Engaging seventh-grade students in prediction-observation-explanation of plant absorbance/transport phenomena: impact on relational conceptual changes and scientific inquiry abilities

This study examined the impact of a Prediction-Observation-Explanation (POE) intervention on 15 seventh-grade students' relational conceptual changes and scientific inquiry abilities as they investigated the plant absorbance/transport phenomena in a photosynthesis learning sequence. The variation theory of learning that promotes intellectual empathy underpinned the study's pedagogy. A granular phenomenography analysis of students' pre-post inter-intra-explanations through writing and drawing resulted in seven theoretical descriptive categories. A relational conceptual change perspective involved in the interventional investigations resulted in 1) adding and deleting categories of ideas from pre-to-post teaching, 2) change in the number of students within the categories of ideas, 3) the replacement of everyday language with scientific knowledge, and 4) the complexity of students' responses from pre-to post-teaching. In assessing students' scientific inquiry ability levels with a POE analytic rubric of writing and drawing worksheets, 18% and 82% were developing and proficient, respectively.