Setting theoretical and empirical foundations for assessing scientific inquiry and discovery in educational programs

This study was designed to develop measures of student competence in conduc ting scientific inquiry. Two assessment techniques were developed. The firs t measures Scientific Inquiry Capabilities, variables which are indicators of diverse aspects of competence in conducting scientific inquiry. The seco nd measures Scientific Discovery, an indicator of success in attaining scie ntific concepts as a result of direct investigations into natural phenomena . Thirty-two high school students were presented with tasks requiring the b uilding and testing of logical-mathematical models of natural phenomena. Th e relationship between each Scientific Inquiry Capability and success in ma king discoveries was tested. Several Inquiry Capabilities were identified a s strongly correlated with success in Discovery, notably: Proportional Reas oning, the Coordination of Theory with Evidence, and the Disposition to Sea rch for Necessary Underlying Principles. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.