The Use of Data Mining to Achieve the Objectives of Open-Ended Inquiry in the Context of IB Biology Classrooms

Practical work involving laboratory experiments is agreed upon to be an essential component of secondary science education. Practical work encompasses a broad range of activity types. The different forms of practical work are not equal in terms of cognitive demand and learning benefit. Inquiry-based investigations provide experience of cognitive apprenticeship, an opportunity for developing important and unique academic dispositions and exposure to communities of practice. There are several barriers to the successful implementation of inquiry investigations, and achievement often falls short of the intended outcome in multiple educational jurisdictions. Database mining as the foundational method of an inquiry investigation can address these challenges. The International Baccalaureate Diploma requires submission of a written record of an inquiry-based investigation as part of its assessment scheme. Two hundred samples of International Baccalaureate inquiry investigations were analyzed to ascertain the frequency of use of data base mining as the method, whether there was a difference in the outcome of this approach in terms of the evidence of complying with the model and their success against the assessment criteria. Results show that there is no difference in outcome of assessment, with slight improvement in one domain. There is no difference in the frequency of successful compliance with the model. The implications of these results are distance learning utility and scaling up of inquiry investigations for universities without requiring a significant drain on resources. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]