Teaching molecular diffusion using an inquiry approach : diffusion activities in a secondary school inquiry-learning community

The Dutch chemistry curriculum for upper secondary schools has prescribed inquiry-based student learning since 1997. For some decades inquiry tasks have been a feature of school science in various countries (1). As in other countries, some of our chemistry teachers are used to recipe-geared practical work and face difficulties in teaching using an inquiry-based approach for student learning (2). These difficulties motivated five chemistry high school teachers from four schools in the area to seek help at our institutions. We agreed to start a collaboration with those teachers to also address the criticism that the version of scientific investigation taught in secondary school portrays a narrow and incomplete image of real science (3–6). Together we decided to design and implement a curriculum unit creating a simulated inquiry community of upper-secondary chemistry students (ages 16–17) to enhance inquiry-based student learning. In this process we were interested in two questions. One relates to the design: “What characterizes a successful design process and product?” The other relates to implementing the design: “What changes in conceptual knowledge regarding domain-specific concepts occur when students do an inquiry-based activity in a simulated inquiry community?”