• School Science Journal
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.274-286
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• 2018

The role of instruments in scientific inquiry is very important. As science and technology develop, science inquiry instruments are also changing. IoT-based inquiry tools and output data, which are newly introduced in science inquiry class, can play a role in reaching the goal of scientific inquiry. The aim of this study is to find the appropriateness of digital inquiry instruments based on Kirschner and Kreijns (2004).T he students who participated in this study were 8 middle school students located in Seoul and they investigated the quality of classroom air. During the four months of the inquiry activity, we had participant observation and retrospective interviews. We recorded the data, analyzed it, and coded it in terms of educational affordance. As a result, there are four educational affordance of digital inquiry instruments. First, it stimulates students' interest and motivation to learn basic knowledge for data processing, because digital inquiry instruments deals with real-life data. Second, the digital inquiry instruments as a complex sensor made a big data so it serves as an affordance that leads to hypothetical hypotheses. Third, because of the features and limitations of the digital inquiry instruments itself, it shapes and limits the design of the science inquiry method. Fourth, since the data is measured in real time, the amount of data is enormous. So the digital inquiry instruments serves as an affordance of increasing the information processing competence to analyze data. In order for science inquiry activities based on digital inquiry tools to be activated, various policy and economic supports are needed, such as the science environment, the contents of the software, software training, and guided learning materials.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.227-238
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• 2019

In this study, we investigated the perception of elementary school students on inquiry activities and collaborative problem-solving ability in data-based scientific inquiry. For this purpose, 20 data-based scientific inquiry classes were conducted in 26 elementary school students in Gyeongnam City. After selecting the inquiry problem, students conducted an inquiry process to collect data using digital inquiry instruments. The following results were obtained through questionnaires and interviews after the classes: First, students perceived the step on 'inquiry design and execution' as the most useful in the data-based scientific inquiry. Second, students perceived that their scientific ability and cooperation improved through data-based scientific inquiry, with the selection of inquiry problems being the most difficult. Third, students perceived positively the improvement of cooperative problem-solving ability. From the above results, it was found that data-based scientific inquiry is necessary to improve the elementary school students' scientific inquiry ability and cooperative problem-solving ability. Based on this research, we hope that the development and research of various inquiry activities will provide opportunities for inquiry that can cultivate various abilities needed for students living in the future.