Enhancing scientific creativity through an inquiry-based teaching approach in secondary science classrooms

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of inquiry-based teaching on students’ scientific creativity. Using a quasi-experimental design in a Chinese secondary school, the study compared intervention students (N = 102) and control students (N = 245), employing pre- and post-assessments with the ‘Comprehensive Scientific Creativity’ instrument. The intervention involved a biology teacher taking five inquiry-based teaching lessons over a period of two months in each of three 10th-grade classes. Compared to the control group, the intervention group showed statistically significant enhancements in their creativity, specifically in their divergent thinking and convergent thinking, but no difference in their attainment scores or motivation in scientific creativity. The results from the control group suggested that the educational activities they routinely experience may hinder the development of students’ divergent and convergent thinking. Observations of the lessons and interviews with the teacher and students highlighted the challenges of implementing more inquiry-based teaching in upper secondary science lessons in China. These findings provide science educators with inquiry-based teaching strategies for fostering scientific creativity among upper secondary school students, and underscore the need for future research to address implementation challenges associated with inquiry-based teaching.