Pre-Service Teachers' Challenges and Affordances in Implementing Inquiry-Based Science Teaching at Lower Primary

Our study is a designed-based research with our pre-service teachers as participants. We aimed at mapping pre-service science teachers' challenges and affordances when they faced the task of planning and implementing inquiry-based science teaching (IBST) at lower primary, followed by reflection on their experiences. Using thematic analysis framework, we looked for emerging patterns of challenges and affordances across our data set comprising of lesson plans, classroom observations, pre-service teacher focus group interviews, mentor teacher interviews and pre-service teachers' self-reporting. Our preliminary analysis suggests that given the carefully designed support, the pre-service teachers have managed to implement inquiry-based science teaching even with young students at first and second grade in primary school. A great range of scientific practices was implemented, including formulating hypothesis, making observation, constructing explanation and building argumentation. Some of the challenges dealt with insufficient age appropriate classroom management skills and in developing age appropriate scaffolding for leading inquiry work. However, despite the challenges, the affordances comprising of the usefulness of the 5E-model and the Nysgjerrigper method as teacher guide introduced by the teacher educators, and the children's natural curiosity have supported the pre-service teachers in the implementation of IBST.