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The curriculum inquiry of focus for this paper is the Teaching Science through Inquiry
Curriculum. The state of South Carolina uses standards based curriculum for Chemistry and
other science subjects. The support document for the high school chemistry South Carolina
Academic Standards of Performance Indicators for Science outlines the expected requirement of
the standards by first providing the standard, then a conceptual understanding, a performance
indicator, assessment guidance, previous knowledge, essential knowledge, and science and
engineering standards. The reason I chose this curriculum inquiry is due to the fact that there is a
push by the principal at Myrtle Beach High School to hold teachers accountable to inquiry and
problem based learning projects integrated into each curriculum. The expectation is that these
Project Based Learning activities incorporate the use of technology. Students are expected to use
their Personal Digital Learning device a minimum of three classes each week. Since I teach
Honors Chemistry I would like to teach the standards based content using the Teaching Science
Through Inquiry approach. I believe that this approach will help me be the guide on the side
instead of the sage on the stage, which are the new buzz words for the inquiry driven model for
teaching. (Learning Science Through Inquiry, 2014)
The design of the Teaching Science Through Inquiry Curriculum is based on the learning
experiences of the students. The objectives and content has been spearheaded by the national
science standards and now the Next Generation Science Standards. Projects are a big part of
inquiry based learning in science. Learning starts by posing a scenario or a problem or question
and then the students set off to answer through research, investigation and experiments.
Teaching Science through Inquiry is a curriculum that promotes student learning by doing.
Students are required to solve problems, working either individually or cooperatively to actively

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find solutions. Along the way there may be several standards addressed at once. Usually
through the inquiry process there are many things happening at once and systems represent a
culmination of various ideas. Over the years inquiry-oriented science instruction has been
associated with hands-on learning based on experiences and activities in the classroom. It is
much more than that though. It is a way for students to ask questions and perform experiments
and research to help answer those questions. There is a sense of student-led instruction that has
the teacher as a facilitator of the instruction. Research has indicated that some of the benefits of
teaching through inquiry include enhanced student performance as it relates to laboratory skills
and graphing skills and interpreting graphs. It also has been shown to foster scientific literacy
and understanding of science processes and many more benefits dealing with minority successes
in science (Haury, p3, 1993).

John Dewey, the father of modern education, was a conceptual theorist who emphasized learning
through experiences although he wrote that it was the teachers responsibility to plan and
implement the curriculum and be more aware than the children of what the learning was going to
be. Vygotsky discussed inquiry learning with society as a source and that learning could either
happen as an individual or a group. The Humanistic Curriculum although it had its roots in the
1940s reemerged in the 1960s and 70s as a reaction to the overemphasis on subject matter and
cognitive learning. This curriculum stems from the human potential movement and is based on
the ideas of independent learning, knowledge of self, students being engaged in the classroom
and working on projects that affect their communities. The goal is to humanize the sciences and
connect them to personal, ethical, cultural and political concerns.

Although U.S. schools

generally use a subject designed curriculum, there is a growing awareness to inquiry based
learning. (Ornstein, p.3, 8, 102, 2009).

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In a study by Karen Adamson and others(2011), investigated the impact of hands-on science on
third grade students math achievement. Because the hands-on science curriculum integrated
mathematics they were able to justify this study. They found that their results supported using
this integrated approach of mathematics and science instruction to benefit diverse students.

The Next Generation Science Standards have set the goals of inquiry based learning to be clear,
appropriate, logical, and valid. The resources provided to teachers for implementation are meant
to assist learners in having a deeper more meaningful understanding of the science concepts that
the student is responsible for demonstrating that they understand.

Many of the suggested

projects in project based learning have a community integration component. This helps students
to be a complete individual and scientifically minded member of their community. Students
have the opportunity to make a difference in their communities and affect change for scientific
issues. This approach helps to provide meaningful connections to the students environment and
community through science inquiry.
In my professional opinion Teaching Science Through Inquiry is definitely a great way to get
students excited and motivated to learn about science. This curriculum has been designed and
developed to encourage students to play an active role in their own learning.

I would

recommend the curriculum to teachers and a school because students are posed with potential
real life problems and they get to focus on the scientific principles that could be used to help
solve these problems. Through the process of scientific inquiry students develop their own path
through the learning process as the teacher helps guide and facilitate this journey. Students are
encouraged to learn by doing. They work cooperatively or individually to solve problems. This
can create an issue where cross-curricular and multiple content standards are addressed at the

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same time. This can actually make for richer and more meaningful learning experiences that are
driven by the students learning goals for any assignment. One thing that has been helpful for the
implementation and evaluation process has been common planning between teachers that are
implementing the curriculum. These are a few of the pros for the implementation of the
curriculum. My main concerns have to do with class size and teacher planning. The amount of
work in preparing and grading the various projects for students is much more time consuming.
The benefits are great, but teachers need to have the support from guidance and administration to
not overwhelm teachers by class sizes of thirty or more and taking away from teacher planning.
At some schools, Myrtle Beach High School is no exception; teachers lose between one to two
planning periods per week for a variety of reasons. My suggestion would be to protect teacher
planning and reduce class size. This will help ensure that the Teaching Science Through
Inquiry is properly implemented, bringing success to students.

Works Cited
Adamson, K., Secada, W., Maerten-Rivera, J., & Lee, O. (2011). Measurement Instruction in the
Context of Scientific Investigations with Diverse Student Populations. School Science And
Mathematics, 111(6), 288-299.
Haury, David L. "Teaching Science through Inquiry." ERIC/CSMEE Digest. (1993): n. pg.3
Web. 21 Sept. 2014.
"Learning Science Through Inquiry." Learning Science Through Inquiry. Annenberg
Foundation, 2014. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.
Ornstein, A.C., Hunkins, F.P. (2009). Curriculum: Foundations, Principles, and Issues 5th
Edition. Boston: Pearson. pg.3, 8, 102