Regardless of how many years they have been teaching, many teachers still feel nervous on the first day of a new school year. One question that remains on their minds is: How do I teach the same ideas and strategies from a fresh perspective? Teachers can use this simple thought experiment at the beginning of the school year to gauge students’ reception to scientific ideas and inquiry:

Think back to two students who have created beautifully crafted notes on Newton’s laws of motion. Their pages are filled with annotated models and diagrams that make abstract physical science concepts visible and meaningful.

Ask the students a simple question:

“If the mass of an object is suddenly doubled while the net force remains exactly the same, what happens to the object’s acceleration?”

The first student flips back through their notes, searching for a section of the text that can help them answer the question. The second student doesn’t look at their notes at all; instead, they draw a free-body diagram to trace the relationship between the given variables. The first student views the notes as an end product, while the second student uses them as a mental map to understand relationships.

This moment reminds me that genuine learning is often quiet. Deep thinking rarely looks dramatic. The challenge is how to help students transition from finding ready-made answers to actively using tools to make sense of phenomena, treating knowledge not merely as something to retrieve, but as a framework to manipulate.

To thrive, students must move beyond merely observing; they must develop the self-awareness to exercise resilient optimism and the adaptability to take action. Because true engagement and comprehension are not always visible, we must create a culture where students demonstrate engagement through active participation.

To foster this environment, consider four foundational strategies.

1. Model Mastery and Mindset

Self-efficacy—the belief in one’s ability to achieve a goal—is strengthened through mastery experiences: moderately challenging, well-scaffolded tasks that create a sense of incremental achievement. 

Drawing on Maultsby's Rational Behavior Therapy, teachers can try the “Stop-Challenge-Choose” technique. This is a self-coaching tool that allows students to pause before reacting, question their common assumptions, and intentionally choose a response that aligns with their goals and values. Middle school students may find abstract problems involving applied forces and friction challenging. Providing a sequence of scaffolded questions can help structure the problem-solving process and reduce unnecessary cognitive demands on their working memory. The following example directs students’ attention to the key steps involved in solving such a problem.

1. Identify the object and all external forces acting on it.

2. Draw and label a free-body diagram for the object.

3. Determine the magnitude and direction of each force.

4. Calculate the net force acting on the object.

5. Use Newton’s second law, F_net = ma, to calculate the object’s overall acceleration. 

2. Clarify the Rules of the Game

We live and learn in a rules-based world. Students need a structured understanding of vocabulary, signs, and conventions before they can navigate ambiguity with confidence. Before you ask students to design an investigation, teach them how to write a research question, identify variables, interpret graphs, and distinguish observations from inferences.

3. Make Feedback Actionable

In an inquiry-based classroom, feedback is the bridge between effort and mastery. Whether feedback is direct or more implicit, the goal is the same: clarity.

Try using the Active Audit Strategy:

• The Passive Trap: A student spends an hour highlighting keywords and definitions.

• The Active Pivot: A student spends 30 minutes drawing reaction mechanisms from memory, then audits their work to identify missing steps.

Use periodic reports, reflective journals, and open-ended evaluative tasks to provide students with a clear blueprint for improvement.

4. Set the Stage for Reflection

True inquiry requires reflection. Help students turn abstract criteria into tangible objectives with visual roadmaps for long-term projects. Encourage them to reflect on their learning journeys and to treat their struggles as a narrative they can analyze and overcome.

By embracing both confidence and the potential for growth, we can help students build the self-efficacy they need to meet future challenges.

Call to Action

What timeless principle will you double down on this school year?

Share your strategies for building trust and inquiry in your laboratory or classroom in the comments section. Let’s have a conversation.

Sources

Bandura, Albert. 1997. Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. W.H. Freeman.

Etkina, E., Karelina, A., Murthy, S., & Ruibal-Villasenor, M. 2009. Using action research to improve learning and formative assessment to conduct research. Physical Review Special Topics – Physics Education Research, 5(1), 010109. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.5.010109 

Maultsby, Maxie C., Jr. 1984. Rational Behavior Therapy. Prentice Hall.

The Physics Classroom. (n.d.). Drawing free-body diagrams. https://www.physicsclassroom.com/tutorial/newtons-laws/forces-and-its-representation/drawing-free-body-diagrams 


Veeraiah Kummari is an International Baccalaureate (IB) and high school chemistry educator based in Germany. Veeraiah served as a manuscript reviewer for the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) from June 2020 through July 2026. He is also an IB Diploma chemistry workshop leader and a content developer for IB Exchange, an interactive professional learning platform for educators. Connect with him on LinkedIn, or check out his blog.
 

The mission of NSTA is to transform science education to benefit all through professional learning, partnerships, and advocacy.