Tucson, Arizona schools. This project takes the form of a research paper split into three parts: 1. a general introduction to inquiry-based learning and accompanying background literature, 2. research and analysis based on middle school science teacher interviews conducted, and 3. a discussion of those results, the implications for future science instruction, and my own personal and course connections. With this research, I reveal how much of current science instruction in middle schools fall under the category of inquiry-based and what kinds of barriers middle school science teachers find in implementing this type of instruction in their classroom.