National Harbor, MD
March 23-26, 2025
Conference Website
The National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) is a worldwide organization of professionals committed to the improvement of science teaching and learning through research. Since its inception in 1928, NARST has promoted research in science education and the communication of knowledge generated by the research. The ultimate goal of NARST is to help all learners achieve science literacy. The theme of the 2025 annual international conference is “In Praise of Science Teachers: Essential Partners in Researching, Reframing, and Reforming Science Learning.”
Monday, March 24
Examining Students’ Scientific Inquiry Patterns Using Sequential Process Data
Yizhu Gao, Xiaoming Zhai, Hee-Sun Lee
8:15 AM – 9:45 AM, Magnolia 1
Univariable reasoning is widely used in science inquiry and problem-solving, which denotes coordinating effects of a single variable on an outcome. Previous studies have identified strategies that students apply univariable reasoning and their impact on science investigation. However, students often do not immediately figure out an optimal strategy. Instead, they typically engage in an iterative process of testing and refining their approaches as they investigate the phenomena. This trial-and-error process is crucial for understanding how students’ univariable reasoning evolves to construct a comprehensive profile of students’ scientific inquiry processes. This study combined theory-driven and data-driven analyses to profile students’ scientific inquiry patterns, which comprise sequential strategies combinations, and compare them across varying grades. Specifically, this study involved 251 high school students from the United States who participated in interactive simulations about influential factors of wildfire. We extracted students’ process data and task performance recorded in log files. Results from K-means Clustering and full-path sequence analyses revealed eight groups with distinct inquiry patterns. By comparing representative inquiry patterns of each group, we identified students’ different cognitive processes, even when their task performance is similar.