The underlying relationships between the observed practices as revealed by an exploratory factor analysis of equip ratings

The Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol (EQUIP) is an instrument to measure the amount and quality of inquiry instruction of science and mathematics classrooms. The EQUIP rubric includes detailed descriptions for the inquiry practices that it measures. This study analyzed a large dataset of Texas science teacher observations using a discriminant factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis. The discriminant factor analysis found the inquiry instruction practices of primary (1st-5th grade) science teachers and secondary (6th-12th grade) science teachers to differ greatly, with primary science teachers using inquiry practices more often than secondary science teachers. Based on this information the primary and secondary datasets were analyzed separately with the exploratory factor analysis. The resulting factors indicate a variety of differences in the observed practices. The results also, suggest that discourse practices play a divergent but influential role for both datasets. Potential implications for professional development and future research are discussed.