Source: Journal of Science Teacher Education, Volume 18, December 2007,
p. 63-89
The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers who participated in professional development program continued to learn about inquiry and inquiry teaching as they implemented inquiry in their classrooms. A qualitative design utilizing inductive analysis was used to investigate teachers' understanding and classroom implementation of inquiry.
Findings are presented as assertions, drawing support from four focal teachers. For each assertion, confirming and disconfirming data are presented. Based on these data, we assert that a) there was little or no change in teachers' individual understanding of inquiry, and b) professional development enhanced teachers' ability to design inquiry based activities – however, classroom implementation did not reflect a high level of inquiry.