Science readiness of college freshmen: Implications to inquiry-based science instruction

Abstract

College readiness provides foundation of knowledge and skills to allow future workers to adapt to the changing requirements of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven workplace. Science literacy has become a necessity for everyone because society is increasingly dependent on Science and Technology. This descriptive quantitative study aims to determine competency level of incoming freshmen in Science as measure of their college science readiness and to describe how it can possibly influence inquiry-based Science instruction. Ratings in a teacher-made Science test covering Nature of Science, Life Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Earth and Space Science were used. Science items were categorized by cognitive domains such as factual knowledge, conceptual understanding, and reasoning and analysis. Results showed that the group Mastered the knowledge domain of Physics only while the other subareas by science cognitive domain were either Least learned or Nearly Mastered at most. The group performed Least in Life Sciences followed by Chemistry. Subareas in Science are positively associated with each other. The same pattern is observed in the different cognitive domains. Analyzing and associating the results with the students’ readiness for inquiry based Science instruction, teachers can comfortably employ inquiry in the classroom for groups who have at least nearly mastered different areas in Science. While this pedagogical approach is highly recommended to develop critical, logical, and creative thinking among students, it requires some Science basic skills for it to be effective particularly in reasoning and analysis.