Characterization of immersive argument-based inquiry learning environments in K-12 science education and the development of a teacher profile tool for professional development

Schools in the U.S. are always working to improve instruction and learning for students. One way they do this is through creating educational standards in various content areas, including science. The most recent science standards call for students to do science instead of just learning a set of scientific facts. In response, teachers and educational researchers develop and study strategies which help promote quality science learning. One strategy is called immersive argument-based inquiry and involves students developing and discussing claims based on scientific evidence they gather through investigations or experiments. This strategy involves creating a classroom learning environment which supports student-centered, investigational learning. However, these learning environments are not yet well-understood. This dissertation is broken into two studies with the purpose of learning more about these learning environments and helping teachers create them. The first study aims to figure out what common actions and learning opportunities take place in the classroom, uncovering a list of common elements from sixteen existing immersive argument-based inquiry approaches. Then, a teacher inventory or profile tool is developed to assess how well teachers are addressing these common elements in their planning and teaching. The second study tests out the tool with a set of teacher data in order to better inform how it should be applied in the future. Overall, the purpose of the tool is to monitor teachers as they develop argument-based inquiry learning environments. Ultimately, the findings could help educational leaders and schools provide supports for teachers to, in turn, improve learning environments for students.