Inquiry-based chemistry education activities in a non-formal educational setting for gifted students

Slapničar, Miha (author), Ribič, Luka (author), Devetak, Iztok (author), Vinko, Luka (author)

Student giftedness is a complex, developmentally dynamic and contextual phenomenon that teachers confront every day. In the classroom, teachers often meet students who have exceptional potential or achieve very high learning goals. The aim of this study is to illustrate the evaluation of inquiry-based learning activities in a specific context (Diversity in Science towards Social Inclusion learning modules) implemented in a non-formal educational setting for gifted students in relation to their level of individual interest and their autonomous and controlled motivation, comparing different groups of students. We investigate how these activities affect the students’ attitudes towards inquiry-based learning, their situational interest and their interest in science careers. A total of 264 Slovenian lower secondary school students participated in the study. The students participated in non-adapted and adapted activities based on the inquiry-based learning approach. The data were collected using pre- and post-activity questionnaires. Participation in the study, which took place in the period between the 2021/22 and the 2022/23 school years, was voluntary. The data was collected anonymously and used for research purposes only. The results show several statistically significant differences in how students’ level of individual interest, autonomous motivation and controlled motivation for learning chemistry affects their attitudes towards inquiry-based learning, their situational interest in Diversity in Science towards Social Inclusion activities and their interest in science careers. For the gifted and non-gifted students who participated in “Forensics Science” lab activities before and after the adaptations to the modules, the results related to their attitudes towards inquiry-based learning and situational interest are also reported. Thus, the results of the study provide useful insights for researchers in the field of chemistry education as well as for chemistry teachers in lower and upper secondary schools. The presented study is a good example of best practices that chemistry teachers can apply in teaching chemistry, thus enabling all students, not only the gifted ones, to learn chemistry using the inquiry-based learning approach.

• Language: English
• Keywords: non-formal education, gifted students, inquiry-based learning, interest, motivation
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: PEF - Faculty of Education
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: Str. 143-169
• Numbering: Vol. 14, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-155867
• UDC: 37.091.3:54
• ISSN on article: 1855-9719
• DOI: 10.26529/cepsj.1706
• COBISS.SI-ID: 191580675

Copyright

Podatek o licenci CC-BY 4.0 je naveden na spletni strani revije (https://www.cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/about). (Datum opombe 23. 4. 2024)

• Publication date in RUL: 23.04.2024

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: CEPS journal : Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal = revija Centra za študij edukacijskih strategij
• Publisher: Pedagoška fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 1855-9719
• COBISS.SI-ID: 252707584

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Učenje z raziskovanjem na področju kemije za nadarjene učence v neformalnem izobraževalnem okolju

Abstract

Nadarjenost učencev je kompleksen, razvojno dinamičen in kontekstualen pojav, s katerim se učitelji vsakodnevno spoprijemajo. V razredu se pogosto srečujejo z učenci, ki imajo izjemni učni potencial ali dosegajo zelo visoke učne standarde. Namen te raziskave je prikazati rezultate aktivnosti učenja z raziskovanjem v specifičnem kontekstu učnih modulov, razvitih v sklopu projekta DiSSI (Diversity in Science towards Social Inclusion) in izvedenih v sklopu neformalnega izobraževanja za nadarjene učence v povezavi z njihovo stopnjo individualnega interesa ter avtonomno in kontrolirano motivacijo, pri čemer primerjamo različne skupine učencev. Preučevano je bilo, kako izvedene laboratorijske aktivnosti učnih modulov vplivajo na odnos učencev do učenja z raziskovanjem, njihov situacijski interes in zanimanje za naravoslovne poklice. V raziskavo je bilo vključenih 264 slovenskih učencev, ki so sodelovali v izvedbi neprilagojenih in prilagojenih učnih modulov v kontekstu učenja z raziskovanjem. Podatki so bili zbrani z vprašalnikom pred izvedeno laboratorijsko aktivnostjo in po njej. Sodelovanje v raziskavi, ki je potekala med šolskimi leti 2021/22 in 2022/23, je bilo prostovoljno. Zbrani podatki so anonimni, uporabljeni pa so bili le v raziskovalne namene. Rezultati kažejo več statistično pomembnih razlik v tem, kako stopnja individualnega interesa, avtonomna in kontrolirana motivacija učencev za učenje kemije vplivajo na njihov odnos do učenja z raziskovanjem, situacijski interes po izvedbi aktivnosti učnih modulov in zanimanje za naravoslovne poklice. V prispevku so predstavljeni tudi rezultati glede odnosa učencev, nadarjenih in nenadarjenih, ki so sodelovali v aktivnostih učnega modula »Naravoslovje v forenzični znanosti« pred prilagoditvami učnih modulov in po njih. Rezultati raziskave ponujajo koristne vpoglede za raziskovalce na področju kemijskega izobraževanja pa tudi za učitelje kemije v osnovnih in srednjih šolah. Predstavljena raziskava je primer dobre prakse, ki ga lahko učitelji kemije uporabijo pri poučevanju kemije, s čimer omogočijo vsem učencem, ne le nadarjenim, učenje kemije z uporabo pristopa učenja z raziskovanjem.

• Keywords: neformalno izobraževanje, nadarjeni učenci, učenje z raziskovanjem, interes, motivacija, kemija, vzgoja in izobraževanje

Projects

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Funding programme: Erasmus+
• Project number: 612103-EPP-1_2019-1-DE-EPPKA3-IPI-SOC-IN
• Name: Diversity in Science towards Social Inclusion – Non-formal Education for Students’ Diversity
• Acronym: DiSSI