1. The document describes a study that evaluated the effectiveness of inquiry-based science education (IBSE) for primary teachers. 2. Results showed that IBSE helped most teachers (70%) achieve a high level of learning about sun cycles and the sun-earth model, with 35% achieving excellent results. 3. IBSE also improved teachers' initial negative attitudes towards learning and teaching science and increased their confidence in science abilities.

2. Introduction and problem statement
Generalists primary
teachers.
Negative attitudes towards science.
Initial education to access to the
Degree of Primary Teacher
Initial attitudes of primary teachers
56%
towards science (n=308)
20% 24%
Percentage (%)
Negativas Neutras Positivas
Negative Neutral Positive
Education received
1. Many topics of P-Q superficial way
2. Activities and materials to carry out
with children
3. Both (1+2)
.
PRIMARY TEACHERS HAVE NOT
CONFIDENCE AND CERTAINTY TO
TEACH SCIENCE.
Science
17%
Humanities
20%
Humanities/Statistics
applied 63%

3. OUPRre SgTuAntRaTsIdNeG i nPtOerIéNs:T
Primary teachers must to have lived “by themselves” that
they are able to learn deeply some of the Big Science Ideas
(Harlen, 2010) and a thorough knowledge of these ideas.
EFECTS ARISING
ABOUT
ATTITUDES
TOWARDS
SCIENCE AND ITS
TEACHING
ABOUT
UNDERSTANDING
AND THROUGH
KNOWLEDGE OF
SOME OF BIG SIENCE
IDEAS
ABOUT SELF-PERCEPTION
AND CONFIDENCE TO LEARN
AND TEACH SCIENCE
(Intellectual satisfaction,
Viennot 2010, GIREP)

4. o Call into question ideas about science of
people who have studied science at high
school and compare it with people who
have not studied science at high school
o How those ideas and knowledge have
been generated.
o It is possible a conceptual and
epistemological change.
20 h
We start from a subject of 60 hours:

5. o It could be obvious to teach them a lot of
topics on a superficial way. WE ARE GOING
TO GO AGAINST THIS POINT OF VIEW.
o We want to show them that they can learn
some of the big science ideas in depth, so
they can use it to explain natural
phenomena.
40 h
2nd section of the subject
WE ARE GOING TO
PRESENT THE RESULTS

6. Science topic chosen (which is one of the big science ideas)
1. Are there cycles and symmetries in the Sun movements which allow us to
organize time and space?
2. How Sun and/or Earth should move to explain those cycles and
symmetries?
TEACHING SEQUENCES ACTIVITIES
OF INQUIRY
 Which have been designed by
expert lecturers.
 Which have been proved and
modified before this study.
DEEPENING INSTEAD OF
BROADENING
THIS IS A VERY EXIGENT LEARNING:
o They must to understand the
Sun/ Earth model in depth to
think about the world with
sense.

7. Hypotheses
1. Problem based teaching about Sun cycles and symmetries and Sun
/Earth model produces in future primary teachers a high level of
learning and positive attitudes towards teaching and learning
science.
2. The level of learning that they achieve is independent of their initial
attitudes towards science and its teaching.
3. Attitudinal change is independent of their initial attitudes.
4. Attitudes generated by teaching received are positive even in
students who have not achieved the understanding indicators.
5. Problem based teaching of these topics promote that students have
a self perception of confidence to learn and tech science.

8. Experimental design
TIME LENGTH: 2011/2012 – 2012/2013 – 2013/2014
3 EXPERT LECTURERS IBSE
6 GROUPS OF 60 STUDENTS
EQUAL FEATURES
• Same time table
• Same hours of teaching
Same teaching sequence
LEVEL OF LEARNING
was evaluated with:
o 2 exams. Answers evaluation: Has he/she
achieved learning/understanding indicator…?
 0 (no)
 1 (yes, but with some non conceptual
mistakes)
 2 (yes, perfectly)
INITIAL ATTITUDES
Initial questionnaire that assessed
subjects and indicate positive / negative
attitudes towards several subjects.
We classified in:
• positive
• neutral
• negative
EFFECT OF TEACHING ON THE FINAL
ATTITUDES
A) self-perception questionnaire of 23
items
(0 = strongly disagree, 10 = totally
agree).
Questionnaires interaction with people
outside the classroom

9. Exam questions about Sun cycles and symmetries.
TEST ABOUT CYCLES AND SIMMETRIES IN SUN MOVEMENTS
1. (Does he/she know how to follow the Sun? Does he/she know Sun cycles
in Alicante?)
A person has measured in Alicante the maximum altitude with an
astrolabe at unknown date. He/she has not indicated any obtained
value, but has drawn the following (see below).
a. Where would be rise and sunset that day?
b. How long would be that day?
c. Which added information would you need to specify the data
which it was made that measurement?
d. Draw Sun path in spread out horizon.
2. (Does he/she know Sun cycles anywhere in the world?)
We have the following information about Sun in an unknown place:
a. Sunrise azimuth in the longest day of the year is 42º and
maximum altitude in the shortest day of the year is 10º.
b. Find values of sunrise and sunset azimuth and maximum
altitude in all special days.
c. Draw Sun path in the astronomical window in summer solstice.
d. How do you think duration of daylight will be during the year
compared to Alicante?

10. Exam questions about Sun / Earth model
1. (Can she/he locate a place on Earth using observational data on Sun movement at that
place and vice versa?)
a) Can he/she express in observational terms (measureble) what does the coordenates
10ºN and 30ºE mean?
b) How could a person confirm (with Sun path) that it is...
• In the Tropic of Cancer
• In Antarctic Polar Circle
• In a place located in northern hemisphere
c) The following drawing shows the Sun path of winter solstice in an unknown place of
the Earth. Moreover, person who has made the drawing has told us that gnomon
shadow is on the meridian line two hours after than in Greenwich. Please, locate this
place on the Earth.
2. (Can he/she relate the Earth position in its orbit to how we see the Sun in our local horizon?)
Please indicate positions which could answer to the following situations in the northern hemisphere (please draw as you
consider to give us your explanations).
a) The day length is less than 12 hours and it is increasing
b) The day of the highest culmination
c) The shortest day of the year
d) The day length is more than 12 hours and it is decreasing
Please justify (drawing, giving explanations, giving reasons...) in which of last two positions (a) or (d) the average temperature
will be higher in a same place.
3. (Can she/he use the Sun/Earth model in a functional way?)
Please use the Sun/Earth model to deduce how we can see the Sun path in a place where latitude is 55ºN and longitude is 90ºW
in winter solstice. Please compare culmination, day length and sunrise and sunset azimuth with this Alicante data.

11. Experimental design
Several examples about items that have been used to evaluate final
attitudes of students
1. Issues structure and its development has allowed me that I was steered, it means that
I knew what was I doing and for what I was doing always.
2. I feel that I have really learned, that I have made progress.
3. Through issues, I have several opportunities of express which I was thought about we
were talking about and answer my questions.
4. I feel that I was making exercises, one after another, and I didn’t know very well why I
was doing it.
5. I think that I have learned is not only useful to pass the exam but my comprehension
about Sun cycles and Sun/Earth model has improved clearly.
6. It has been high or has increased my teaching and learning sciences interest.
7. It has made think about ideas that I had and convince me that it had better ideas.
8. Issues structure has allowed me to take in account about how scientist work and how
it make progress with models and theories preparation.
Cronbach alpha  (0.8 – 0.96)

12. Results
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2011-12 2011-12 2012-13 2012-13 2013-14 2013-14
Group1 Group2 Group1 Group2 Group1 Group3
% Students
Can students use knowledge about Sun cycles and
symmetries to orientate temporally and spatially?
No Yes, minor mistakes Yes, perfectly
2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014

13. Results
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2011-12 2011-12 2012-13 2012-13 2013-14 2013-14
Group1 Group2 Group1 Group2 Group1 Group3
% Students
Can students use knowledge about Sun /Earth model to
locate a place on Earth using observational data on Sun
movement at that place?
No Yes, minor mistakes Yes, perfectly
2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014

14. Results
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
NEGATIVE NEUTRAL POSITIVE
% Students
Knowledge achieved on Sun
cycles and symmetries vs. initial
attitudes
No Yes
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
NEGATIVE NEUTRAL POSITIVE
% Students
Knowledge achieved on Sun /
Earth model vs. initial attitudes
No Yes

15. Results
Students’ final attitudes towards science
Initial attitude towards
science
Mean final positive
attitude
Standard
deviation
n
Negative 7,56 + 1,48 174
Neutral 7,74 + 1,20 60
Positive 7,80 + 1,07 72
There are not significant differences (ANOVA F2,303 = 0.957, p = 0.39).
Final attitudes of students to science are quite positive
and these are not related to their initial attitudes

16. Results
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Interaction of students with people outside the
classroom (number of times they have spoken about
diurnal astronomy)
0 1-5 6-10 >10
% Students
Nº of times they speak

17. Results on final attitudes of students towards science
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Non achieve Achieve
Attitude scoring
Mean positive final attitudes of students versus
knowledge achievement
Negative attitudes Positive attitudes

18. Conclusions
1. The inquiry-based science education (IBSE) is useful for most of the pre-service
teachers to achieve high level of learning (70% before the final exam).
2. The 35% of students achieved an excellent level.
3. Students overcome the feeling of inability to learn science that they had at
the beginning of the course.
4. IBSE is useful to improve their initial attitudes towards learning/ teaching
science.
5. Interactions that students have had with other people are an indicator of the
interest towards the topic studied (positive attitudes towards L/T science),
regardless the interaction questionnaire that students had (placebo or
astronomy questionnaire).
6. Students who did not pass the exam also improved their initial attitudes
towards science.

19. Thanks
a.menargues@ua.es

20. Science
17%
Initial education to access to the
Degree of Primary Teacher
Humanities
20%
Humanities/Statistics
applied 63%
Initial attitudes of primary teachers towards
56%
science (n=308)
20% 24%
Percentage (%)
Negative Neutral Positive
Negativas Neutras Positivas

21. We start from a subject of 60 hours:
o Call into question ideas about science of people who have studied science at high
school and compare it with people who have not studied science at high school
o How those ideas and knowledge have been generated.
o It is possible a conceptual and epistemological change. 20 h
HYPOTHESIS OF SCIENCE EDUCATION THROUGH INQUIRY
SCIENTIFIC
MISCONCEPTIONS
SCIENTIFIC
IDEAS
Must evolve
Are the
result of
NON SCIENTIFIC
EPISTEMOLOGY
(SPONTANEOUS)
SCIENTIFIC
Are the
result of
EPISTEMOLOGY
Low
Attitudinal involvement
High
Must evolve