A Study of Student Verbal Behaviors in Inquiry and Noninquiry Settings in Biology.

Reported is a study of the verbal behaviors used by biology students in inquiry and noninquiry settings. The population for this study included 10 BSCS teachers who had enrolled for two semesters in an instructional program designed to make teachers aware of alternative skills and strategies of inquiry; to recognize those used in their own classrooms; to select, practice, and implement selected strategies; and to plan instructional activities to develop inquiry behaviors in students. This Instructional Staff Development (ISD) Program was designed for experienced teachers interested in improving inquiry learning in their classrooms. Each participating teacher was videotaped in one randomly selected class before and after instruction in the ISD program. Verbalized behaviors were coded using the Revised Inquiry Analysis Instrument. The "Self-pairing" of observations technique was used with measurement of the same individuals before and after treatment. Results showed the percentage of total teacher talk was significantly lower in the inquiry setting and student talk higher. Variety of verbal influence behaviors used by students was greater. The percentage of time spent verbalizing "data analysis and interpretation" and "procedures" was significantly greater in the inquiry setting. (Author/EB)