Hvordan kan et utforskende undervisnings- opplegg i naturfag støtte læring og motivasjon hos elever med stort læringspotensial?

Gifted students' learning and motivation through an inquiry-based science unit

Abstract

This article presents how an inquiry-based teaching unit designed for the regular classroom can support the motivation and learning of gifted students. Inquiry-based teaching was conducted with such students, and data were gathered via anonymous questionnaires in which the students were asked how they perceived the learning activities. The responses were clustered around five themes: instructive teaching, deep learning, interest, variation and mastering. Our results indicate that these five aspects support students’ learning directly and indirectly through motivation. The inquiry-based teaching unit is distinct in that it allows the learner to immerse him or herself in a topic of interest and in varied and advanced tasks, deepening subject knowledge and enhancing practical and creative ways of working. The relevance and applications of the subject knowledge were found to be additional motivating factors. The teaching unit provides examples of several adaptation strategies recommended for gifted students integrated into the regular classroom.