Direct Instruction vs - e Murillo：直接教学法与E穆.docxVIP

Direct Instruction vs. Scientific Inquiry: Evaluating Student OutcomesNoelle Clark, Greg Eyler, Alex Rivas, Todd WagnerCalifornia State University, San BernardinoAbstractScience is a discipline of exploration and experimentation, leading many in the scientific community to question whether the blanket approach of direct instruction and teaching to the test is the best way for our students to learn science in terms of comprehension, outcomes, and mastering scientific skills. In the absence of a significant amount of empirical research on the issue, we have designed a quantitative experiment based around the question: is inquiry more effective than a direct instruction model in increasing content knowledge? Through our research we compare the teaching methodologies of direct instruction to scientific inquiry in the science classroom, with student outcomes being the barometer for the success or failure of each method. The experiment consisted of using two fifth-grade classrooms as our subjects. Two different instructors, each trained in the methodology they employed (inquiry and direct instruction), taught these classrooms the same chemistry content. All students were given identical pretests consisting of 10 multiple choice questions and, after the lessons were administered, the same test was administered as a posttest for evaluative purposes. Results of the pre-test and post-test were compared using an unpaired t-test. The makeup of the student population was heterogeneous in terms of ethnicity and representation of students with disabilities, but EL students, and gifted and talented students were not represented. As many of our qualitative research predecessors, we found the empirical results to be inconclusive thus leading us to the assumption that there is no significant statistical difference between the two differing methodologies in terms of student acquisition and short term retention. IntroductionDirect Instruction vs. Scientific Inquiry: Evaluating St