Date of Award

Spring 5-2025

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master's of Science in Teaching (MST)

First Committee Advisor

Mitchell Bruce

Second Committee Member

Alice Bruce

Third Committee Member

Nuri Emanetoglu

Abstract

This thesis presents the findings and implications of the instrument called the Prior Inquiry Experience (PIE) survey, designed to evaluate students' prior experience with inquiry-based laboratory work. The survey was created for a research study involving inquiry-based lab work and the connection between observations, representation, and experimentation. The survey's development involved formative assessment, revision, and validation processes, to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of the instrument in capturing student self-reported levels of inquiry lab work. Central to the survey was a five-dimensional framework defining inquiry, which guided the survey design but utilized as a way to enhance students' understanding of inquiry as they assessed their own experiences.

Key findings indicate that students’ prior experiences predominantly align with levels categorized as guided inquiry, as outlined by Towns et al., revealing a trend that many students have limited exposure to higher levels of inquiry, such as authentic research. The consistency between self-reported data from Likert scales and qualitative written responses suggests a robust reliability in students' self-assessments. This is further supported by a strong correlation between rater evaluations of student written responses and their corresponding Likert ratings, suggesting that the survey reflects student prior inquiry experience levels.

Employing a diverse array of statistical measures—including Cohen’s Kappa, Light’s Kappa, Krippendorff’s Alpha, Spearman’s Correlation, and Pearson’s Correlation—the investigation demonstrates significant agreement with high interrater reliability, validating the overall survey instrument. One highlight of formative assessment was refined survey instructions, for the second-generation instrument, that led to a significant increase response rate, which suggests a higher level of engagement in soliciting student experiences. Interviews with a group of students having taken the survey, appear to corroborate these findings, with students’ self-assessments aligning well with established evaluation rubrics.

In conclusion, the PIE survey is a short, 5 Likert scale and text response survey, that can be utilized for assessing prior inquiry experience. This information will provide an overall guide to the level of inquiry-experience students have, as well as capture specific aspects (using the written responses) to understand the range of student abilities and experience with conducing inquiry lab work. This survey may find utility in pre- post-pedagogical strategies aimed at evaluating and elevating student engagement in authentic research experiences. The findings underscores the necessity of integrating more comprehensive inquiry-based learning opportunities into the educational framework to better prepare students for advanced scientific inquiry and research.

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