Norwegian Teacher Educators’ Reflections on Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning in Science Teacher Education

Abstract

Inquiry-based science education (IBSE) has been a key element in science education for the past decade and should therefore be a key element of pre-service teacher (PST) education as well. This study aims to explore how IBSE is implemented in teacher education for primary and lower secondary levels (years 1–10) to prepare PSTs for their professional practice as science teachers. This is explored through an interview study conducted at seven teacher education institutions in Norway. The results reveal that teacher educators implement IBSE in different ways and to different extents. In the interviews, they discuss the use of various scaffolding models and describe specific examples of teaching activities and how they included literature and mandatory work in addition to reflections on the opportunities and challenges related to IBSE in teacher education. Based on these results, we examine three issues related to the implementation of IBSE: 1) how IBSE is implemented (whether science teacher educators prioritize giving PSTs experience in inquiry-based methods in the learner role or the teacher role), 2) how often IBSE is implemented (whether educators focus on single examples or have a plan for progression), and 3) the intention of IBSE implementation (whether IBSE is taught as a product or a process). Based on these issues, we provide recommendations for how IBSE can be implemented in science teacher education.