Research About Scientific Inquiry Ability Of Physics Normal Students Based On Their Inquiry Journals

During the new curriculum reformation, inquiry teaching is considered to be an important teaching and learning method, and it has the advantage to cultivate students' scientific ways and scientism. However, one of the most important factors influencing inquiry teaching is teacher's scientific inquiry ability. The physics normal students, as the future physics teachers, are the new-born power that carries the reform in education and spare power of the new curriculum. Do they have scientific inquiry ability? Therefore, in order to facilitate inquiry teaching implement successfully and extend further, this dissertation focuses on the research on physics normal students' scientific inquiry ability.This study let physics normal students participate in authentic inquiry projects, and realize their scientific inquiry ability from their inquiry journals(record and write reflection about the progress of their inquiry and describe how these experiences are informing their thinking about inquiry experiences for their future students).Practice the tool of thorough understanding how the physics normal students do inquiry projects and their reflective about inquiry progress and "pedagogical thinking".This dissertation has two parts:Part one: Research about the Grade Point Standard of Inquiry Journal.First, worked out the Grade Point Standard of Inquiry Journal, then, analyze its reliability and validity.Part two: Research about scientific inquiry ability of physics normal students based on their inquiry journals.Use the Grade Point Standard of Inquiry Journal, carry on the evaluation of physics normal student's scientific inquiry ability, getting the total quantity result. And analyze the concrete characteristics of physics normal students' inquiry ability, according to pose question,formulate hypotheses,make plans and design experiments,conduct experiments and collect evidences,analyze and demonstrate,evaluate and assess,communicate and cooperate these seven dimensions, among them still include their reflective thinking about each inquiry process.The results of the research are as follows:1. The Grade Point Standard of Inquiry Journal was found to be valid and reliable.2. Compare each item of physics normal students' inquiry ability, the ability of conduct experiments and collect evidences is best, but the ability of evaluate and assess is the most bad.3. Physics normal students feel difficult developing their own inquiry questions. The questions which they posed overemphasize in investigation rather than experimentation. But, when deciding to do the inquiry, they in consideration of not only their own interest, but also the possibility, value of the topic and so on.4. Most physics normal students' scientific inquiry ability is worse, they don't know how to put forward hypotheses,design experiments according to the inquiry question. After conducting experiments and collecting evidences, they get experiment conclusion according to experiment phenomenon directly, do not carry on detailed explanation and description of the data to make a conclusion and answer the inquiry question. After the inquiry, they just write their own feeling in brief, but do not carry on the valuation to the inquiry process that they experienced.5. Small parts of phycics normal students have stronger scientific inquiry ability: They observe their local environment actively and post question that can be explored, throw themselves into thinking, put forward hypotheses and design experiments based on the knowledge and experiences they already have, some normal students can improve experiment projects according to existing condition. In the process of conduct experiment, they observe the phenomenon earnestly, collect the data well and truly, some normal students can notice the accidental occurrence of phenomenon in the experiment, and analyze its reason.They explain and describe the experiment result according to the inquiry question.They consider the process of inquiry seriously, assess the inquiry procedure and result, discover the problem that did not resolve and do the further thinking. They also discuss with other members of group, announce own standpoints, and consider other people's opinions.6. Physics normal students try to reflect the process of inquiry which they experience, the results of the reflections are as follows:(1)The inquiry study gives them new experience, they like and support the style of study that cooperate with group members to do inquiry.(2)They have certain understanding of the meaning or importance of each inquiry factor.(3)Parts of normal students connecting episodes of personal inquiry experiences with future students, which has the following characteristics:1)Their reflective thoughts about inquiry teaching aren't without foundation, but are closed with the inquiry procedures they have experienced, they conceive the later inquiry teaching behavior according to their inquiry experiences and conceptions of inquiry teaching.2)They have more thinking about the teaching of such inquiry procedures: pose questions,make plans and design experiments,conduct experiments and collect evidences,communicate and cooperate.3)The inquiry teaching type they conceive mostly is open inquiry, namely, teachers allow students to develop their own questions and design their own inquiry projects to resolve.4)Their beliefs about the needs of letting students have hand-on experience in the inquiry-based teaching, emphasize student's main position. They also think that they should play many roles in their future inquiry-based teaching classroom, including motivator,guide,mentor and collaborator.5)They consider inquiry teaching as a new kind of teaching means, but their understanding of the teaching is superficial, they don't do the thorough thinking about the concrete teaching behavior.