Community of inquiry in STEAM: development of an evaluation rubric and program development

This study was designed to help teachers engage students in inquiry learning in the science classroom. To achieve this aim, a program evaluation rubric for teachers and researchers was developed, based on the theoretical framework of pursuing a Community of Inquiry (CoI) using Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education. This rubric was validated by a team of science education experts and was used to evaluate three existing STEAM programs and one STEM program. A new program was also developed, based on the theoretical framework of pursuing a CoI and on the author’s existing program evaluation findings. This study’s conclusions determined that collaboration and curiosity are two crucial factors when enriching students’ learning and engaging them in inquiry learning. However, these factors were not present in the STEM program, and the collaboration factor was minimised in parts of one of the three STEAM programs. Using the results from the evaluation of the other programs, the new program developed in this study was improved, implying that this program can be used in the classroom to successfully engage students in inquiry learning. The new program and evaluation rubric developed in this study will be valuable tools, helping teachers to make decisions about existing programs and their own program development when working to engage students in inquiry learning.