Mitigating Resistance to Teaching Science Through Inquiry: Studying Self

Source: Journal of Science Teacher Education, Volume 18, Number 2 / April, 2007, p. 185-208

This is the report of a qualitative emergent-design study of 2 different Web-enhanced science methods courses for preservice elementary teachers in which an experiential learning strategy, labeled “using yourself as a learning laboratory,” was implemented.

Emergent grounded theory indicated this strategy, when embedded in a course organized as an inquiry with specified action foci, contributed to mitigating participants’ resistance to learning and teaching through inquiry. Enroute to embracing inquiry, learners experienced stages resembling the stages of grief one experiences after a major loss. Data sources included participant observation, electronic artifacts in WebCT, and interviews.
Findings are reported in 3 major sections: “Action Foci Common to Both Courses,” “Participants’ Growth and Change,” and “Challenges and Tradeoffs.”