Abstract:

A curricular reform, which started in Slovakia in 2008, highlighted inquiry-based activities as a leading approach in science education. Inquiry, gaining practical skills from observing, inferring, and experimenting should dominate between teaching methods in all science subjects – biology, chemistry and physics – at both the lower and upper secondary levels.

An implementation of this approach in the classrooms has been connected with many problems. First of all, teachers were not prepared for the reform and were not trained in the new approach. Several national and international initiatives were designed to overcome this barrier and to promote inquiry-based approaches in Slovak schools.

Nowadays, almost ten year after the start of the reform, it is time to ask whether and to what extend the inquiry-based strategies are used in the classrooms and how student inquiry skills are developed.

This pilot study was focused on the use and the development of students’ inquiry skills at physics lessons at lower secondary level (age group 11 – 15 years). Direct observations of the lessons followed with teacher interviews were used as main research methods. The sample consisted of physics lessons and teachers of Banska Bystrica region. The content analysis was used to identify dominant teacher a student activities and to detect levels of inquiry and corresponding student inquiry skills. The observed phenomena which could significantly influence the development of student inquiry skills are identified and discussed.

The study resulted in a suggestion of recommendations for the improvement of the both future and in-service physics teacher training.

Keywords:

Physics education, inquiry-based activities, levels of inquiry, inquiry skills, teacher training.