An analytical tool for assessing the formation of the scientific mind of students participating in inquiry activities

This work reports the development and application of an analytical tool for the analysis of the formation of the scientific mind of students who took part in inquiry activities, based on the philosophy of Gaston Bachelard, in a Chemistry Club. For the construction of the analytical instrument, an extracurricular course was offered to first-year high school students in which theoretical-practical inquiry activities were carried out at level 4, where the students were required to propose a hypothesis to begin the inquiry activities. Based on the students' responses, as well as on the theoretical framework and other theoretical perspectives on science teaching – which also take inquiry teaching into account, the analytical instrument, titled Analytical Map of the Scientific Mind, was constructed. The validation of the instrument was carried out through the application of double-blind analysis of the responses provided by the students in the inquiry-based activities developed in the Chemistry Club. The findings of this study showed that the analytical tool was able to categorise the ideas expressed by the students and helped monitor the development of the scientific mind.