Mapping a science inquiry unit

This study describes an analytic procedure to examine inquiry processes in science teaching and learning. This procedure was applied to the study of a seismology unit in a ninth-grade earth science classroom. An emergent coding scheme was developed that provided a description of the different activities, science content, and type of scientific data. Analysis of classroom discourse identified the ways the seismology unit can be understood as providing opportunities for students to engage in scientific inquiry. The analytic processes provides the basis for the examination of scientific inquiry in other settings.