A Potential for Interest Driven Learning to Enhance the Inquiry Based Learning Process

Interest driven learning has the potential to enhance the inquiry based learning process by contextualizing curriculum as students investigate scientific questions, collecting and analyzing data, and construct reasonable conclusions relative to their interests. This paper presents a project and its findings that involved preservice elementary teachers developing science lessons from student career interest information gathered from a class of second graders. How might interest driven learning enhance preservice elementary teachers' ability to teach science through inquiry based learning? How might interest driven learning influence elementary students' perception of science in their future careers? The preservice teachers reported positive attitudes toward teaching science while connecting student career interests with science content. The project also reported having a positive impact on the second graders' perceptions of science associated with their chosen careers.