and facilitating a better link to real-life phenomena (e.g. high jumping,
parachute jump).
Educational benefits of these ICT tools are known for decades, but they are still
applied in physics education at a relatively small scale. Factors involved are among
others:
– Limited curriculum time and limited teacher preparation time.
– Lack of equipment, resources and technical support.
– Mismatch between assessment, examinations and curriculum objectives
(e.g. inquiry).
– Pupil problems (e.g. high cognitive load of inquiry learning).
– Teacher problems (e.g. prescriptive instruction with ICT) and lack of continuous
teacher education.
Needed are systemic changes in these factors and concerted, simultaneous actions
of all stakeholders, especially teachers who should be well-prepared, be professionals and be treated like that! Such changes take time and there needs the right
actions.
In our recent study, we focus on teacher preparation and training, which are
driving forces for change in classroom practices regarding ICT incorporation. We
investigated the development of an effective and relatively short course for pre- and
in-service teachers to prepare them for the use of ICT in Inquiry-Based Science
Education (IBSE). Several pedagogical principles, like the depth-first and one
theory-practice cycle, were applied to (re)design, implement, evaluate and optimise
this ICT in IBSE course. The course was aimed not only at learning ICT skills, but
also at awareness of benefits and motivation. The final course setup is based on
several rounds of tryouts and improvements, and has been applied in the Netherlands, Slovak Republic and Vietnam. The course is presented in this chapter as well;
some attentions are given to the differences in application in different settings
(pre-service and in-service, different educational systems, and different cultures)
and the learning effects on the participants.
12.2 Inquiry Practices in Physics Education
Science educators have been aware of the potential benefits of an inquiry-based
approach in science teaching and learning at both primary and secondary levels, and
the term “Inquiry-Based Science Education”—IBSE has been popular for a long
time. In an article published in 1910, Dewey (1910) remarked that science is not only
a body of knowledge to be acquired, but it also includes inquiry methodologies to
generate and validate knowledge. In this chapter, we consider inquiry as a process of
generating and validating knowledge through moving back and forth between the
theoretical world (ideas, concepts, relationships, theories and models) and the
physical world (objects, phenomena, observations, measurements and experiments).
According to Van den Berg (2013), ideally, IBSE will engage pupils in thinking
12 Stem, Inquiry Practices and Technology in Physics Education
129
parachute jump).
Educational benefits of these ICT tools are known for decades, but they are still
applied in physics education at a relatively small scale. Factors involved are among
others:
– Limited curriculum time and limited teacher preparation time.
– Lack of equipment, resources and technical support.
– Mismatch between assessment, examinations and curriculum objectives
(e.g. inquiry).
– Pupil problems (e.g. high cognitive load of inquiry learning).
– Teacher problems (e.g. prescriptive instruction with ICT) and lack of continuous
teacher education.
Needed are systemic changes in these factors and concerted, simultaneous actions
of all stakeholders, especially teachers who should be well-prepared, be professionals and be treated like that! Such changes take time and there needs the right
actions.
In our recent study, we focus on teacher preparation and training, which are
driving forces for change in classroom practices regarding ICT incorporation. We
investigated the development of an effective and relatively short course for pre- and
in-service teachers to prepare them for the use of ICT in Inquiry-Based Science
Education (IBSE). Several pedagogical principles, like the depth-first and one
theory-practice cycle, were applied to (re)design, implement, evaluate and optimise
this ICT in IBSE course. The course was aimed not only at learning ICT skills, but
also at awareness of benefits and motivation. The final course setup is based on
several rounds of tryouts and improvements, and has been applied in the Netherlands, Slovak Republic and Vietnam. The course is presented in this chapter as well;
some attentions are given to the differences in application in different settings
(pre-service and in-service, different educational systems, and different cultures)
and the learning effects on the participants.
12.2 Inquiry Practices in Physics Education
Science educators have been aware of the potential benefits of an inquiry-based
approach in science teaching and learning at both primary and secondary levels, and
the term “Inquiry-Based Science Education”—IBSE has been popular for a long
time. In an article published in 1910, Dewey (1910) remarked that science is not only
a body of knowledge to be acquired, but it also includes inquiry methodologies to
generate and validate knowledge. In this chapter, we consider inquiry as a process of
generating and validating knowledge through moving back and forth between the
theoretical world (ideas, concepts, relationships, theories and models) and the
physical world (objects, phenomena, observations, measurements and experiments).
According to Van den Berg (2013), ideally, IBSE will engage pupils in thinking
12 Stem, Inquiry Practices and Technology in Physics Education
129