- 93 - Proc. Natl. Sci. Counc. ROC(D) Vol. 8, No. 3, 1998. pp. 93-101 Impacts of an Inquiry Teaching Method on Earth Science Students’ Learning Outcomes and Attitudes at the Secondary School Level SONG-LING MAO AND CHUN-YEN CHANG Department of Earth Sciences National Taiwan Normal University Taiwan, R.O.C. (Received May 20, 1998; Accepted January 12, 1999) Abstract This paper summarizes two companion studies that were designed to investigate the impacts of an inquiry teaching method on Earth science students’ achievement and attitudes toward Earth science in secondary schools. Subjects were 557 Earth science students (9th grade) enrolled in 14 Earth science classes. Two Earth science units including topics of astronomy and meteorology were developed and taught using the inquiry-oriented instructional model. The experimental group (n=284) received inquiry- oriented instruction while the control group (n=273) received a more traditional approach over an eight- week period. The dependent variables were measured through the use of (1) the Earth Science Achievement Test to assess Earth science students’ achievement and (2) the Attitudes toward Earth Science Inventory to measure students’ attitudes toward Earth science. Quantitative data were collected on students’ pre- and post-treatment achievement and attitudes toward Earth science measures. Analysis of covariance revealed that (a) the inquiry-oriented instructional method produced significantly greater achievement among ninth grade Earth science students than the conventional teaching approach on both astronomy content ( F=9.45, p<0.01) and meteorology content (F=8.41, p<0.01), and that (b) students in the experimental group developed significantly more positive attitudes toward Earth science than did those in the control group (F=9.07, p<0.01). In light of these two studies, it is therefore suggested that students can learn Earth science through the inquiry approach. In addition, these findings support the notion that effective instruction of Earth science, such as using inquiry-oriented instruction, should be proposed and implemented in secondary schools. Key Words: inquiry, teaching methods, student attitudes, achievement, earth science I. Introduction According to the 1996 National Science Educa- tion Standards developed in the U.S. (NRC, 1996), “teaching science as inquiry provides teachers with the opportunity to develop student abilities and to enrich student understanding of science” (p. 121). Inquiry- oriented instruction in the literature has been closely associated with other teaching methods, such as prob- lem-solving, laboratory and cooperative learning, and discovery instruction. These methods are commonly referred to as the inquiry approach, which often places an emphasis on the extensive use of science process skills and independent thought. Inquiry-oriented teaching practices have long been proposed and have prevailed in main-stream classrooms. Research findings on the comparative efficacy of inquiry vs. traditional instruction are conflicting. Many studies on the use of inquiry-ori- ented teaching approaches in typical secondary school classrooms have shown some positive effects on stu- dents’ content-achievement (Chang & Barufaldi, in press; Ertepinar & Geban, 1996; Gabel, Rubba, & Franz, 1977; Geban, Askar, & Ozkan, 1992; Hall & McCurdy, 1990; Henkel, 1968; Mulopo & Fowler, 1987; Richardson & Renner, 1970; Russell & Chiappetta, 1981; Saunders & Shepardson, 1987), on content retention (Schneider & Renner, 1980), on laboratory skills or science process skills (Basaga, Geban, & Tekkaya, 1994; Mattheis & Nakayama, 1988;