Comparative Research In The Inquiry Activity Of The PEP Version And Beijing Normal University Press Biology Textbooks In Middle School

The curriculum reform is always great research task of the education reform. Textbook in the building is an important part. The textbooks are the main origin for students to obtain knowledge, and the main curriculum resources to implement course instruction. As the eighth curriculum reform puts great emphasis on inquiry learning, one of the highlights is to set up space for scientific inquiry in textbooks. Through carrying out inquiry activities suggested by the textbooks, students are expected to construct knowledge while mastering inquiry skills, forming the habit of inquiry learning as well as engaging in creative thinking practices.Scientific activity is the direction of physical science subjects education and also the focus and hot spot of educational research. After years of study, many achievements have been made in this area. However, there still exist defects in the design and implementation of scientific activities. Therefore, exactly grasping the nature of scientific activity and optimizing scientific activity design is an important subject that is worth studying at present. It will not only play a key role in promoting deeper development of quality-education and also will exert a deep and long-term influence over the basic education curriculum reform.Through the lens of some basic theories of inquiry learning, this study compares inquiry activities in two sets of currently used textbooks, one from People's Education Press and the other from Beijing Normal University. The comparisons are drawn in several aspects, including types, levels, inquiry skills required and possible inquiry thinking involved. In addition, this study also investigates how some of the inquiry activities get implemented into classrooms through classroom observations and teacher interviews. Problems encountered during the implementation process are identified and discussed, design of the inquiry situation and exploring in ideology. The conclusions can give teachers a reference in teaching with the textbooks, and hopefully the conclusions can also offer assistance to editors who are to revise them in the future. There five parts in the full text.The first part is a foreword. This section includes problem of this field of research put forward, dynamic, research purpose and ideas and research methods four content. The new curriculum reform in our country are discussed the research trends, establishment of this research, research significance and method based on.The second part is about the theory of science inquiry activity were reviewed. This part of the formulation of thought of the proposed explore, summarized the meaning of scientific inquiry, The type of scientific inquiry activity with level, explore skills and explore thinking and other aspects of the definition, establish related inquiry activity design principles.The third part is the specific activity analysis of the textbooks. First, we explore the type and the level of inquiry activities in the two sets of textbooks. And then we compare the three sets of textbooks in the levels of activities and the skills including the inquiry in the overall. Finally, we explore the comparison at the level of thinking on the activity, at the same time we analyze the relationship between the level and the thinking of the inquiry, we also analyze the relationship between the thinking and the skills the inquiry.Partâ…£is a study of teaching practice. At a two-month classroom observation, we found that many of the experimental category of materials to explore activity have not been carried out better, the type of communicating activity carried out more widely. At the same time, we found that in teaching the existence that the teacher reduces the level of activity by themselves. And that the inquiry thinking and skills can not be implemented better.The fifth part is research conclusion and deficiencies. In this part we summarized our research drew a conclusion, and put forward some suggestions about the design of the inquiry and the development of inquiry. Finally, we point out the inadequacies in this study, and we points out the direction for future research, too.The results of this study are:Two sets of new textbook arranged more inquiry activity,128 of PEP,171 of Beijing Normal University Press, and set up the various form inquiry activities. PEP focused on communicating, and Beijing Normal University Press lay particular stress on experiment inquiry activities. Two sets of textbooks take the knowledge learning inquiry activities. Exploring the skills, the lower opening of activities in the two sets of teaching material is basic skills, higher opening of activities include more skills elements, but the demand is higher. In terms of the thinking training, both progressive problems have lower proportion. Meanwhile, the activity setup of the two versions of the textbooks is evaluated. The conclusions are: 1. the two versions are different in type and in content choice.2. the activities of the two versions both take too much time, cost is too high, and resource conditions more demanding.3. the activities are not comprehensive enough in training students' inquiry method and ability.