Impact of argument-driven inquiry activities on pre-service science teachers' views of the nature of scientific inquiry in the context of climate change education

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate how argument-driven inquiry (ADI) activities impact pre-service teachers' views of the nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI), with a specific focus on climate change. To this end, an ADI approach was used to teach climate change, where the aspects of NOSI were explicitly taught. A sample of 24 pre-service teachers participated in a science project which included ADI sessions addressing climate change topics. The pre-service teachers participated in four ADI activities related to rising sea levels, clean water resources, extreme weather events, and zero energy building. The sessions involved explicit instruction on NOSI to enhance pre-service teachers' understanding. A view of scientific inquiry (VOSI) questionnaire was used to investigate pre-service teachers' views of scientific inquiry before and after the instruction. The results of the study showed that the pre-service teachers improved in all six aspects of NOSI, but higher improvements were observed in the aspects "multiple methods of scientific investigations" and "distinctions between data and evidence."