Enhancing scientific creativity through an inquiry-based teaching approach in secondary science classrooms

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of inquiry-based teaching on students’ scientific creativity. Using a quasi-experimental design in a Chinese secondary school, the study compared intervention students (<i>N </i>= 102) and control students (<i>N </i>= 245), employing pre- and post-assessments with the ‘Comprehensive Scientific Creativity’ instrument. The intervention involved a biology teacher taking five inquiry-based teaching lessons over a period of two months in each of three 10th-grade classes. Compared to the control group, the intervention group showed statistically significant enhancements in their creativity, specifically in their divergent thinking and convergent thinking, but no difference in their attainment scores or motivation in scientific creativity. The results from the control group suggested that the educational activities they routinely experience may hinder the development of students’ divergent and convergent thinking. Observations of the lessons and interviews with the teacher and students highlighted the challenges of implementing more inquiry-based teaching in upper secondary science lessons in China. These findings provide science educators with inquiry-based teaching strategies for fostering scientific creativity among upper secondary school students, and underscore the need for future research to address implementation challenges associated with inquiry-based teaching.

本研究旨在探究探究式教学对学生科学创造力的影响。本研究在中国某中学采用准实验设计，以干预组学生（N=102）与对照组学生（N=245）为研究对象，采用“综合科学创造力”测评工具开展前后测。干预环节为：一名生物学教师在两个月的周期内，为3个高一班级各开设5节探究式教学课程。与对照组相比，干预组学生的创造力（具体涵盖发散思维与聚合思维维度）出现了具有统计学意义的显著提升，但在科学创造力相关的学业得分或动机层面未表现出显著差异。对照组的结果显示，其日常开展的教育活动或会阻碍学生发散思维与聚合思维的发展。课堂观察及师生访谈结果表明，在中国高中理科课堂中推行更多探究式教学存在诸多现实挑战。本研究成果可为理科教育工作者提供面向高中学生培育科学创造力的探究式教学策略，同时也强调未来需开展相关研究以解决探究式教学推行过程中面临的各类难题。