Encouraging teachers to adopt inquiry-based learning by engaging in participatory design

Inquiry-based methods are effective for STEM education, but they are perceived as difficult to implement. Often teachers have not experienced inquiry-based learning themselves, which limits their appreciation of their value of these methods. Changing this requires modifications at the classroom level to simplify implementation of inquiry-based methods and implementing professional development for teachers to encourage adoption. A participatory design project is described that is part of a multi-year program in which five high school physics teachers are collaborating with researchers at Tufts University to develop classroom educational technology tools for promoting collaborative inquiry-based learning. By participating in a technology-design project, teachers are experiencing the inquiry process as well as developing tools that will facilitate using inquiry-based methods in their classrooms. The research and design effort to date has led to requirements for (and a prototype of) a classroom tool that promotes student collaboration and sharing of their ideas. An overview of the design process is provided along with a discussion of the activities planned for the implementation phase.