Science Practices in Action: Group Engagement with Different Degrees of Inquiry in General Chemistry Laboratory

Abstract

Science practice (SP) proficiency is an important learning outcome of undergraduate chemistry laboratories. The eight science practices provide a framework to describe how students can improve their use of scientific processes, such as argumentation, in line with those of research scientists. A curriculum that intentionally elicits student development with the SPs is necessary to make meaningful progress with SPs. This study focuses on student engagement with science practices in the introductory chemistry laboratory. In particular, a comparison is made between the engagement with SPs in Argument Driven Inquiry (ADI) style and traditional experiments. The IONIC (ICAP to Measure by Observation NGSS Science Practice Implementation in the Classroom) observation rubric was used to assess students’ in-lab engagement with each of the SPs. Based on the current set of data, the ADI-modified laboratory style has yielded higher rubric scores than the traditional laboratory style across all groups observed, indicating increased student engagement with SPs in ADI laboratories.