Science Teaching Method to Develop Students’ Scientific Inquiry Skills Through “Monodzukuri” (“Making” Activity)

—Focusing on the Abilities to Overview, Reflect upon, Evaluate, and Improve the Inquiry Process

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a teaching method to enhance students’ scientific inquiry skills. Under the authors’ devised method, students’ ability to overview the inquiry process, as well as the abilities to reflect upon, evaluate and improve the process, were developed through the deployment of “Monodzukuri” (“making” activity) in science lessons at lower secondary school. In groups, students construct their own hypotheses toward a question, then (1) plan a method to verify the hypothesis by using the watchwords for planning, (2) do “Monodzukuri” based on their plans, (3) record the results of the “Monodzukuri” to discuss it with other groups based on the watchwords for reflecting upon and evaluating the process, and repeat (1) through (3). Verification lessons of the teaching method at a lower secondary school showed statistically significant positive results, confirming the method’s effectiveness in enhancing students’ ability to plan an inquiry process, to verify their hypothesis, and to reflect upon, evaluate, and improve the process.