The Case of Cyprus: The Impact of a Participatory Designmodel of Inquiry-based Learning Environments on Student Motivation
Date Issued
2014
Abstract
uring the last decades, science education
stakeholders have made several efforts to
explore how to improve science teaching,
since in most cases, science education fails
to motivate or to meaningfully engage young
learners (Eurydice Network, 2011). In many cases,
traditional science education has been criticized
for employing expository didactic approaches as
well as focusing explicitly on teaching rote facts,
without helping students to relate science to their
own lives (e.g. Fensham, 2004; Holbrook, 2003).
In an effort to address this problematic situation,
a growing movement sees inquiry-based learning
to be of paramount importance, since it has the
potential to support students’ active engagement
with scientific practices such as the investigation of
important societal issues (Eurydice network, 2011;
NRC, 2012). If one purpose of science education is to
produce students, who can be actively engaged with
science, then inquiry-based learning environments
can provide an ideal venue for the accomplishment
of this goal.
stakeholders have made several efforts to
explore how to improve science teaching,
since in most cases, science education fails
to motivate or to meaningfully engage young
learners (Eurydice Network, 2011). In many cases,
traditional science education has been criticized
for employing expository didactic approaches as
well as focusing explicitly on teaching rote facts,
without helping students to relate science to their
own lives (e.g. Fensham, 2004; Holbrook, 2003).
In an effort to address this problematic situation,
a growing movement sees inquiry-based learning
to be of paramount importance, since it has the
potential to support students’ active engagement
with scientific practices such as the investigation of
important societal issues (Eurydice network, 2011;
NRC, 2012). If one purpose of science education is to
produce students, who can be actively engaged with
science, then inquiry-based learning environments
can provide an ideal venue for the accomplishment
of this goal.