Hypothesis generation is an important but difficult process for students. This study investigated the effects of providing students with support for hypothesis generation, with regard to the testability and complexity of the generated hypotheses, the quality of the subsequent inquiry learning processes and knowledge acquisition. Fifty‐two secondary school students completed three prior knowledge tests and worked on an inquiry task in the domain of force and motion, concerning the topic of Newton's first law of motion. They received either a set of terms (variables, conditions and relations) to help them generate hypotheses (T condition, n = 23) or the same set of terms plus a partial hypothesis to start from (T + PHy condition, n = 29). Results showed that students in the T + PHy condition generated more complex hypotheses, performed better at data collection and acquired more domain knowledge than students in the T condition. No effects of prior knowledge were found.

This study investigated the effects of presenting domain information (basic information about the domain) either together with or instead of offering exploratory practice (an exploratory opportunity in a simulation‐based representation of the learning domain) prior to inquiry learning for facilitating students' hypothesis generation and subsequent inquiry processes and their knowledge acquisition. Secondary school students (n = 118) completed a simulation‐based inquiry task on force and motion. They were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: the D + E condition (n = 29), in which domain information and exploratory practice were available; the D condition (n = 30), in which only domain information was available; the E condition (n = 32), in which only exploratory practice was available; or the C condition (n = 27), with no support at all. Students' knowledge was measured with a pre‐ and posttest and a test on knowledge of variables. Inquiry processes were inferred from information students entered in a Hypothesis Scratchpad and an Observation tool, and from a final summary that they had to write. Results indicated that providing students with domain information alone helps to foster their knowledge of variables before generating hypotheses and leads to knowledge acquisition. The results also showed that the opportunity to explore before experimenting does not affect students' inquiry behavior or learning performance, even when combined with providing students with domain information.

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Hypothesis generation is an important but difficult process for students. This study investigated the effects of providing students with support for hypothesis generation, with regard to the testability and complexity of the generated hypotheses, the quality of the subsequent inquiry learning processes, and knowledge acquisition. Fifty-two secondary school students completed three prior knowledge tests and worked on an inquiry task in the domain of force and motion, concerning the topic of Newton's first law of motion. They received either a set of terms (variables, conditions, and relations) to help them generate hypotheses (T condition, n = 23) or the same set of terms plus a partial hypothesis to start from (T+Phy condition, n = 29). Results showed that students in the T+Phy condition generated more complex hypotheses, performed better at data collection, and acquired more domain knowledge than students in the T condition. No effects of prior knowledge were found.

As a national pilot institute of the educational reform on practical teaching, an integrative and continuous practical teaching was established and implemented through four measures: promote a practical teaching system that is available for every undergraduate throughout their whole bachelor program; integrate the design of theoretical the practical teaching to closely associate the theoretical course with practical teaching; construct a complete practical teaching system by including experiment teaching, course design, project practice and extracurricular innovative practice; improve the level of practical teaching by appropriately allocating scientific research team, relevant personnel and resource. Based on the exploration and practice of this kind of practical teaching system, the integrative competence and quality of the undergraduates and graduates are both improved..