Classification of Observations and Experiments Based on “Inquiry Skills” and Their Exploratory Characteristics Through Analysis of an Approved Upper Secondary Basic Chemistry Textbook

Abstract

In this study, we categorized observations and experiments published in the upper secondary school basic chemistry textbook of Company A, certified by the Ministry of Education in 2021, from the perspective of “inquiry skills” developed by Hasegawa et al. (2013). We aimed to clarify the inquiry characteristics of each cluster. From the results, the following points became clear: (1) Observations and experiments published in the upper secondary school basic chemistry textbook of Company A can be categorized into four types according to “inquiry skills”. (2) The four types of observations and experiments can be classified into two types of “inquiry skills”: whether they are quantitative or qualitative, and can be further classified according to whether the reasoning is inductive, abductive, or deductive. (3) Observations and experiments in the upper secondary school basic chemistry textbook tend to involve more deductive thinking than the “particles” area of the primary school science textbook, and tend to include less hypothesis setting and hypothesis testing. (4) There is no significant difference between the percentage of “inquiry skills” included in observations and experiments in the upper secondary school basic chemistry textbook and that of the “particles” area of the lower secondary school science textbook.