Teachers' Effective Use of Time in Scientific Inquiry Lessons

Abstract

This study was aimed to calculate teachers’ effective use of time in scientific inquiry lessons. The research was designed as a case study. The study group of the research consists of 5 pre-school teachers determined by the convenient sampling method. Before the study, the participants were taken in-service training program on scientific inquiry. A timetable, developed by the researchers, was used as a data collection tool. The tool consists of two main themes, "academic time" which has three sub-themes, and "non-academic time". The academic time definition for this research is the process of scientific inquiry interventions that are consist of “building on ideas", "supporting investigation", and "supporting analysis and conclusion" sub-themes. Teachers’ classroom videos were the data source of the research. Each video was analyzed in terms of the timetable by the authors. Results of the study stated that the teacher, who uses too much time in one process of the scientific inquiry, could not take enough time to the other processes. In conclusion, teachers need development in the effective use of time in their classrooms. For future studies, it is suggested that mentors’ observation and feedback will contribute to the teachers' use of effective time in their scientific inquiry lessons.