Analysis of Canadian Inquiry-based Science Teaching Practices and its Implications for Reciprocal Learning

As part of the SSHRC partnership grant on Reciprocal Learning between Ontario, Canada and Southwest, China, we examined the commonalities and differences in secondary school Inquiry-based Teaching (IBT) in science between sister schools in Ontario, Canada and Southwest, China. Canadian and Chinese teachers’ interpretations of inquiry through video-recorded lessons, qualitative observational annotations, and quantitative data collected via the EQUIP instrument were analyzed. Results suggest that there is a non-significant difference in application of IBT between secondary science teachers in Ontario, Canada and in Southwest, China between the reciprocal learning populations. Both populations are perceived to use inquiry-based teaching methods in their classrooms proficiently, and that students are more receptive at a higher cognitive level when teachers incorporate IBT.


Introduction
The Ontario Science curriculum is designed to promote higher level thinking through inquiry-based learning, but the delivery of any curriculum is dependent on the ability of the teacher to teach through inquiry (Sanders & Rivers, 1996). All teachers should then be teaching through inquiry in order to successfully meet the Ministry approved curricula. Although many teaching methods and instructional strategies exist, inquiry is of main focus for this study because it is one of the core standards of practice that the Ministry of Education supports (Ministry of Education, 2011), and one that our Chinese reciprocal partners are interested in and are implementing as well. The Reciprocal Learning Project is an agreement between the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Southwest University in China. The intent of the project is to share experiences of teaching and learning between the east and the west. Schools in Windsor are designated to be partners with schools in Southwest, China. The schools meet monthly through Skype and have discussions on pedagogy. Many other reform-based initiatives also value inquiry-based instruction as a main component of effective instruction (National Science Education Standards, 1996, 2001; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993Science, , 1998Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2000;Llewellyn, 2002).
Inquiry-based teaching (IBT) is a method that is widely used to improve student achievement in academia (Llewellyn, 2002). Students are more likely to become engaged and self-directed learners in an inquiry-based environment which can lead to increases in student achievement (Jang, Science, 1993Science, , 1998. The Ministry of Education in Ontario identifies four key elements to teach using an inquiry-based approach: 1. Student engagement and focus, 2. Student communication, explanations, and reflections to share learning, 3. Student exploration and investigation, and 4. Student analysis and extension of thinking (Ministry of Education, 2011). Creating the list of Ministry expectations for IBT was one challenge that took years to create, but it is a whole other realm to execute these expectations while teaching. This study examines the connection of the theory behind IBT and the practice by analyzing the similarities and differences of inquiry-based teaching in Ontario, Canada and Southwest, China.

Literature Review Theoretical Framework
An international program, called Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS, 2015), assesses grade 4 student performance in science. Science achievement scores in Ontario, Canada dropped significantly from 540 (2003) to 525 (2015), whereas scores in Southwest, China have increased to 555 (2015). This shows that Canadians are lacking something in science education.
The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA, 2015) is another international test that assesses science progress in 15-year-old students. The most recent PISA science results from 2015 (OECD, PISA, 2015) indicate that Ontario, Canada has dropped 2 points to an average of 528 in science, and Southwest, China has maintained their score of 532. These two measures reinforce that Canadians are lacking something in science education that we could learn from our partners in Southwest, China, therefore, furthering the importance of analyzing the teaching methods utilized in Ontario, Canada and Southwest, China.
There are many teaching methods and instructional strategies that have been shown to support student achievements, for instance, teacher self-efficacy (Buss, 2010;Pajares, 2005;Posnanski, 2002;Riggs, 1995;Shrigley and Johnson, 1974), mindset (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007), and degree earned and years of experience teaching (Giddings, 2005;Howitt, 2007;Nenneman, 1971). This study is conducted in schools where inquiry is a core standard for successful education (Ministry of Education, 2011), thus the focus is the inquiry-based instructional strategy.
"Inquiry is a multifaceted activity that involves making observations; posing questions; examining books and other sources of information to see what is already known; planning investigations; reviewing what is already known in light of experimental evidence; using tools to gather, analyze, and interpret data; proposing answers, explanations and predictions; and communicating the results. Inquiry requires identification of assumptions, use of critical and logical thinking, and consideration of alternative explanations." (National Research Council, 1996, p. 23) Dewey (1916) believed that teachers should allow student curiosity to guide learning. Teachers who support student curiosity elicit a sense of student empowerment to explore concepts, formulate explanations, and delve into solutions. Dewey noted that teachers who adopt an inquiry-based scientific approach to teaching can improve student learning. Vygotsky (1962) also believed that learning was an active process that incorporated scaffolding, and higher cognitive learning.
Educational research supporting inquiry-based teaching (IBT) is encouraging instructional institutions to adopt a more engaging, exploratory, and critical-thinking environment for students. IBT is a recurring theme that to be successful in educational instruction in science, school systems are pushing the implementation of IBT (National Science Education Standards, 1996, 2001; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993Science, , 1998. However, it is the quality of inquiry-based teaching that counts (Marshall, Smart & Horton, 2009). As such, proper training for teachers in the areas of understanding and implementing IBT in secondary science classrooms is critical to its overall success. Many teachers have a misconception of inquiry-based teaching, where they believe that inquiry-based teaching requires teachers who merely engage students in activities (Moscovici & Holdlund-Nelson, 1998), whereas others view it as a deep investigation process ). This disconnect in teacher comprehension of IBT is still being investigated, and instruments continue to be developed for measuring the effectiveness of IBT.

Studies and Selection of Instrumentation
IB teaching is widely assessed on the teacher's ability to include open-ended questioning, scaffolding (Vygotsky, 1978), and higher-level thinking (Llewellyn, 2002;Tomlinson & McTighe, 2003) in his or her lesson. Past studies and their instruments used to model inquiry-based teaching are discussed in this section.
The Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP; Sawada, Piburn, Falconer, Turley, Benford & Bloom, 2000) uses a constructivist approach as more of an evaluative tool for teaching, instead of focusing on solely inquiry-based teaching. The RTOP also utilizes a Likert scale, which makes it difficult to provide reasons for differences between a 4 and 5 on the Likert scale, and leaves little room for pinpointing improvement and reflective feedback for the teachers.
Another instrument that involves inquiry-based teaching is the Science Teacher Inquiry Rubric (STIR; Beerer & Bodzin, 2003). Bodzin and Beerer (2003) conducted a study that observed ten science teachers for inquiry-based attributes. Results from this pilot study determined the STIR is an unsuccessful self-assessment instrument (r=0.58), but an effective observational tool (r=1). This tool evaluates teacher standards for their teaching practice, but it does not provide specific feedback for teacher improvement, nor do its studies show reliability or validity information.
Teacher efficacy scales (Riggs & Enochs, 1990) are also a popular measure of self-reporting teaching abilities, however, they focus solely on self-efficacy. Although self-efficacy has been studied in conjunction with inquiry-based teaching (Hamzeh, 2014), the need for this study was an instrument that explicitly assessed inquiry.

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Analysis of Canadian Inquiry-based Science Teaching Practices and its Implications for Reciprocal Learning Due to a lack of consistency in instruments to assess how science teachers describe, understand, and implement inquiry-based teaching, Marshall, Horton, Igo & Switzer, (2009) created an instrument to assess inquiry-based teaching. The Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol (EQUIP) was developed to measure quantity and quality of inquiry in K-12 science and mathematics classrooms in the United States. EQUIP's parameters are based on whether the teacher's lesson follows a 4Ex2 Instructional Model (Marshall, Horton & Smart, 2008). A 4Ex2 ("4E by 2") Instructional Model follows a lesson that engages students, allows student exploration, encourages student explanation, and extends lessons in order to support assessment and reflection. This model links conceptual understanding of content with inquiry-learning experiences, and integrates assessment and metacognition through reflection. In order to utilize the EQUIP model, lessons should follow the three united constructs of formative assessment, inquiry instruction, and metacognition (Marshall, Horton & Smart, 2008). Engagement refers to how involved the students are within the lesson. Exploration is how much of an opportunity is given to students to make a hypothesis or reach a conclusion. Explanation refers to clarifying an action or event. Extension is the art of stretching the lesson beyond the initial stages of explanation and seeing how it relates to other lessons and subjects.
Marshall and Horton (2011) further studied a group of middle school science (12) and mathematics (10) teachers. Teachers were observed for assessment of inquiry-based instruction via the EQUIP instrument. Participant teachers were separated into two groups: those who allowed student exploration before explanation, and those who merely provided students with explanations. Results indicate that when teachers spent more time allowing students to explore, students were participating more frequently and at a higher cognitive level than when teachers spent little time for student exploration. There was a positive correlation between exploration time and cognitive level of students, and a negative correlation between explanation time and cognitive level of students.
This study uses the EQUIP instrument for its thoroughly descriptive assessment questions towards inquiry, for its reliability (16 paired observations, interrater reliability via Cohen's kappa 0.61 for instruction, with a coefficient of determination of 0.856: n = 16, Ƙ = 0.61, r 2 = 0.856) and validity (internal consistency of 0.858-0.912, α>0.858) values, for its similar standards of inquiry-based lessons to that of Ontario, Canada's model and Southwest, China's model, and for its alignment with this study's definition of inquiry.

Statement of Problem
The Reciprocal Learning Project (RLP) between Ontario, Canada and Southwest, China has raised much interest in international differences in education. There is a lack of international comparative research of inquiry-based teaching (IBT) in secondary science. Video-analysis of science lessons in both countries allows for a more in-depth observation, analysis, and sharing of strategies.

Purpose and Overview
This study focuses on identifying the commonalities and differences in secondary IBT in science between Ontario, Canada and Southwest, China. The purpose of this study is to examine secondary school science teachers' comprehension of IB teaching through their lessons.
We examine teachers differing ideas of IB teaching in secondary science. There is no consistent style of teaching that seems to be the most effective, however, as previously stated, the inquiry-based teaching style is supported as a means to successful educational programs. Can we specify details of an inquiry-based teaching approach that consolidates effective learning?

Purpose & Research Questions
The purpose of this study is to analyze secondary school science teachers' comprehension of IB teaching through their lessons. The following research questions frame this study: 1.
Is IBT in secondary science practiced in Ontario, Canada? How? -The EQUIP instrument is used to collect quantitative and qualitative data regarding IBT. This data will be combined with additional qualitative reflections to provide insight into how IBT is used in secondary science in Ontario, Canada and Southwest, China. Hypotheses: HO-IBT is not practiced in secondary science classrooms in Ontario, Canada. HA-IBT is practiced in secondary science classrooms in Ontario, Canada.

2.
How effective is IBT in secondary science in Ontario, Canada? -The EQUIP instrument provides a scoring system which rates IBT amongst teacher participants, which when analyzed can provide insight into the effectiveness of IBT based on student engagement. Hypotheses: HO-IBT is not effective in secondary science classrooms in Ontario, Canada. HA-IBT is effective in secondary science classrooms in Ontario, Canada.

3.
Is IBT in secondary science practiced in Southwest, China? How? -The EQUIP instrument will be used to collect quantitative and qualitative data regarding IBT in Southwest, China. This data will be combined with additional qualitative reflections to provide insight into how IBT is used in secondary science in Southwest, China. Hypotheses: HO-IBT is not practiced in secondary science classrooms in Southwest, China. HA-IBT is practiced in secondary science classrooms in Southwest, China.

Research Design
This observation-based video analysis research study follows a mixed-methods research approach to analyze IBT in secondary science. This study uses a mixed-methods research approach because it combines two sets of data to answer one or more questions (Creswell & Clark, 2007). To answer the research questions, quantitative data using a classroom observation checklist, and qualitative data through observational reporting is triangulated.

Study & Partic5ipants
In the fall semester of 2015, six volunteer, contracted, secondary school science teachers from a variety of schools within the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB), participated in the video analysis study. Teacher candidate research assistants arranged observation/video recording dates and locations with each GECDSB science teacher and were consented to video tape each lesson. Videos were recorded on a designated camera to retain participant confidentiality. Lessons were recorded in the teacher's authentic classroom setting, with the teacher's normal group of students. The following Canadian courses were observed and recorded in the video analysis study: SNC1D (Grade 9 Academic Science), SNC2D (Grade 10 Academic Science), SBI3C (Grade 11 College level Biology), SBI3U (Grade 11 University level Biology), SCH3U (Grade 11 University level Chemistry), and SBI4U (Grade 12 University level Biology). Lessons were reviewed and analyzed for specific factors related to inquiry-based teaching, including open-ended questioning, scaffolding, and higher-level thinking. The following Chinese courses were observed and recorded in 2017 in the video analysis study: Chemistry: Grade 10, Chemistry: Grade 11, Biology: Grade 11 (2), Physics: Grade 10 (2), and Physics, Grade 11. Similarly, to the lessons of the Canadian teachers, the lessons of the Chinese teachers were analyzed for factors related to inquiry-based teaching.

Instrumentation
To analyze the lessons, each teacher candidate researcher provided annotated observational summaries for their respective teacher participant's lesson. These qualitative annotations are triangulated with a quantitative Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol (EQUIP).
The qualitative annotations follow the construct of self-report questionnaires (Dinsmore, Alexander & Loughlin, 2008). Self-report questionnaires were first utilized in a study regarding self-regulated learning (Cleary, Callan, Malatesta & Adams, 2015), where a series of statements about beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours generate reflective responses. In the current study, teacher candidate researchers reported detailed observations portraying the teacher participant's IBT. These reflections are used in conjunction with the quantitative data to make inferences about IBT in Canadian schools.
The Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol assessment has been developed to measure quantity and quality of inquiry in K-12 science and mathematics classrooms through 19 indicators within four domains: curriculum, instruction, discourse, and assessment (Marshall, Horton & Smart, 2008 (Marshall, Horton & Smart, 2008). Level of inquiry-based teaching is measured in the four domains aforementioned, following a 4-level scale: 1-Pre-inquiry, 2-Developing inquiry, 3-Proficient inquiry, and 4-Exemplary inquiry. Scores are averaged from the four domains to provide teachers with a comprehensive description of their IBT ability, and it also identifies areas teachers can improve upon. Time analysis reports the exact amount of time that the teacher participant spends on activity facilitation, organization, inquiry instruction, and assessment, and it also reports time the students spend on being attentive, and their time spent on cognition as described in the EQUIP assessment utilization instructions (Marshall, et a., 2008).

Ethics
The Research Ethics Board approved this study under the umbrella of the Ontario, Canada-Southwest, China Reciprocal Learning Project. Teacher candidate researcher observations and opinions are respected and are portrayed as originally recorded. Student faces were not recorded on video footage in order to maintain student privacy. All GECDSB teacher participant lessons and materials collected remain confidential. Both teacher candidate researchers and GECDSB teacher participant names and information remain confidential, and as informed, participants were able to leave the study at any time.

Data Collection & Analysis
The following data presented are collected from observational records based on teacher candidate researchers, and from the EQUIP assessments (section iii is omitted as it is given to teachers for metacognitive reflection as baselines for improvement). Teacher participant names are withheld for confidentiality, instead the codes based on the class they taught replace their name.

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Analysis of Canadian Inquiry-based Science Teaching Practices and its Implications for Reciprocal Learning In the case of teacher participants who agreed to the recording of more than one lesson, only the first lesson is recorded in detail in Table 1 or Table 2. Supplementary lesson data is included in the quantitative data analysis in Table 3 and Table 4. Video footage is archived until publication of the paper, upon which it will be deleted.

Analysis of Quantitative Data
To analyze quantitative data from the EQUIP assessment, data from EQUIP sections iv-vii were compiled for observational results. In section ii, time was analyzed for observational results. From the group statistics in Table 3, it can be noted that there were no significant differences in the use of IBT within Canadian Teachers and within Chinese Teachers, nor was there any significant difference between Canadian Teachers and Chinese Teachers. Further confirmation of this statement can be found from the independent sampling test displayed in Table 4.
Using Levene's Test for Equality of Variances, all significance values (p-values) were determined to be greater than 0.05. Therefore, the sample variances are assumed to be equal. A t-test was conducted, and the results were used to compare the mean EQUIP scores of the samples for each factor between the respective countries. There were only minor differences between each country's means with respect to Instructional Factors and Curriculum Factors. The t-values close to zero show agreement with the null hypothesis for each factor. Differences between the means for Discourse Factors and the Comprehensive Score were greater than the previous two factors, showing a larger deviation from the null hypothesis. The greatest difference between the means was evident in Assessment Factors. The t-test provides evidence that, in terms of assessment, the null hypothesis may not be true due to the major differences between the sample data and the null hypothesis. Ultimately, since a four-point scale was used, in combination with a small sample size for each country, the results are not generalizable.

Analysis of Qualitative Data
To analyze the qualitative data from the EQUIP assessment, a cross-case analysis between teacher participants was conducted. Based on the construct of self-regulated reflections (Cleary, Callan, Malatesta & Adams, 2015; Dinsmore, Alexander & Loughlin, 2008), teacher participant IBT observations were compared. In this study, reflections were used in conjunction with the EQUIP data to make inferences surrounding IBT. Here we provide a summary of observational reflections, and we highlight themes from the six teacher participant lessons.

SNC1D
"Labs are not inquiry-or problem-based like I thought. The lab was completely laid out for the students, and all they had to do was follow the steps." "The teacher did ask questions, but they weren't much thought provoking." "I think a more inquiry-based way to present the lab would be to allow the students to combine their own choices of chemicals."

SNC2D
"This was a problem-based lab. Students were given the steps and 4 compounds and they had to solve the problem by going through the lab. When students asked questions that related to their notes or the lab, he would answer with another question to force them to find the answer themselves." "There was little to no inquiry in this lesson because it was a more structured lab they had to complete rather than one they got to construct themselves."

SBI3C
"Students responded well to whiteboard review questions. The questions started off easy, and the teacher provided encouraging comments when they answered." "Students were extremely engaged and interested because they had control of the exploration of the goldfish." "Students were beginning to pose some good questions."

SBI3U
"The teacher used a lecture-based style, connecting old material with new material." "He used a lot of visuals and mechanics to demonstrate respiration. He got the students involved by making them think about their own breathing." "The teacher used experimental learning, which allowed students to get out of their seat." "There was no inquiry-based information in his lesson today. There was more problem-based teaching, especially when he gives out case studies for the students to make connections with. His students responded very well to his style of teaching."

SCH3U
"Had a guided inquiry activity at the beginning of the lesson, where she gave each student math building blocks and a situation regarding owning a building business but having a limited amount of blocks to build with. She introduced limiting reagents after students explored the situation." "I found that this lesson was more problem-based. She facilitated most learning. The class was very interactive, and students used a lot of scaffolding."

SBI4U
"This teacher had a flipped classroom. Students were very engaged and had more questions because they had a chance to process the information the night before." "He related the process of making DNA to obtaining someone's recipe and recreating it. The recipe must come from the source if you want to recreate it. Students understood this concept and we able to relate it to the topic." "He used small steps and didn't move forward until everyone understood." "Students practiced making their own RNA strands, exploring how the mechanism worked." "Teacher frequently guided students to participate in the teaching activities and design experimental plans." "The questions put forward by teachers reached the level of analysis. Students were required to apply knowledge and skills in new situations." "The teacher evaluated the students' response, and adjusted the teaching method based on the students' response." Biology, Grade 11 "This class is a new lesson about "environment of cell life". The teacher is the center of the class. In the course of teaching, the emphasis and difficulty were outstanding, and the teachers could connect the old knowledge with the new knowledge, but there were few inquiry activities, and the students were always passive learners." "In the class, the teacher asked students some questions, but most of the questions have only one correct answer.
Some questions were open questions, and students only responded verbally." Chemistry, Grade 10 "This class focused on the chemical property of chlorine. Because there were so many knowledge points in this class, the teacher explained the teaching contents through videos at most of time. However, the participation of students was not enough." "There were some questions asked by teacher in this class, but most of time she answered it. Because the teacher rarely invited students to answer it or gave less time to students to think, and teacher mostly guided students to answer questions. The content of chlorine water was inquired into, which required the students to put forward the test reagent according to the possible substances, but the explore meaning of the whole class was not obvious." Physics, Grade 10 "The teacher as students' learning guide continuously and effectively, guided students to use previous knowledge to solve the computational problem of the first cosmic velocity." "Teacher can attracted students to participate in analysis, discussion and inquiries." "Teachers guided students to participate in deliberation and discussion with some questions and pushed them according to students' answers to encourage them to think more at a higher level." "There are some inquiry activity in the curriculum. Students also took notes to help them understand the point of knowledge." Biology, Grade 11 "In the whole class, teacher was the center of the class at most of time. After understanding the concept of carcinogenic factors, students can explain how harmful carcinogenic factors are." "The teacher asked some questions in class, but most of the questions have only one correct answer and some are open issues. The questions asked by the teacher are at the students' level of understanding." "The teacher evaluated the students' prior knowledge and the correctness and wrongness of the students' answer, but only part of evaluations could attract students to reflect on the problems."

Teacher Participant Chinese Teacher Candidate Researchers' Reflections
Physics, Grade 10 "Teacher is the center of the class. She frequently taught in expository methods and occasionally guided students to study." "In the class, the teacher's lecture took up the most time, and little time is left for students' discussion." "In the progress of teaching, the teacher adjusted the way of teaching according to the students' feedback." "The course provides a prescriptive inquiry approach to explore the relationship between the speed of planets in the perihelion and aphelion. Students also make related records when they understand what the teacher is talking about." The Canadian teacher candidates predominantly observed problem-based learning, rather than inquiry-based learning. Most of the observed science lessons contained some type of lab or experiment that promoted discovery but was still guided and laid out in a step-by-step manner. Many teacher candidates reported that teachers used questioning effectively in order to engage their students. Scaffolding was used in a number of lessons and interactive activities were used in an effort to increase student engagement and excitement regarding the topic being presented in class.
The Chinese teacher candidates predominantly observed teacher-centred classrooms.
The teacher-centred classrooms involved teachers asking questions, waiting for student responses, and adjusting the lessons accordingly. Based on the observations, it does not appear that many science classrooms within our Chinese sample are using inquiry-based teaching methods in their classrooms. Most teacher candidates observed there were numerous and constant connections to prior learning and that lesson were often very difficult and/or intellectually stimulating.

Results & Discussion
To answer RQ1, we first analyzed data from sections iv-vii in the EQUIP assessment. Data suggests that three out of the six Canadian teacher participants displayed an overall 'proficient' level of inquiry. The other three displayed an overall level of 'developing' inquiry. Our small sample size is not large enough to generalize the level of IBT for the entire population of secondary science teachers in Ontario, and more largely Canada. However, it does provide some insight into the second part of RQ1: how our teachers are implementing IBT.
To answer the second part of RQ1, the time observations in section ii were analyzed observationally for frequent data that was facilitated by teachers. Data suggested that the three Canadian teacher participants with the lowest levels of inquiry (Table 1, Summative Overview) spent the most time on non-instructional tasks (administrative tasks, handing out/back papers, general announcements, and little instruction) and non-inquiry-based tasks (rote memorization, drill and practice, checking homework answers, classwork with no explanation, skill automation-based activities, and quizzes). The three Canadian teacher participants with the highest levels of inquiry (Table 1, Summative Overview) spent the most time on engaging, student-centred, guided lessons that emphasized process and allowed students to explore before collaborating on an explanation.
To answer RQ2, the time observations in section ii were analyzed observationally for frequent data displayed by the students. Data suggested that the three Canadian teacher participants with the lowest levels of inquiry corresponded with students that had low-medium attention spans where some students were off task, disruptive, or demonstrated short-term receipt of the knowledge. The three Canadian teacher participants with the highest levels of inquiry corresponded with students that had medium-high attention spans where most students were attending to the lesson, volunteering ideas, answering questions, engaging, participating, and applying the knowledge for further analyzation.
To answer RQ3, similar to the findings of the Canadian teachers, the Chinese teachers did not incorporate true inquiry-based teaching. The Chinese teacher data showed three of the seven teachers appeared to be at a proficient level and the others were at a level of 'developing' inquiry. Once again, due to the small sample size the findings are not generalizable for Southwest China, and more largely, China. Most of the observers found the teachers using traditional questions based on knowledge answers rather than higher order responses that require metacognition. No teacher actually conducted an inquiry-based lesson. Inquiry is often mistaken for problem-based teaching where a problem is solved through a series of guided questions. For example, the Physics, Grade 10 was based more on lecture than discussion. The term "prescriptive inquiry" is used as a teaching strategy. It appears that prescriptive inquiry is a bit of an oxymoron in that prescriptive involves telling people what they should do, not really allowing for inquiry at all.
For both the Canadian and Chinese teachers, the reflections from the teacher candidate researchers were used for the validation of the quantitative EQUIP assessments. Despite the lack of significance based on the small sample size, this qualitative data provides further insight into the comprehension of IBT from both the teacher participants and furthermore, the teacher candidate researchers' perspectives.
Although the quantitative data showed that both the 2288 Analysis of Canadian Inquiry-based Science Teaching Practices and its Implications for Reciprocal Learning Canadian teachers and the Chinese teachers reached levels of proficiency in the use of IBT, the qualitative data tells a different story. The observational responses of the teacher candidates after analyzing the videotapes stated teachers were not proficient in IBT. The classrooms were still teacher-centred and the questions were still surface knowledge-based questions. There was little evidence of critical thinking involved in any of the classes.

Findings & Implications
We found that in secondary science classrooms, when teachers allowed students to explore concepts before explanations and contribute to the explanations, students participated more frequently at a higher cognitive level. This is further supported by Marshall, et al., 2009; Furthermore, in the Canadian science teachers' lessons we have reviewed, it was apparent that not all teachers utilize inquiry-based teaching proficiently. It seems that not all teachers are proficient in IBT, which is counterproductive to Ontario's Ministry of Education standards (Ministry of Education, 2011). Although some Canadian teachers appear to be incorporating inquiry-based teaching, some Canadian teachers are not executing inquiry-based teaching that can be assessed by EQUIP. There were similar findings with the science teachers from China. Although they believe that what they are doing is inquiry, it is still very teacher-centred and autocratic in approach. The questions do not offer choice or voice and the responses are knowledge based rather than inquiry-based or even problem-based. Is the lack of inquiry-based teaching an effect of a misconception of what inquiry-based teaching involves? Or is it a fault in EQUIP? A larger sample size, and a different population will provide some clarity.

Limitations & Challenges
There are several limitations to this study. Firstly, there is a lack in sample size for generalizability. Of the 6 teacher participants, only 3 secondary schools were represented out of the 10 GECDSB secondary schools. This sample size is not representative of the entire Canadian population of secondary school teachers, and therefore, we cannot generalize these results. Furthermore, the EQUIP assessment tool required a sample size of 16 participants in order to be reliable and valid, however, the qualitative observational annotations provide support for the data on a smaller scale.
Another limitation lies in teacher performance under the knowledge of being recorded. Did teachers improve their performance for their audience? Teachers may have been hyperaware of their teaching and could have increased their performance for their teacher candidate research spectator. This poses the issue of whether video recording is a true demonstration of their inquiry-based teaching. These video recordings were on daily lessons and inquiry requires a very structured approach for student led inquiry.