Research Commons
      • Browse 
        • Communities & Collections
        • Titles
        • Authors
        • By Issue Date
        • Subjects
        • Types
        • Series
      • Help 
        • About
        • Collection Policy
        • OA Mandate Guidelines
        • Guidelines FAQ
        • Contact Us
      • My Account 
        • Sign In
        • Register
      View Item 
      •   Research Commons
      • University of Waikato Research
      • Education
      • Education Papers
      • View Item
      •   Research Commons
      • University of Waikato Research
      • Education
      • Education Papers
      • View Item
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

      Authentic student inquiry: the mismatch between the intended curriculum and the student-experienced curriculum

      Hume, Anne Christine; Coll, Richard K.
      Thumbnail
      Files
      Hume Coll 2010.pdf
      427.3Kb
      DOI
       10.1080/02635140903513565
      Link
       www.informaworld.com
      Find in your library  
      Citation
      Export citation
      Hume, A. & Coll, R. (2010). Authentic student inquiry: the mismatch between the intended curriculum and the student-experienced curriculum. Research in Science & Technological Education, 28(1), 43-62.
      Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/3641
      Abstract
      As a means of achieving scientific literacy goals in society, the last two decades have witnessed international science curriculum redevelopment that increasingly advocates a 'new look' inquiry-based approach to learning. This paper reports on the nature of the student-experienced curriculum where secondary school students are learning under a national curriculum that is intent on promoting students' knowledge and capabilities in authentic scientific inquiry, that is, inquiry that properly reflects that practiced by members of scientific communities. Using a multiple case study approach, this study found that layers of curriculum interpretation from several 'sites of influence' both outside and inside of the schools have a strong bearing on the curriculum enacted by teachers and actually experienced by the students, and runs counter to the aims of the national curriculum policy. Over-emphasis on fair testing limits students' exposure to the full range of methods that scientists use in practice, and standards-based assessment using planning templates, exemplar assessment schedules and restricted opportunities for full investigations in different contexts tends to reduce student learning about experimental design to an exercise in 'following the rules'. These classroom realities have implications for students' understanding of the nature of authentic scientific inquiry and support claims that school science is still far removed from real science.
      Date
      2010
      Type
      Journal Article
      Publisher
      Routledge
      Rights
      This is an author's accepted electronic version of an article published in the journal: Research in Science & Technological Education. © 2010 Taylor & Francis
      Collections
      • Education Papers [1385]
      • Science and Engineering Papers [3011]
      Show full item record  

      Usage

      Downloads, last 12 months
      54
       
       
       

      Usage Statistics

      For this itemFor all of Research Commons

      The University of Waikato - Te Whare Wānanga o WaikatoFeedback and RequestsCopyright and Legal Statement