methods of inquiry in education

Inquiry-Based Learning: A Comprehensive Guide for Teachers

Welcome to the world of inquiry-based learning!

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re already familiar with traditional forms of education, where the teacher is the primary source of knowledge. Students are expected to absorb information passively. However, inquiry-based learning flips this model on its head, putting students at the center of their learning journey and empowering them to ask questions, seek answers, and actively engage with the material.

But why should you consider incorporating inquiry-based learning into your classroom? Here are just a few of the many benefits:

Engagement in the Learning Process

One of the key benefits of inquiry-based learning is the ability to engage students in the learning process. When students are given the opportunity to explore a topic that interests them and are encouraged to ask questions and seek answers, they become more invested in the material. This can lead to increased motivation, attention, and retention of information.

Inquiry-based learning also provides an excellent opportunity for students to develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. By posing questions and seeking answers, students are encouraged to think critically about the topic and evaluate and analyze information. This helps them to develop the skills they need to solve complex problems and make informed decisions.

Working Together and Getting Creative

Foster Creativity and Innovation

Inquiry-based learning can also foster creativity and innovation in students. When students are free to explore a topic and come up with their own ideas and solutions, they are more likely to think outside the box and come up with creative and innovative approaches. This can be especially beneficial in subjects like science and technology, where students are encouraged to think creatively to solve real-world problems.

Encourage Collaboration and Teamwork

Inquiry-based learning can also be an excellent way to encourage collaboration and teamwork among students. When students work together to explore a topic and seek answers, they have the opportunity to share their ideas and perspectives and to learn from one another. This can help to build strong working relationships and foster a sense of community within the classroom.

Develop Communication Skills

Inquiry-based learning can also support the development of communication skills in students. By posing questions and seeking answers, students are encouraged to communicate their ideas and findings to their classmates and teachers. This can help them to develop their oral and written communication skills, as well as their ability to present information effectively.

Think About It

Support the Development of Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Inquiry-based learning can also be an excellent way to support the development of higher-order thinking skills in students. By encouraging students to think critically and to evaluate and analyze information, inquiry-based learning can help students to develop skills like analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and application. These skills are essential for success in higher education and in the workforce.

Support the Development of Self-Regulation and Metacognitive Skills

Inquiry-based learning can also support the development of self-regulation and metacognitive skills in students. By allowing students to take control of their learning and to set their own goals, inquiry-based learning can help students to develop self-regulation skills like time management, organization, and goal-setting. Additionally, by encouraging students to think critically about their learning and to reflect on their progress, inquiry-based learning can help them develop metacognitive skills like self-monitoring, self-assessment, and self-direction.

Inquiry-based learning can also be an excellent way to develop research skills in students. By posing questions and seeking answers, students are encouraged to find and evaluate sources of information and to use this information to support their ideas and conclusions. This can help them to develop the skills they need to conduct research effectively, whether for a school project or in their future careers.

Develop Digital Literacy Skills

In the digital age, it is more important than ever for students to develop digital literacy skills. Inquiry-based learning can be an excellent way to support the development of these skills, as students are often encouraged to use technology and the internet to find and evaluate information. This can help students to develop skills like internet search, online research, and digital citizenship.

In the Real World

Develop Real-World Problem-Solving Skills

Inquiry-based learning can also be an excellent way to develop real-world problem-solving skills in students. By encouraging students to think critically and to explore real-world issues and problems, inquiry-based learning can help students to develop the skills they need to solve complex problems and make informed decisions in their personal and professional lives.

Develop Cultural Competencies

Inquiry-based learning can also support the development of cultural competencies in students. By allowing students to explore different cultures and perspectives, inquiry-based learning can help students to develop an understanding and appreciation of diversity. This can be especially important in today’s globalized world, where cultural competency is essential for success in both education and the workforce.

Develop Global Citizenship Skills

Inquiry-based learning can also be an excellent way to develop global citizenship skills in students. By encouraging students to think critically about global issues and to consider the perspectives of others, inquiry-based learning can help students to develop the skills they need to be responsible and engaged global citizens.

Develop Ethical Reasoning Skills

Inquiry-based learning can also support the development of ethical reasoning skills in students. By encouraging students to think critically about ethical dilemmas and to consider different perspectives, inquiry-based learning can help students to develop the skills they need to make informed and ethical decisions.

Implementing Inquiry-Based Learning in the Classroom

Now that we’ve covered some of the many benefits of inquiry-based learning, you may wonder how to implement it effectively in your classroom. Here are a few best practices and strategies to consider:

Start small: If you’re new to inquiry-based learning, it can be helpful to start small and gradually build up to more complex projects. This can help you to get a feel for the approach and to identify any challenges or obstacles you may encounter.

Set clear goals and objectives: It’s important to have clear goals and objectives for your inquiry-based learning project so that students understand what is expected of them and can stay focused on their learning.

Encourage student choice: Allowing students to choose their own topics or projects can be an excellent way to engage them in the learning process and foster a sense of ownership over their work.

Use a variety of resources: Encourage students to use a variety of resources, including books, articles, websites, and interviews, to gather information and ideas for their projects.

Encourage collaboration: Inquiry-based learning can be an excellent opportunity for students to work together and learn from one another. Encourage students to collaborate and share their ideas and findings with their classmates.

Differentiate instruction: It’s important to remember that all students learn differently, so it’s essential to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners. This may involve providing different resources or activities for students, or offering different levels of support or challenge.

Incorporate technology: Technology can be a powerful tool for inquiry-based learning, as it gives students access to a wealth of information and resources. Consider incorporating technology into your inquiry-based learning projects, whether it be through the use of computers, tablets, or other devices. Just be sure to teach students how to use these tools responsibly and ethically.

Assessing Student Learning and Progress in an Inquiry-Based Learning Environment

Effective assessment is essential for ensuring student learning and progress in any educational setting, and this is no different in an inquiry-based learning environment. Here are a few strategies and methods to consider:

Traditional assessments: While traditional methods of assessment, such as exams and quizzes, can still be useful in an inquiry-based learning environment, it’s important to keep in mind that they may not always be the most effective way to assess student learning.

Alternative assessments: Alternative assessment methods, such as projects, presentations, portfolios, and essays, can be more effective in an inquiry-based learning environment, as they allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a more authentic and meaningful way.

Formative assessments: Formative assessments, designed to provide ongoing feedback to students and teachers, can be beneficial in an inquiry-based learning environment. These assessments can help students to track their progress and to identify areas where they need additional support or challenge.

Summative assessments: Summative assessments, designed to evaluate student learning at the end of a unit or course, can also be useful in an inquiry-based learning environment. These assessments can provide a more comprehensive picture of student learning and can be used to inform instruction and make decisions about student progress.

Gathering and analyzing data: It’s essential to gather and analyze data on student learning and progress in an inquiry-based learning environment. This can be done through various methods, such as student self-assessment, teacher observation, and assessment of student work. By analyzing this data, teachers can identify areas of strength and areas where students may need additional support or challenge.

What is the Difference Between Inquiry-based learning and Project-based Learning?

Inquiry-based learning and project-based learning are similar in that they both involve students in active, hands-on learning experiences. However, there are some key differences between the two approaches.

Inquiry-based learning is an approach to education that focuses on students asking questions, seeking answers, and actively engaging with the material. It encourages students to explore a topic or issue, to think critically and creatively, and to come up with their own ideas and solutions. Inquiry-based learning is often open-ended and allows for student choice and creativity.

Project-based learning, on the other hand, is an approach that involves students in a long-term, in-depth investigation of a real-world problem or challenge. Projects often have a clear outcome or product, such as a presentation, report, or prototype. Project-based learning can be more structured than inquiry-based learning, as it often has specific goals and objectives that students must meet.

While both approaches involve active, hands-on learning, the focus of inquiry-based learning is on the process of exploring and discovering, while the focus of project-based learning is on the product or outcome. Both approaches can be effective in engaging students and supporting their learning, and many teachers use elements of both in their classrooms.

Inquiry-based learning is an approach to education that puts students at the center of their own learning journey and empowers them to ask questions, seek answers, and actively engage with the material. With its numerous benefits, including the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills, the fostering of creativity and innovation, and the encouragement of collaboration and teamwork, it’s no wonder that inquiry-based learning is becoming increasingly popular in classrooms worldwide.

If you’re interested in incorporating inquiry-based learning into your classroom, we encourage you to explore the additional resources and references provided below. With careful planning and creativity, you can create an engaging and meaningful learning experience for your students.

Please comment and share if you found this helpful!

THANK YOU! 😊

Additional Resources and References

• The Inquiry-Based Learning Page ( https://www.inquirybasedlearning.org/ )
• Inquiry-Based Learning: What It Is and Why It’s Important ( https://www.edutopia.org/article/inquiry-based-learning-what-it-why-its-important )
• 10 Tips for Implementing Inquiry-Based Learning ( https://www.edutopia.org/article/10-tips-implementing-inquiry-based-learning )
• Assessing Inquiry-Based Learning ( https://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar12/vol69/num06/Assessing-Inquiry-Based-Learning.aspx )

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Part 3: Instructional Methods/Learning Activities

Inquiry-based learning.

Inquiry-based learning  (also  enquiry-based learning  in  British English ) [1]  starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios—rather than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge. The process is often assisted by a  facilitator . Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop their knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning is closely related to  problem-based learning , and is generally used in small scale investigations and projects, as well as  research . [2]  Inquiry-based instruction allows students to develop and practice critical thinking skills. [3]

Inquiry-based learning is primarily a  pedagogical  method, developed during the  discovery learning  movement of the 1960s as a response to traditional forms of instruction – where people were required to memorize information from instructional materials. [4]  The philosophy of inquiry based learning finds its antecedents in  constructivist learning  theories, such as the work of  Piaget ,  Dewey ,  Vygotsky , and  Freire  among others, [5] [6] [7]  and can be considered a constructivist philosophy. Generating information and making meaning of it based on personal or societal experience is referred to as constructivism. [8]  Dewey’s experiential learning pedagogy (that is, learning through experiences) comprises the learner actively participating in personal or authentic experiences to make meaning from it. [9] [10]  Inquiry can be conducted through experiential learning because inquiry values the same concepts, which include engaging with the content/material in questioning, as well as investigating and collaborating to make meaning. Vygotsky approached constructivism as learning from an experience that is influenced by society and the facilitator. The meaning constructed from an experience can be concluded as an individual or within a group. [8] [9]

In the 1960s Joseph Schwab called for inquiry to be divided into four distinct levels. [11]  This was later formalized by Marshall Herron in 1971, who developed the Herron Scale to evaluate the amount of inquiry within a particular lab exercise. [12]  Since then, there have been a number of revisions proposed and inquiry can take various forms. There is a spectrum of inquiry-based teaching methods available. [13]

Characteristics

Specific learning processes that students engage in during inquiry-learning include: [14]

• Creating questions of their own
• Obtaining supporting evidence to answer the question(s)
• Explaining the evidence collected
• Connecting the explanation to the knowledge obtained from the investigative process
• Creating an argument and justification for the explanation

Inquiry learning involves developing questions, making observations, doing research to find out what information is already recorded, developing methods for experiments, developing instruments for data collection, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data, outlining possible explanations and creating predictions for future study. [15]

There are many different explanations for inquiry teaching and learning and the various levels of inquiry that can exist within those contexts. The article titled  The Many Levels of Inquiry  by Heather Banchi and Randy Bell (2008) [15]  clearly outlines four levels of inquiry.

Level 1 : Confirmation Inquiry The teacher has taught a particular science theme or topic. The teacher then develops questions and a procedure that guides students through an activity where the results are already known. This method is great to reinforce concepts taught and to introduce students into learning to follow procedures, collect and record data correctly and to confirm and deepen understandings.

Level 2 : Structured Inquiry The teacher provides the initial question and an outline of the procedure. Students are to formulate explanations of their findings through evaluating and analyzing the data that they collect.

Level 3 : Guided Inquiry The teacher provides only the research question for the students. The students are responsible for designing and following their own procedures to test that question and then communicate their results and findings.

Level 4 : Open/True Inquiry Students formulate their own research question(s), design and follow through with a developed procedure, and communicate their findings and results. This type of inquiry is often seen in science fair contexts where students drive their own investigative questions.

Banchi and Bell (2008) explain that teachers should begin their inquiry instruction at the lower levels and work their way to open inquiry in order to effectively develop students’ inquiry skills. Open inquiry activities are only successful if students are motivated by intrinsic interests and if they are equipped with the skills to conduct their own research study. [16]

Open/true inquiry learning

An important aspect of inquiry-based learning (and science) is the use of open learning, as evidence suggests that only utilizing lower level inquiry is not enough to develop critical and scientific thinking to the full potential. [17] [18] [19]  Open learning has no prescribed target or result that people have to achieve. There is an emphasis on the individual manipulating information and creating meaning from a set of given materials or circumstances. [20]  In many conventional and structured learning environments, people are told what the outcome is expected to be, and then they are simply expected to ‘confirm’ or show evidence that this is the case.

Open learning has many benefits. [19]  It means students do not simply perform experiments in a routine like fashion, but actually think about the results they collect and what they mean. With traditional non-open lessons there is a tendency for students to say that the experiment ‘went wrong’ when they collect results contrary to what they are told to expect. In open learning there are no wrong results, and students have to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the results they collect themselves and decide their value.

Open learning has been developed by a number of science educators including the American  John Dewey  and the German  Martin Wagenschein . [ citation needed ] Wagenschein’s ideas particularly complement both open learning and inquiry-based learning in teaching work. He emphasized that students should not be taught bald facts, but should understand and explain what they are learning. His most famous example of this was when he asked physics students to tell him what the speed of a falling object was. Nearly all students would produce an equation, but no students could explain what this equation meant. [ citation needed ]  Wagenschien used this example to show the importance of understanding over knowledge. [21]

Inquiry-based science education

History of science education.

Inquiry learning has been used as a teaching and learning tool for thousands of years, however, the use of inquiry within public education has a much briefer history. [22] Ancient Greek and Roman educational philosophies focused much more on the art of agricultural and domestic skills for the middle class and oratory for the wealthy upper class. It was not until the Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason, during the late 17th and 18th century that the subject of Science was considered a respectable academic body of knowledge. [23]  Up until the 1900s the study of science within education had a primary focus on memorizing and organizing facts. Unfortunately, there is still evidence that some students are still receiving this type of science instruction today.

John Dewey, a well-known philosopher of education at the beginning of the 20th century, was the first to criticize the fact that science education was not taught in a way to develop young scientific thinkers. Dewey proposed that science should be taught as a process and way of thinking – not as a subject with facts to be memorized. [22] While Dewey was the first to draw attention to this issue, much of the reform within science education followed the lifelong work and efforts of Joseph Schwab. Joseph Schwab was an educator who proposed that science did not need to be a process for identifying stable truths about the world that we live in, but rather science could be a flexible and multi-directional inquiry driven process of thinking and learning. Schwab believed that science in the classroom should more closely reflect the work of practicing scientists. Schwab developed three levels of open inquiry that align with the breakdown of inquiry processes that we see today. [24]

• Students are provided with questions, methods and materials and are challenged to discover relationships between variables
• Students are provided with a question, however, the method for research is up to the students to develop
• Phenomena are proposed but students must develop their own questions and method for research to discover relationships among variables

Today, we know that students at all levels of education can successfully experience and develop deeper level thinking skills through scientific inquiry. [25]  The graduated levels of scientific inquiry outlined by Schwab demonstrate that students need to develop thinking skills and strategies prior to being exposed to higher levels of inquiry. [24]  Effectively, these skills need to be scaffold ed by the teacher or instructor until students are able to develop questions, methods, and conclusions on their own. [26]  A catalyst for reform within North American science education was the 1957 launch of Sputnik, the Soviet Union satellite. This historical scientific breakthrough caused a great deal of concern around the science and technology education the American students were receiving. In 1958 the U.S. congress developed and passed the National Defense Education Act in order to provide math and science teachers with adequate teaching materials. [15]

America’s National Science Education Standards (NSES) (1996) [25]  outlines six important aspects pivotal to inquiry learning in science education.

• Students should be able to recognize that science is more than memorizing and knowing facts.
• Students should have the opportunity to develop new knowledge that builds on their prior knowledge and scientific ideas.
• Students will develop new knowledge by restructuring their previous understandings of scientific concepts and adding new information learned.
• Learning is influenced by students’ social environment whereby they have an opportunity to learn from each other
• Students will take control of their learning.
• The extent to which students are able to learn with deep understanding will influence how transferable their new knowledge is to real life contexts.

In other disciplines/programs

Science naturally lends itself to investigation and collection of data, but it is applicable in other subject areas where people are developing critical thinking and investigation skills. In  history , for example, Robert Bain in his article in  How Students Learn , describes how to “problematize” history. [27]  Bain’s idea is to first organize a learning curriculum around central concepts. Next, people studying the curriculum are given a question and primary sources such as eye witness historical accounts, and the task for inquiry is to create an interpretation of history that will answer the central question. It is held that through the inquiry people will develop skills and factual knowledge that supports their answers to a question. They will form an hypothesis, collect and consider information and revisit their hypothesis as they evaluate their data.

Ontario’s kindergarten program

After Charles Pascal’s report in 2009, Ontario’s Ministry of Education decided to implement a full day kindergarten program that focuses on inquiry and play-based learning, called The Early Learning Kindergarten Program. [28]  As of September 2014, all primary schools in Ontario started the program. The  curriculum document outlines the philosophy, definitions, process and core learning concepts for the program. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, Piaget’s child development theory and Dewey’s experiential learning are the heart of the program’s design. As research shows, children learn best through play, whether it is independently or in a group. Three forms of play are noted in the curriculum document, Pretend or “pretense” play, Socio-dramatic play and Constructive play. Through play and authentic experiences, children interact with their environment (people and/or objects) and question things; thus leading to inquiry learning. A chart on page 15 clearly outlines the process of inquiry for young children, including initial engagement, exploration, investigation, and communication.  [29]  The new program supports holistic approach to learning. For further details, please see the  curriculum document .

Since the program is extremely new, there is limited research on its success and areas of improvement. One government research report was released with the initial groups of children in the new kindergarten program. The Final Report: Evaluation of the Implementation of the Ontario Full-Day Early-Learning Kindergarten Program from Vanderlee, Youmans, Peters, and Eastabrook (2012) conclude with primary research that high-need children improved more compared to children who did not attend Ontario’s new kindergarten program. [30]  As with inquiry-based learning in all divisions and subject areas, longitudinal research is needed to examine the full extent of this teaching/learning method.

Misconceptions about inquiry

There are several common misconceptions regarding inquiry-based science, the first being that inquiry science is simply instruction that teaches students to follow the scientific method. Many teachers had the opportunity to work within the constraints of the scientific method as students themselves and figure inquiry learning must be the same. Inquiry science is not just about solving problems in six simple steps but much more broadly focused on the intellectual problem-solving skills developed throughout a scientific process. [25]  Additionally, not every hands-on lesson can be considered inquiry.

Some educators believe that there is only one true method of inquiry, which would be described as the level four: Open Inquiry. While open inquiry may be the most authentic form of inquiry, there are many skills and a level of conceptual understanding that the students must have developed before they can be successful at this high level of inquiry. [26]  While inquiry-based science is considered to be a teaching strategy that fosters higher order thinking in students, it should be one of several methods used. A multifaceted approach to science keeps students engaged and learning.

Not every student is going to learn the same amount from an inquiry lesson; students must be invested in the topic of study to authentically reach the set learning goals. Teachers must be prepared to ask students questions to probe their thinking processes in order to assess accurately. Inquiry-science requires a lot of time, effort, and expertise, however, the benefits outweigh the cost when true authentic learning can take place [ citation needed ] .

Neuroscience complexity

The literature states that inquiry requires multiple cognitive processes and variables, such as causality and co-occurrence that enrich with age and experience. [31] [32] Kuhn, et al. (2000) used explicit training workshops to teach children in grades six to eight in the United States how to inquire through a quantitative study. By completing an inquiry-based task at the end of the study, the participants demonstrated enhanced mental models by applying different inquiry strategies. [31]  In a similar study, Kuhan and Pease (2008) completed a longitudinal quantitative study following a set of American children from grades four to six to investigate the effectiveness of scaffolding strategies for inquiry. Results demonstrated that children benefitted from the scaffolding because they outperformed the grade seven control group on an inquiry task. [32]  Understanding the neuroscience of inquiry learning the scaffolding process related to it should be reinforced for Ontario’s primary teachers as part of their training.

Notes for educators

Inquiry-based learning is fundamental for the development of higher order thinking skills. According to Bloom’s Taxonomy, the ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information or new understandings indicates a high level of thinking. [33]  Teachers should be encouraging divergent thinking and allowing students the freedom to ask their own questions and to learn the effective strategies for discovering the answers. The higher order thinking skills that students have the opportunity to develop during inquiry activities will assist in the critical thinking skills that they will be able to transfer to other subjects.

As shown in the section above on the neuroscience of inquiry learning, it is significant to scaffold students to teach them how to inquire and inquire through the four levels. It cannot be assumed that they know how to inquire without foundational skills. Scaffolding the students at a younger age will result in enriched inquiring learning later. [31] [32]

Inquiry-based learning can be done in multiple formats, including:

• Case studies
• Investigations
• Individual and group projects
• Research projects

Remember to keep in mind… [34]

• Don’t wait for the perfect question
• Place ideas at the centre
• Work towards common goal of understanding
• Don’t let go of the class
• Remain faithful to the students’ line of inquiry
• Teach directly on a need-to-know basis

Necessity for teacher training

There is a necessity for professional collaboration when executing a new inquiry program (Chu, 2009; Twigg, 2010). The teacher training and process of using inquiry learning should be a joint mission to ensure the maximal amount of resources are used and that the teachers are producing the best learning scenarios. The scholarly literature supports this notion. Twigg’s (2010) education professionals who participated in her experiment emphasized year round professional development sessions, such as workshops, weekly meetings and observations, to ensure inquiry is being implemented in the class correctly. [10]  Another example is Chu’s (2009) study, where the participants appreciated the professional collaboration of educators, information technicians and librarians to provide more resources and expertise for preparing the structure and resources for the inquiry project. [35]  To establish a professional collaboration and researched training methods, administration support is required for funding.

Criticism and Research

Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) [36]  review of literature found that although constructivists often cite each other’s work, empirical evidence is not often cited. Nonetheless the constructivist movement gained great momentum in the 1990s, because many educators began to write about this philosophy of learning.

Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, & Chinn cite several studies supporting the success of the constructivist  problem-based  and inquiry learning methods. For example, they describe a project called GenScope, an inquiry-based science software application. Students using the GenScope software showed significant gains over the control groups, with the largest gains shown in students from basic courses. [37]

In contrast, Hmelo-Silver et al. also cite a large study by Geier on the effectiveness of inquiry-based science for middle school students, as demonstrated by their performance on high-stakes standardized tests. The improvement was 14% for the first cohort of students and 13% for the second cohort. This study also found that inquiry-based teaching methods greatly reduced the achievement gap for African-American students. [37]

Based on their 2005 research, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute concluded that while inquiry-based learning is fine to some degree, it has been carried to excess. [38]

Richard E. Mayer from the University of California, Santa Barbara, wrote in 2004 that there was sufficient research evidence to make any reasonable person skeptical about the benefits of discovery learning—practiced under the guise of cognitive constructivism or social constructivism—as a preferred instructional method. He reviewed research on discovery of problem-solving rules culminating in the 1960s, discovery of conservation strategies culminating in the 1970s, and discovery of LOGO programming strategies culminating in the 1980s. In each case, guided discovery was more effective than pure discovery in helping students learn and transfer. [39]

It should be cautioned that inquiry-based learning takes a lot of planning before implementation. It is not something that can be put into place in the classroom quickly. Measurements must be put in place for how students knowledge and performance will be measured and how standards will be incorporated. The teacher’s responsibility during inquiry exercises is to support and facilitate student learning (Bell et al., 769–770). A common mistake teachers make is lacking the vision to see where students’ weaknesses lie. According to Bain, teachers cannot assume that students will hold the same assumptions and thinking processes as a professional within that discipline (p. 201).

While some see inquiry-based teaching as increasingly mainstream, it can be perceived as in conflict with  standardized testing  common in  standards-based assessment  systems which emphasise the measurement of student knowledge, and meeting of pre-defined criteria, for example the shift towards “fact” in changes to the National Assessment of Educational Progress as a result of the American  No Child Left Behind  program. [ citation needed ]

Programs such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program can be criticized for their claims to be an inquiry based learning program. [ citation needed ] While there are different types of inquiry (as stated above) the rigid structure of this style of inquiry based learning program almost completely rules out any real inquiry based learning in the lower grades. Each “unit of inquiry” is given to the students, structured to guide them and does not allow students to choose the path or topic of their inquiry. Each unit is carefully planned to connect to the topics the students are required to be learning in school and does not leave room for open inquiry in topics that the students pick. Some may feel that until the inquiry learning process is open inquiry then it is not true inquiry based learning at all. Instead of opportunities to learn through open and student-led inquiry, the IB program is viewed by some to simply be an extra set of learning requirements for the students to complete. [ citation needed ]

Additional scholarly research literature

Chu (2009) used a mixed method design to examine the outcome of an inquiry project completed by students in Hong Kong with the assistance of multiple educators. Chu’s (2009) results show that the children were more motivated and academically successful compared to the control group. [40]

Cindy Hmelo-Silver reviewed a number of reports on a variety studies into problem based learning. [41]

Edelson, Gordin and Pea describe five significant challenges to implementing inquiry-based learning and present strategies for addressing them through the design of technology and curriculum. They present a design history covering four generations of software and curriculum to show how these challenges arise in classrooms and how the design strategies respond to them.  [42]

• Action learning
• Jerome Bruner
• Design-based learning
• Discovery learning
• McMaster Integrated Science
• Networked learning
• Jean Piaget
• Problem-based learning
• Progressive inquiry
• Project-based learning
• Science education
• Scientific literacy
• Three-part lesson

References and further reading

• Jump up  ^   The UK dictionaries Collins and Longman list the spelling “inquiry” first, and Oxford simply calls it another spelling, without labeling it as US English.
• Jump up  ^   What is Inquiry Based Learning (EBL)?  Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning. University of Manchester. Retrieved October 2012
• Jump up  ^   Dostál, J. (2015).  Inquiry-based instruction : Concept, essence, importance and contribution.  Olomouc: Palacký University,  ISBN 978-80-244-4507-6 , doi 10.5507/pdf.15.24445076
• Jump up  ^   Bruner, J. S. (1961). “The act of discovery”. Harvard Educational Review 31 (1): 21–32.
• Jump up  ^   Dewey, J (1997) How We Think, New York: Dover Publications.
• Jump up  ^   Freire, P. (1984) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, New York: Continuum Publishing Company.
• Jump up  ^   Vygotsky, L.S. (1962) Thought and Language, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
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Inquiry Based Learning: The Definitive Guide

The past few decades are full of new advancements in teaching. Over time, researchers have focused primarily on the goal of improving learning outcomes. However, critical to that effort is the need to raise student engagement.

As research into education has progressed, one of the most promising approaches to education has been the educational intervention known as inquiry based learning.

At its broadest, inquiry based learning refers to an active form of learning that centers around asking students questions or presenting them with problems and scenarios that they have to resolve. Inquiry based learning, at its best, does more than simply ask students to solve problems.

Using this approach, teachers try to raise the engagement of students by making them interested in the problem at hand. By raising a student’s curiosity, the teacher also raises the student’s own level of learning engagement.

Inquiry Based Learning vs Traditional Learning

Perhaps the best way of highlighting how inquiry based learning is distinct from other learning styles is by contrasting it against traditional learning approaches. Traditional learning has occurred, in one form or another, for centuries.

Entire societies have organized themselves around teaching young people using schools and lecture centered learning. Asa result, traditional learning is a back-to-basics approach to education.

Traditional learning usually included a variant of a teacher teaching certain information that students were, in turn, expected to memorize and recite. The process of traditional learning includes four stages, beginning with teachers instructing and handing out assignments, students learning the required information, students reciting what they’ve learned, and students finally being tested to see if they have successfully retained all the information they were taught.

Traditional learning, regardless of whether it occurs through a lecturer or book readings, is heavily dependent on rote memorization of new information. Curriculum as traditionally created that was applied in the same manner to all students with no effort to tailor these lessons to the students who were learning. This format was the generally accepted method of teaching students in Europe and, consequently, the United States.

Inquiry based learning quickly distinguishes itself as unique from the traditional approach in its methods and the means by which information is transmitted. Inquiry based learning is student centered. Lecturers become facilitators. Instead of lecturing to students, instructors develop questions and facilitate a student’s ability to solve those problems. As such, inquiry based learning shifts away from rote memorization of information as presented in books or lectures. Instead, the inquiry approach requires students to arrive at new knowledge through their approaches to problem solving for the problems they’ve been presented with.

Characteristics of Inquiry Based Learning

Remembering that inquiry based learning does not teach students information but instead asks students to arrive at new information on their own, research based learning is characterized by a few specific qualities. Instead, this style of learning asks students to create arguments that solve specific problems or situations. These arguments need to be rooted in sound evidence and argumentation that justify the answer.

Students should be able to explain why the evidence they’re presenting help to solve the problem and how each bit of evidence relates to each other. As such, part of the inquiry based approach includes active engagement on the part of the learner. Students are expected to seek out new knowledge on their own, from which they can generate their arguments.

Consequently, this approach to instructing students requires an active classroom in which information is constructed. Students find supporting evidence and construct new information in the process of developing their arguments. This means that the inquiry based method lends itself over to also teaching students several skills that will be useful throughout their lives.

Because inquiry based approaches require independent work on the part of the student, students are asked to learn critical thinking skills . These are skills that continue on through college and into adulthood and can benefit a person not only in their academic studies but also in their daily lives.

During the process of investigating solutions to the problem they’re faced with, students will come across a wealth of information. Part of learning about critical thinking is learning how different bits of information relate to each other. This is an important kill because it helps students learn to critically assess information to understand the substance of that information and how it can be assembled together into a larger answer.

In addition, students also learn important research skills. They learn how to search through different resources, such as online databases or books that are available to them. Students may also learn to think about how to set up experiments that can answer the questions that they encounter.

As students increase their level of learning, their ability to find information becomes more advanced. They begin to learn how to collect data for themselves using different tools and approaches. Students also learn how to analyze that information to create data they can actually use to solve the problems they’ve been presented.

The Four Step Inquiry Process

Although teachers often come up with problems that can be presented to students, there’s also a four step method of inquiry that teachers often use that begin each investigation with the student, rather than the teacher. Using this approach, students are instead asked to develop their own questions, rather than teachers present premade questions to them.

A teacher may present a general topic or subject that students are expected to address. From there, students develop questions about the subject that they want answered. These students develop a problem statement and formalize their research questions that they want answered. With a question developed, the students are prepared to begin their independent inquiry to solve the question.

Within the class, students perform their investigations. Even if an entire classroom’s time isn’t committed to the research, it’s important for at least some time to be set aside for student inquiry.

Teachers act as the head researcher in the room and help guide students in their investigations. Returning to the concept of teachers as facilitators, instructors must facilitate the inquiries that students perform in the class.

They can help students approach particularly difficult topics, connect data, and develop the kinds of robust answers to questions that the inquiry methods are supposed to encourage. Class time is therefore essential, since for many students, there will be difficulties at some point along the process, whether that means trouble identifying relevant information or performing the appropriate kinds of data analysis.

The third step of this four step process is to have students make a presentation of what they’ve learned and demonstrate to the class how they’ve answered their research question. To help guide these presentations, teachers should come up with rubrics that help instruct students in what they’re expected to present and how to present it.

Essentially, students need to be teachers of their own when they present their findings. The content that students present should be easily understood by other students, requiring students to learn some teaching and presentation skills. There are many ways that these students can present their findings.

They can use an interactive presentation on a website or present something more simple, such as a PowerPoint presentation. The emphasis here is that students should become so familiar with their data and findings that they can communicate the answer easily to their peers.

Finally, the fourth step of the process includes a reflection period. This reflection period is a time when students are asked to talk about what they feel worked during their research and what did not. Essentially, this is a period when students can look back on their work and refine their research process.

Consider this perspective. When a student is first asked to perform independent research, they may feel overwhelmed by the wealth of information at their disposal. Or, they may feel as if there’s little information to be found on their topic. They may waste plenty of time going through different resources, finding it difficult to identify places where they can find relevant data.

Over time, research becomes a more effective process. Students become better adjusted to the resources at their disposal and which resources are best suited for different types of research.

Students get better at the process of performing research itself. The reflection period is meant to help this process along and make students better at research. Reflection asks students to consider what they did, what they would do again, and what they would avoid in future research. Reflection is a period when students think about not only what they’ve learned but how they learned it.

Teacher Approaches in Inquiry Based Learning

It may help teachers to better understand inquiry based learning if they understand specific examples of how it unfolds. For example, within the first step of the process when students are developing research questions, there is a great emphasis on interactions.

By engaging with materials and with one another, students can identify potential research questions. Students typically get introduced to a topic by engaging first with formal materials, such as school books or research materials. Teachers may occasionally need to provide additional materials from which students can learn more about a topic and generate research questions.

During this period, students also need to be engaged with one another. They can discuss what they’re learning and ask about the perspectives of others to see if anyone else is interested in a similar research direction. Peers may also provide valuable insights that help students develop their research questions.

During this entire process, teachers should be an expert consultant who answers any questions that a student might have that can’t be answered from the materials or by consulting with peers.

Various kinds of media can also help during this process, such as video. Teachers should make significant efforts to provide a robust amount of resources and facilitate interactions between all students in order to help encourage the development of questions. It should be noted that these same approaches should be taken when students are attempting to answer their research questions as well.

Speaking of the actual process of answering the questions students develop, this should be a period when students focus on more clearly understanding the data in front of them. This is a phase of the inquiry based approach known as clarification. It’s not an independent stage itself but occurs during the creation of research questions and looking into answers. Recalling that teachers are expected to provide a large body of materials and media from which students can draw, it is expected that students will eventually arrive at a wide body of relevant material.

However, simply having a large body of information available to them isn’t sufficient for answering the research question. Instead, students need to be able to clarify which information is most helpful. During research, they may find information that is more opinion than fact.

Teachers should work closely with students to help them identify what sort of materials can be applied toward answering research questions they develop. Feedback they provide should be frequent. Teachers can also help categorize and sort their information by providing graphic organizers.

These organizers can be used by students to assign different information to different categories. Later, they can go through their organizer and more quickly reference related information. The goal of the teacher should be to facilitate ways for the students to clarify what’s useful, what’s not, and what information is related. Graphic organizers can also help students identify information they’re missing that would be needed to answer their research questions.

One point of emphasis is that before students can begin research, they need to develop appropriate research questions. Teachers should review questions with students and ask them whether the question is worth answering. How does it contribute to the larger body of knowledge on the topic? How can answering the question fill in a student’s own knowledge gaps? What sort of research questions are answerable? Refining a student’s research questions can help set the stage for a successful research project.

Inquiry based research contrasts against traditional learning in that it places a greater emphasis on the student and asks them to do the work of researching questions.

Questions can be presented by an instructor, but it’s even more helpful when students can develop their research questions on their own, since developing the research questions sets the stage for students to continue on to answering those questions.

Teachers should consider themselves as expert facilitators throughout this process, helping to guide students without directly answering their questions for them. The focus is instead on helping students answer their own questions and independently develop a body of knowledge.

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Explainer: what is inquiry-based learning and how does it help prepare children for the real world?

Associate Professor, Science Education, Monash University

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Gillian Kidman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Inquiry-based learning emphasises a student’s role in the learning process and asks them to engage with an idea or topic in an active way, rather than by sitting and listening to a teacher. The overall goal of an inquiry-based approach is for students to make meaning of what they are learning about and to understand how a concept works in a real-world context.

The inquiry approach is sometimes known as project-based or experiential learning. To learn about a topic, students explore resources, ask questions and share ideas. The teacher helps students apply new concepts to different contexts, which allows them to discover knowledge for themselves by exploring, experiencing and discussing as they go.

Learning through inquiry can be done differently depending on the subject area and the age of the student. Inquiry-based teaching and learning practices feature in many classrooms across the world. Teachers are conducting lessons with an inquiry-based approach, or aspects of it, without realising it.

How does it actually work?

If you’ve read the Harry Potter books, or watched the movies, you may remember that, in “The Order of the Phoenix”, Harry’s class gets an unpopular Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge. Her teaching method is based on learning through textbooks and discipline.

Harry questions whether this type of learning will help young wizards and witches if they ever come across the dark lord, Voldemort. So Harry sets up his own classroom in secret, where the class practise spells and learn from each other. This is a good example of inquiry-based learning.

US philosopher and liberal education reformer John Dewey advocated learning through inquiry. His work to change pedagogical methods and curricula in 1916 was developed into classroom experiences in the 1930s . Although initially influencing schools in the United States, Dewey’s influence spread worldwide.

A key characteristic of inquiry is that it is externally and internally motivated, by the student . External motivation includes members in the team, the nature of the project and feedback from teachers. Intrinsic motivations include an eagerness to learn.

Although the inquiry is motivated by the student, it is guided by the teacher. A skilled inquiry teacher will vary their role along a continuum – from explicit instruction (where the teacher has clear goals as to what he or she will present to the students) to an inquiry approach that helps students control their learning.

Read more: Explainer: what is explicit instruction and how does it help children learn?

From primary to secondary

The primary school classroom offers rich inquiry opportunities as there is usually one teacher per class and s/he can use inquiry to link ideas and activities between learning areas. I observed a Year 1 classroom where the teacher and students were exploring nursery rhymes while developing early reading skills.

During the reading of Jack and Jill, a six-year-old boy asked: “What is the hill made out of?” The teacher built on this question to create an inquiry experience spanning five weeks. The children learnt concepts in science (forces, pushes, pulls, friction, soil types, rock types) and mathematics (slopes, fractions, time).

In doing so, children’s reading, writing and spelling (push, pull, trip, fall, tumble, slope etc) were enhanced. The class explored the geography of hills and mountains. Literacy, mathematics, science and humanities lessons revolved around learning about hills and answering the original question.

The class concluded that Jack slipped on wet clay and Jill tripped on a rock embedded in the clay. The class also discussed pushing and shoving each other, with one child asking if Jill could have been pushed by the same person who pushed Humpty Dumpty off the wall.

In secondary schools there are multiple teachers and classes, and therefore reduced opportunity for integrated inquiry. So the inquiry is generally within disciplines.

Different disciplines have different models for inquiry. In history, for instance, Telstar prompts inquiry by checking questions for guiding student progress. And in science, there are the 5 Es where literacy is emphasised in five consecutive phases – engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate.

Teachers usually start with these generic models to accompany information contained in curriculum documents.

Challenges and misconceptions

The main challenge with an inquiry approach is assessment. Standardised testing monopolises educational assessment, which puts a value on core literacies: reading, writing, computation, and the accumulation of facts and figures. Educators are only beginning to identify parameters through which they can assess students’ discovery of knowledge and making meaning.

Read more: Why your child will benefit from inquiry-based learning

Global culture has become one of innovation, discovery and interdisciplinary thinking, which means solely relying on a standardised way of learning and testing is at odds with the outside world. Educators promoting an inquiry-based learning system believe it is only a matter of time until inquiry skills take precedence over learning content.

Misconceptions about using inquiry-based learning in the classroom include inquiry being too difficult for most students (that it is for the older gifted child) and that during inquiry the teacher does little and the class is in chaos.

But inquiry-based learning, guided by a teacher who models the process to various students , is valuable for the whole class. Classroom chaos is rarely seen in situations where the teacher is an active learner alongside their students.

Inquiry is part of human nature, but one can benefit from learning how to be a good inquirer. This includes learning skills such as how to ask and answer questions, solve problems and conduct investigations and research. To be an inquirer is liberating, exciting and transformative. It involves taking risks and is intellectually demanding. And, above all, it helps us learn.

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What Is “Inquiry-Based Learning”?: Types, Benefits, Examples

What Is Inquiry-Based Learning?

The 4 types of inquiry-based learning, 7 benefits of inquiry-based learning, 5 inquiry-based learning examples, 5 strategies and tips for implementing inquiry-based learning, 4 models to use in the classroom, let’s wrap, frequently asked questions (faqs).

Are you looking for a teaching strategy that will engage your students in the learning process? Do you want them to be able to ask questions and investigate real-world problems? If so, you should consider using inquiry-based learning in your classroom.

Inquiry-based learning is a teaching method that encourages students to ask questions and investigate real-world problems. This type of learning has many benefits and can be used in various subject areas.

This blog will discuss the benefits of inquiry-based learning and provide some strategies, tips, and models that you can use in your classroom. But first, let’s take a closer look at what inquiry-based learning is.

• What is inquiry-based learning
• Types of inquiry-based learning
• Benefits of inquiry-based learning
• Inquiry-based learning examples
• Strategies for implementing inquiry-based learning in the classroom
• Four models to use in the classroom

Inquiry-based learning is a student-centered teaching method that encourages students to ask questions and investigate real-world problems. In this type of learning environment, students are actively engaged in the learning process and are given the opportunity to explore their natural curiosities.

This type of learning is often hands-on and allows students to connect what they learn in the classroom and the real world. Inquiry-based learning has been shown to improve critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and creativity.

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There are four types of inquiry-based learning:

1. The Structured Inquiry Approach

The structured inquiry approach is a sequential process that helps students learn how to ask questions and investigate real-world problems. This type of inquiry-based learning is often used in science classes, where students are given a problem to investigate and are taught how to use the scientific process to find a solution.

2. The Open-Ended Inquiry Approach

The open-ended inquiry approach is a more free-form approach to inquiry-based learning. In this type of learning environment, students are given the freedom to explore their interests and ask questions about the topic they are studying. This type of inquiry-based learning is often used in humanities classes, where students are asked to explore a topic in-depth and debate different viewpoints.

3. The Problem-Based Inquiry Approach

A problem-based inquiry approach is a problem-solving approach to inquiry-based learning. In this type of approach, students are given a real-world problem to solve. This type of inquiry-based learning is often used in mathematics and engineering classes, where students are asked to apply what they have learned to solve a real-world problem.

4. The Guided Inquiry Approach

The guided inquiry approach is a teacher-led approach to inquiry-based learning. In this type of approach, the teacher guides the students through the inquiry process and helps them to ask questions and find solutions to real-world problems. This type of inquiry-based learning is often used in elementary and middle school classrooms.

Now that we have a better understanding of the different types of inquiry-based learning, let’s take a look at the benefits.

With so many benefits, it is no wonder that inquiry-based learning has become a popular teaching method . Some of the benefits of inquiry-based learning include:

1. Encourages critical thinking

Inquiry-based learning encourages students to think critically about the information they are presented with. They are asked to question the information and develop their own solutions. This type of learning helps students develop problem-solving skills and critical-thinking skills.

2. Improves problem-solving skills

Inquiry-based learning helps students develop problem-solving skills. When they are given the opportunity to explore real-world problems, they are forced to think outside the box and come up with their own solutions. This is an important skill that will help them in their future careers.

3. Encourages creativity

This concept of learning encourages creativity. When students are given the opportunity to explore a problem independently, they often come up with creative solutions. This is due to the fact that any particular way of thinking does not restrict them.

4. Improves communication skills

It also helps students improve their communication skills. When working on a problem, they often have to explain their thoughts and ideas to others. This helps them learn how to communicate effectively with others.

5. Connects learning to the real world

Inquiry-based learning helps connect learning to the real world. When students are allowed to explore problems that exist in the real world, they can see how what they are learning in the classroom is relevant. This also helps them develop a better understanding of the material.

6. Helps students understand complex topics

Inquiry-based learning can also help students understand complex topics. When they are allowed to explore these topics in a hands-on environment, they can learn about them more meaningfully.

7. Encourages engaged learning

Finally, this type of learning encourages engaged learning. When students are actively involved in the learning process, they are more likely to retain the information. This is due to the fact that they are invested in what they are doing.

Now that we have looked at the benefits of inquiry-based learning, let’s take a look at some examples.

1. Science Experiments

One way to incorporate inquiry-based learning into your classroom is to allow students to conduct experiments. This will encourage them to ask questions and think critically about the results.

2. Field Trips

Another way to encourage inquiry-based learning is to take students on field trips. This will allow them to explore real-world problems and see how what they are learning in the classroom is relevant.

3. Classroom Debates

Classroom debates are another great way to encourage this type of learning. When students debate a topic, they are forced to think critically about both sides of the argument.

4. Projects

Projects are another great way to encourage inquiry-based learning. When students are given the opportunity to work on a project that is related to the topic they are studying, they will be more likely to learn and remember the information.

5. Group Work

When students work in groups, they are able to share their ideas and thoughts with others. This helps them to understand the material better.

Now that we have looked at the benefits of inquiry-based learning and some examples, let’s look at some inquiry-based strategies and tips that you can use in your classroom.

1. Start with a Question

The best way to start an inquiry-based lesson is by asking a question. This will get students thinking about the topic and will encourage them to ask their own questions.

2. Allow for Exploration

Once you have asked a question, allow students to explore the topic on their own. This will help them to understand the material better.

3. Encourage Discussion

Encourage students to discuss their ideas with each other. This will help them to develop a better understanding of the material.

4. Provide Resources

Be sure to provide students with resources that they can use to explore the topic. This will help them develop a better understanding. Teachers can also give access to online learning platforms like SplashLearn , which further help enhance the knowledge of the concepts.

5. Summarize What Was Learned

At the end of the lesson, be sure to summarize what was learned. This will help students to remember the information.

You can use different models to encourage inquiry-based learning in your classroom. The important thing is that you allow students to be actively involved in the learning process. Let’s have a look at a few models that you can use.

Now that we have looked at the benefits of inquiry-based learning and some strategies for implementing it in your classroom , let’s take a look at four models you can use.

1. The Question Model

The question model is one of the most basic models for inquiry-based learning. It involves asking students questions about the topic you are teaching. This will encourage them to think critically about the material.

2. The Problem-Based Learning Model

The problem-based learning model is another excellent option for inquiry-based learning. This model involves giving students a problem to solve. They will need to think critically about the problem and find a solution.

3. The Project-Based Learning Model

Project-based learning is a great way for students to explore a topic in depth. This model involves giving students a project to work on that is related to the topic you are teaching.

4. The Inquiry Cycle Model

With the inquiry cycle model, students are given the opportunity to ask questions, investigate a topic, and then share their findings. This model allows students to explore a topic in-depth and share their discoveries with others.

Inquiry-based learning is a teaching method that encourages students to ask questions and explore their answers. This type of learning has many benefits, both for students and teachers. In this article, we’ve looked at some of the critical benefits of inquiry-based learning as well as strategies you can use to get started in your own classroom. We hope you’re inspired to give it a try!

What is the importance of inquiry-based learning?

Inquiry-based learning is important because it allows students to explore and ask questions about the world around them. This type of learning helps students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

What is the definition of inquiry-based learning?

Inquiry-based learning is a type of active learning that encourages students to ask questions, conduct research, and explore new ideas. This approach to learning helps students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and research skills.

What are the roles of students in inquiry-based learning?

In inquiry-based learning, students take on the role of researcher. They are encouraged to ask questions and explore new ideas. Students also have the opportunity to share their findings with their classmates and learn from each other.

How do you plan an inquiry-based lesson?

Inquiry-based lessons are typically designed around a central question or problem. From there, teachers can provide resources and scaffolding to help students investigate the topic. It is important to leave room for student exploration and allow them to ask their own questions.

What are the five guiding questions of inquiry?

The 5 guiding questions of inquiry are:

Do inquiry-based and project-based learning have to be the same thing?

No, inquiry-based and project-based learning are two different approaches. Inquiry-based learning is focused on student-driven research and exploration. Project-based learning is focused on students working together to complete a real-world project. However, both approaches can include elements of inquiry and problem-solving.

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Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A Guide for Teaching and Learning (2000)

Chapter: 2 inquiry in the national science education standards.

2 Inquiry in the National Science Education Standards

When educators see or hear the word “inquiry,” many think of a particular way of teaching and learning science. Although this is one important application for the word, inquiry in the Standards is far more fundamental. It encompasses not only an ability to engage in inquiry but an understanding of inquiry and of how inquiry results in scientific knowledge.

Because of the importance of inquiry, the content standards describing what all students need to know and be able to do include standards on science as inquiry. These inquiry standards specify the abilities students need in order to inquire and the knowledge that will help them understand inquiry as the way that knowledge is produced. In this way, the Standards seek to build student understanding of how we know what we know and what evidence supports what we know.

The abilities and understanding of inquiry are neither developed nor used in a vacuum. Inquiry is intimately connected to scientific questions — students must inquire using what they already know and the inquiry process must add to their knowledge. The geologist investigating the cause of the dead cedar forests along the Pacific Coast used his scientific knowledge and inquiry abilities to develop an explanation for the phenomenon. Mrs. Graham’s fifth grade students used their observations and the information they gathered about plants to recognize the factors affecting the growth of trees in their schoolyard and to solve the “three-tree problem.” For both scientist and students, inquiry and subject matter were integral to the activity. Their scientific knowledge deepened as they developed new understandings through observing and manipulating conditions in the natural world.

What is inquiry in education? The Standards note:

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. (p. 23)

Developing the ability to understand and engage in this kind of activity requires direct experience and continued practice with the processes of inquiry. Students do not come to understand inquiry simply by learning words such as “hypothesis” and “inference” or by memorizing procedures such as “the steps of the scientific method.” They must experience inquiry directly to gain a deep understanding of its characteristics.

Yet experience in itself is not sufficient. Experience and understanding must go together. Teachers need to introduce students to the fundamental elements of inquiry. They must also assist students to reflect on the characteristics of the processes in which they are engaged.

This chapter addresses the several perspectives on inquiry included in the National Science Education Standards. It first provides some historical background to place the role of inquiry in context. It then gives the actual content standards on Science as Inquiry: what should students know and be able to do? A description of a set of elements or features essential to inquiry-oriented teaching and learning sets the stage for a discussion of instructional models that can help teachers structure activities to foster student inquiry. Finally, several myths that misrepresent inquiry in school science programs are described and debunked.

INQUIRY IN SCHOOL SCIENCE: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

Inquiry has had a role in school science programs for less than a century (Bybee and DeBoer, 1993; DeBoer, 1991). Before 1900, most educators viewed science primarily as a body of knowledge that students were to learn through direct instruction. One criticism of this perspective came in 1909, when John Dewey, in an address to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, contended that science teaching gave too much emphasis to the accumulation of information and not enough to science as a way of thinking and an attitude of mind. Science is more than a body of knowledge to be learned, Dewey said; there is a process or method to learn as well (Dewey, 1910).

By the 1950s and 1960s, the rationale for inquiry as an approach to

School classroom 1906

teaching science was becoming increasingly evident. If students were to learn the methods of science, then how better to learn than through active engagement in the process of inquiry itself? The educator Joseph Schwab (1960, 1966) was an influential voice in establishing this view of science education. Schwab argued that science should be viewed as conceptual structures that were revised as the result of new evidence. For example, the geologist described in the previous chapter followed this approach in developing an explanation for the widespread death of trees. Science teaching and learning should reflect this perspective on science, Schwab said.

The implications of Schwab’s ideas were, for their time, profound. His view suggested that teachers should present science as inquiry and that students should use inquiry to learn science subject matter. To achieve these changes, Schwab (1960) recommended that science teachers look first to the laboratory and use these experiences to lead rather than follow the classroom phase of science teaching. That is, students should work in the laboratory before being introduced to the formal explanation of scientific concepts and principles. Evidence should build to explanations and the refinement of explanations.

Schwab also suggested that science teachers consider three possible approaches in their laboratories. First, laboratory manuals or textbook materials could be used to pose questions and describe methods to investigate the questions, thus allowing students to discover relationships they do not already know. Second, instructional materials could be used to pose questions, but the methods

School classroom 1950

and answers could be left open for students to determine on their own. Third, in the most open approach, students could confront phenomena without textbook- or laboratory-based questions. Students could ask questions, gather evidence, and propose scientific explanations based on their own investigations.

Schwab proposed an additional approach, which he referred to as an “enquiry into enquiry.” (Schwab chose to use this variation of the spelling of the word.) In this approach, teachers provide students with readings and reports about scientific research. They discuss the details of the research: the problems, data, role of technology, interpretations of data, and conclusions reached by the scientists. Where possible, students read about alternative explanations, different and perhaps conflicting experiments, debates about assumptions underlying the research and the use of evidence, and other issues of scientific inquiry. Through this approach, students build an understanding of what constitutes scientific knowledge and how scientific knowledge is produced.

The work of Schwab, Dewey, and others, including Bruner and Piaget in the 1950s and 1960s, influenced the nature of curriculum materials developed in those decades and into the early 1970s. Russia’s launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 further spurred the development of these materials, many of which were supported by the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies and private foundations. Underlying many of these instructional materials was the commitment to involve students in doing rather than being told or only reading about science. This reform placed as much, if not more, emphasis on learning the processes of science as on mastering the subject matter of science alone. Teaching models were

Space flight July 19, 1946

based on theories of learning that emphasized the central role of students’ own ideas and concrete experiences in creating new and deepened understandings of scientific concepts.

Throughout the country, use, or at least awareness, of these new curriculum materials prompted educators to provide students with more laboratory and other “hands-on” experiences, more opportunities to pursue their own questions, and more focus on understanding larger scientific concepts rather than disconnected facts. Although the effective use of these new materials was not as widespread as anticipated (Weiss, 1978; Harms and Kahl, 1980; Harms and Yager, 1981), this new view of school science did prompt more study and careful thinking about major issues in science education. Furthermore, and of special significance to this volume, the changes of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s widely disseminated the idea of helping students to develop the skills of inquiry and an understanding of science as inquiry.

INQUIRY IN THE NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS

The developers of the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) had this historical perspective on which to base their work. Studies of teaching and learning in science classrooms had led to two observations. First, most teachers were still using traditional, didactic methods (Stake and Easley, 1978; Harms and Yager, 1981; Weiss, 1987). Examination of science classrooms revealed that many students were mastering disconnected facts in lieu of broader understandings, critical reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Some teachers, however, were using the new curriculum materials, such as those from the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS), Elementary Science Study (ESS), Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS), and Physical Sciences Study Committee (PSSC). Their students were spending large amounts of time in inquiry-based

activities. They were making observations, manipulating materials, and conducting laboratory investigations. As a result, they were developing cognitive abilities, such as critical thinking and reasoning, as well as learning science content (Bredderman, 1982; Shymansky et al., 1983).

Those developing national standards were committed to including inquiry as both science content and as a way to learn science. Therefore, rather than simply extolling the virtues of “hands-on” or “laboratory-based” teaching as the way to teach “science content and process,” the writers of the Standards treated inquiry as both a learning goal and as a teaching method. The concept of inquiry thus appears in several different places in the Standards .

INQUIRY IN THE CONTENT STANDARDS

The content standards for Science as Inquiry include both abilities and understandings of inquiry (Tables 2-1 , 2-2 and 2-3 ). The general standards for inquiry ( Table 2-1 ) are the same for all three grade spans (K-4, 5-8, 9-12). The more detailed fundamental abilities of inquiry and fundamental understandings about inquiry increase in complexity from kindergarten through grade 12, reflecting the cognitive development of students (Tables 2-2 and 2-3 ).

Table 2-1 . Content Standard for Science as Inquiry

Abilities Necessary to Do Scientific Inquiry

Table 2-2 presents the key abilities from the inquiry standards. These “cognitive abilities” go beyond what have been termed science “process” skills, such as observation, inference, and experimentation (Millar and Driver, 1987). Inquiry abilities require students to mesh these processes with scientific knowledge as they use scientific reasoning and critical thinking to develop their understanding of science.

The basis for moving away from the traditional process approach is to encourage students to participate in the evaluation of scientific knowledge. At each of the steps involved in inquiry, students and teachers ought to ask “what counts?” What data do we keep? What data do we discard? What patterns exist in the data? Are these patterns appropriate for this inquiry? What explanations account for the patterns? Is one explanation better than another?

In justifying their decisions, stu-

Table 2-2 . Content Standard for Science as Inquiry: Fundamental Abilities Necessary to Do Scientific Inquiry

dents ought to draw on evidence and analytical tools to derive a scientific claim. In turn, students should be able to assess both the strengths and weaknesses of their claims. The development and evolution of knowledge claims, and reflection upon those claims, underlie the inquiry abilities presented in Table 2-2 .

Note that the abilities from one grade level to the next are very similar but become more complex as the grade level increases. For example, K-4 students “use data to construct a reasonable explanation,” while 5-8 students “recognize and analyze alternative explanations and procedures,” and 9-12 students analyze “alternative models” as well. The abilities are designed to be developmentally appropriate to the grade level span.

Table 2-3 . Content Standard for Science as Inquiry: Fundamental Understandings About Scientific Inquiry

Appendix A-1 , which is taken directly from the Standards , provides more elaboration for these abilities for each grade span.

Understandings About Scientific Inquiry

Table 2-3 presents the fundamental understandings about the nature of scientific inquiry from the Standards . Although in some cases these “understandings” appear parallel to the “abilities” displayed in Table 2-2 , they actually represent much more. Understandings of scientific inquiry represent how and why scientific knowledge changes in response to new evidence, logical analysis, and modified explanations debated within a community of scientists. The work of the geologist described in Chapter 1 , for example, was guided by his initial question and the evidence-to-explanation nature of scientific inquiry.

As with the abilities of inquiry, the understandings of inquiry are very similar from one grade to the next but increase in complexity. For example, K-4 students understand that “scientists develop explanations using observations (evidence) along with what they already know about the world (scientific knowledge),” while students in grades 5-8 know that “scientific explanations emphasize evidence, have logically consistent arguments, and use scientific principles, models, and theories.” Students in grades 9-12 understand that scientific explanations must abide by the rules of evidence, be open to possible modifications, and satisfy other criteria.

Appendix A-2 , taken directly from the Standards , provides more elaboration for these understandings for each grade span.

LEARNING THROUGH INQUIRY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING

Having defined inquiry in part as a set of student learning outcomes, the next question becomes: What is teaching through inquiry, and when and how should it be done?

The science teaching standards provide a comprehensive view of science teaching ( Table 2-4 ). These standards apply to the many teaching strategies, including inquiry, that make up an effective teacher’s repertoire. Although the teaching standards refer to inquiry, they are also clear that “inquiry is not the only strategy for teaching science” (p. 23). Nevertheless, inquiry is a central part of the teaching standards. The standards say, for example, that teachers of science “plan an ‘inquiry-based’ science program,” “focus and support inquiries,” and “encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry.”

Because the teaching standards are so broad, it is helpful for our purposes

Table 2-4 . Science Teaching Standards

to focus more on inquiry in classrooms: to propose a working definition that distinguishes inquiry-based teaching and learning from inquiry in a general sense and from inquiry as practiced by scientists. The following definition is derived in part from the abilities of inquiry, emphasizing questions, evidence, and explanations within a learning context. Inquiry teaching and learning have five essential features that apply across all grade levels (see Table 2-5 ).

Learners are engaged by scientifically oriented questions. Scientifically oriented questions center on objects, organisms, and events in the natural world; they connect to the science concepts described in the content standards. They are questions that lend themselves to empirical investigation, and lead to gathering and using data to develop explanations for scientific phenomena. Scientists recognize two primary kinds of scientific questions (Malley, 1992). Existence questions probe origins and include many “why” questions. Why do objects fall towards the earth? Why do some rocks contain crystals? Why do humans have chambered hearts? Many “why” questions cannot be addressed by science. There are also causal/functional questions, which probe mechanisms and include most of the “how” questions. How does sunlight help plants to grow? How are crystals formed?

Students often ask “why” questions. In the context of school science, many of these questions can be changed into “how” questions and thus lend themselves to scientific inquiry. Such change narrows and sharpens the inquiry and contributes to its being scientific.

In the classroom, a question robust and fruitful enough to drive an inquiry generates a “need to know” in students, stimulating additional questions of “how” and “why” a phenomenon occurs. The initial question may originate from the learner, the teacher, the instructional materials, the Web, some other source, or some combination. The teacher plays a critical role in guiding the identification of questions, particularly when they come from students. Fruitful inquiries evolve from questions that are meaningful and relevant to students, but they also must be able to be answered by students’ observations and scien-

Table 2-5 . Essential Features of Classroom Inquiry

tific knowledge they obtain from reliable sources. The knowledge and procedures students use to answer the questions must be accessible and manageable, as well as appropriate to the students’ developmental level. Skillful teachers help students focus their questions so that they can experience both interesting and productive investigations.

An example of a question that meets these criteria for young students is: how do mealworms respond to light? One for older students is: how do genes influence eye color? An example of an unproductive question for younger students is: why do people behave the way they do? This question is too open, lending itself to responses that may or may not have a scientific basis. It would be difficult to gather evidence supporting such proposed answers as, “it is human nature” or “some supernatural force wills people to behave the way they do.” An example of an unproductive question for older students is: what will the global climate be like in 100 years? This question is scientific, but it is also very complex. It requires an answer that will almost assuredly not consider all the evidence and arguments that would go into a prediction. Students might consider individual factors, for example, how would increasing cloud cover influence climate change? Or they might consider causal relationships, for example, what effect would 5 degrees warmer (or cooler) temperatures have on plants? currents? weather?

Learners give priority to evi dence , which allows them to develop and evaluate explanations that address scientifically oriented questions . As the Standards note, science distinguishes itself from other ways of knowing through use of empirical evidence as the basis for explanations about how the natural world works. Scientists concentrate on getting accurate data from observations of phenomena.

They obtain evidence from observations and measurements taken in natural settings such as oceans, or in contrived settings such as laboratories. They use their senses, instruments such as telescopes to enhance their senses, or instruments that measure characteristics that humans cannot sense, such as magnetic fields. In some instances, scientists can control conditions to obtain their evidence; in other instances they cannot control the conditions or control would distort the phenomena, so they gather data over a wide range of naturally occurring conditions and over a long enough period of time so that they can infer what the influence of different factors might be (AAAS, 1989). The accuracy of the evidence gathered is verified by checking measurements, repeating the observations, or gathering different kinds of data related to the same phenomenon. The evidence is subject to questioning and further investigation.

The above paragraph explains what counts as evidence in science. In their classroom inquiries, students use evidence to develop explanations for scientific phenomena. They observe plants, animal, and rocks, and carefully describe their characteristics. They take measurements of temperature, distances, and time, and carefully record them. They observe chemical reactions and moon phases and chart their progress. Or they obtain evidence from their teacher, instructional materials, the Web, or elsewhere, to “fuel” their inquiries. As the Standards note, “explanations of how the natural world changes based on myths, personal beliefs, religious values, mystical inspiration, superstition, or authority may be personally useful and socially relevant, but they are not scientific” (p. 201).

Learners formulate explanations from evidence to address scientifically oriented questions. Although similar to the previous feature, this aspect of inquiry emphasizes the path from evidence to explanation rather than the criteria for and characteristics of the evidence. Scientific explanations are based on reason. They provide causes for effects and establish relationships based on evidence and logical argument. They must be consistent with experimental and observational evidence about nature. They respect rules of evidence, are open to criticism, and require the use of various cognitive processes generally associated with science — for example, classification, analysis, inference, and prediction, and general processes such as critical reasoning and logic.

Explanations are ways to learn about what is unfamiliar by relating what is observed to what is already known. So, explanations go beyond current knowledge and propose some new understanding. For science, this means building upon the existing knowledge base. For students, this

means building new ideas upon their current understandings. In both cases, the result is proposed new knowledge. For example, students may use observational and other evidence to propose an explanation for the phases of the moon; for why plants die under certain conditions and thrive in others; and for the relationship of diet to health.

Learners evaluate their explanations in light of alternative explanations, particularly those reflecting scientific understanding. Evaluation, and possible elimination or revision of explanations, is one feature that distinguishes scientific from other forms of inquiry and subsequent explanations. One can ask questions such as: Does the evidence support the proposed explanation? Does the explanation adequately answer the questions? Are there any apparent biases or flaws in the reasoning connecting evidence and explanation? Can other reasonable explanations be derived from the evidence?

Alternative explanations may be reviewed as students engage in dialogues, compare results, or check their results with those proposed by the teacher or instructional materials. An essential component of this characteristic is ensuring that students make the connection between their results and scientific knowledge appropriate to their level of development. That is, student explanations should ultimately be consistent with currently accepted scientific knowledge.

Learners communicate and justify their proposed explanations. Scientists communicate their explanations in such a way that their results can be reproduced. This requires clear articulation of the question, procedures, evidence, proposed explanation, and review of alternative explanations. It provides for further skeptical review and the opportunity for other scientists to use the explanation in work on new questions.

Having students share their explanations provides others the opportunity to ask questions, examine evidence, identify faulty reasoning, point out statements that go beyond the evidence, and suggest alternative explanations for the same observations. Sharing explanations can bring into question or fortify the connections students have made among the evidence, existing scientific knowledge, and their proposed explanations. As a result, students can resolve contradictions and solidify an empirically based argument.

Taken as a whole, these essential features introduce students to many important aspects of science while helping them develop a clearer and deeper knowledge of some particular science concepts and processes. The path from formulating scientific questions, to establishing criteria for evidence, to proposing, evaluating,

and then communicating explanations is an important set of experiences for school science programs.

Teaching approaches and instructional materials that make full use of inquiry include all five of these essential features. Each of these essential features can vary, of course. These variations might include the amount of structure a teacher builds into an activity or the extent to which students initiate and design an investigation. For example, every inquiry engages students in scientifically oriented questions. However, in some inquiries students pose the initial question; in others students choose alternatives or

sharpen the initial question; and in others the students are provided the question. Research demonstrates the importance of students’ taking ownership of a task, which argues for engaging students in identifying or sharpening questions for inquiry. But all variations appropriate for the particular learning goal are acceptable, as long as the learning experience centers on scientifically oriented questions that engage students’ thinking.

Sometimes inquiries are labeled as either “full” or “partial.” These labels refer to the proportion of a sequence of learning experiences that is inquiry-based. For example, when a teacher or textbook does not engage students with a question but begins by assigning an experiment, an essential element of inquiry is missing and the inquiry is partial. Likewise, an inquiry is partial if a teacher chooses to demonstrate how something works rather than have students explore it and develop their own questions or explanations. If all five of the essential elements of classroom inquiry are present, the inquiry is said to be full.

Inquiry-based teaching can also vary in the amount of detailed guidance that the teacher provides. Table 2-6 describes variations in the amount of structure, guidance, and coaching the teacher provides for students engaged in inquiry, broken out for each of the five essential features. It could be said that most open form of

inquiry-based teaching and learning occurs when students’ experiences are described by the left-hand column in Table 2-6 . However, students rarely have the abilities to begin here. They first have to learn to ask and evaluate questions that can be investigated, what the difference is between evidence and opinion, how to develop a defensible explanation, and so on. A more structured type of teaching develops students’ abilities to inquire. It helps them learn how to determine what counts. The degree to which teachers structure what students do is sometimes referred to as “guided” versus “open” inquiry. (Note that this distinction has roots in the history recounted earlier in the chapter as Schwab’s three approaches to “labora-

Table 2-6 . Essential Features of Classroom Inquiry and Their Variations

tories” which vary in their degree of structure and guidance by teachers or materials.) Table 2-6 illustrates that inquiry-based learning cannot simply be characterized as one or the other. Instead, the more responsibility learners have for posing and responding to questions, designing investigations, and extracting and communicating their learning, the more “open” the inquiry (that is, the closer to the left column in Table 2-6 ). The more responsibility the teacher takes, the more guided the inquiry (that is, the closer to the right column on Table 2-6 ).

Experiences that vary in “openness” are needed to develop the inquiry abilities in Table 2-2 . Guided inquiry can best focus learning on the development of particular science concepts. More open inquiry will afford the best opportunities for cognitive development and scientific reasoning. Students should have opportunities to participate in all types of inquiries in the course of their science learning.

How does a teacher decide how much guidance to provide in an inquiry? In making this decision, a key element is the intended learning outcomes. Whether the teacher wants students to learn a particular science concept, acquire certain inquiry abilities, or develop understandings about scientific inquiry (or some combination) influences the nature of the inquiry.

Below are examples of learning experiences designed to incorporate some form of inquiry. (Note the emphasis on series of lessons or learning experiences, rather than single lessons, illustrating that inquiries require time to unfold and for

students to learn.) Each example considers not only the learning outcomes and the teaching strategy but the way the teacher will assess whether students have achieved the intended outcome. Assessment is a critical aspect of inquiry because it sharpens and defines the design of learning experiences. When teachers know what they want students to demonstrate, they can better help them learn to do so.

As one example, consider a series of lessons in which the learning outcome is for students to strengthen all the fundamental abilities of inquiry. In Chapter 1 , when Mrs. Graham was presented with an interesting question from her students, she recognized an opportunity for her students to engage in a learning activity where they could complete a full inquiry originating with their question about the trees and culminating in communication of scientific explanations based on evidence. The inquiry incorporated all five essential features, with student engagement described by the left column in Table 2-6 . Through her assistance and coaching, Mrs. Graham helped the students learn how to clarify their questions and identify possible explanations that could be tested by scientific investigations. She helped them learn the importance of examining alternative explanations and comparing them with the evidence gathered. She helped students understand the relationship between

evidence and explanation. As a result, the students not only learned some science subject matter related to the growth of trees, they also developed specific inquiry abilities.

A second example focuses on developing student understandings about scientific inquiry. A high school biology teacher is planning student learning activities for a unit on biological evolution. Several of the classroom investigations and discussions focus on factors leading to adaptation in organisms. Because of the interesting

historical development of these scientific ideas, the teacher decides to take advantage of the opportunity to develop students’ understanding of how scientific inquiry works. The assessment for this learning outcome is for students to be able to describe the place of logic, evidence, criticism, and modification in the account of a scientific discovery. Based on readings about past and current investigations of evolution on the Galapagos Islands (including Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner), students discuss and answer the following

questions: What led to past and current investigation of the finches on the islands? How have investigations differed, and how have they been similar? Have the scientific explanations derived from these investigations been logically consistent? Based on evidence? Open to skeptical review? Built on a knowledge base of other experiments? Following the readings and discussion of the questions, the teacher would have student groups prepare oral reports on the topic “The Role of Inquiry in Science.”

This learning activity does not contain all of the essential features of classroom inquiry, but many features are present. The activity engages students in scientifically oriented questions. It promotes discussion of the priority of evidence in developing scientific explanations. It connects those explanations to accepted scientific knowledge. And it requires students to communicate their understandings of scientific inquiry to others. This activity thus could be an integral part of a sequence of learning opportunities that in total contains all five essential features of inquiry.

As a final example, consider a series of lessons that seeks to have students develop an understanding of the concept of density. One way to determine the best teaching strategy for this particular outcome would be to think about how students might demonstrate that they understand density. One performance assessment for older elementary students might be to provide them with objects of different densities, a scale, and a water-filled flask with volume markings on the side. Students would then be asked to select objects and, using the scale and flask, determine their densities. Given this assessment, what kinds of inquiry learning experiences would help students understand density well enough to be successful? One teaching strategy would be a series of laboratory activities framed by questions requiring the gathering and use of evidence to develop explanations about mass and volume relationships. Students would connect their explanations to scientific explanations provided by the teacher and their text, so all five essential features of classroom inquiry would be incorporated.

PROVIDING COHERENT INQUIRY-BASED INSTRUCTION — INSTRUCTIONAL MODELS

How can the features of inquiry be combined in a series of coherent learning experiences that help students build new understandings over time? Instructional models offer a particularly useful way for teachers to improve their use of inquiry.

Instructional models originated in observations of how people learn. As early as the turn of the century, Herbart’s (1901) ideas about teaching

included starting with students’ interest in the natural world and in interactions with others. The teacher crafted learning experiences that expanded concepts students already knew and explained others they could not be expected to discover. Students then applied the concepts to new situations. Later, Dewey (1910) built upon the idea of reflective experience in which students began with a perplexing situation, formulated a tentative interpretation or hypothesis, tested the hypothesis to arrive at a solution, and acted upon the solution. Dewey’s prior experience as a science teacher explains the obvious connection between reflective thinking and scientific inquiry (Bybee, 1997).

Piaget’s theory of development contributed much to the elaboration of instructional models (Piaget, 1975; Piaget and Inhelder, 1969). In his view, learning begins when individuals experience disequilibrium: a discrepancy between their ideas and ideas they encounter in their environments (that is, what they think they know and what they observe or experience). To bring their understanding back into equilibrium, they must adapt or change their cognitive structure through interaction with the environment.

Piaget’s work was the basis for the learning cycle, an instructional model, proposed by Atkin and Karplus (1962) and used in the SCIS elementary science curriculum. Although the learning cycle has undergone elaboration and modification over time, its phases and normal sequence are typically represented as exploration, invention, and discovery. Exploration refers to relatively unstructured experiences when students gather new information. Invention refers to the formal statement of a new concept — often a definition — in which students interpret newly acquired information by restructuring their prior concepts. Discovery involves applying the new concept to a novel situation.

Research on how people learn (discussed in detail in Chapter 6 ) suggests a dynamic and interactive view of human learning. Students bring to a learning experience their current explanations, attitudes, and abilities. Through meaningful interactions with their environment, with their teachers, and among themselves, they reorganize, redefine, and replace their initial explanations, attitudes, and abilities. An instructional model incorporates the features of inquiry into a sequence of experiences designed to challenge students’ current conceptions and provide time and opportunities for reconstruction, or learning, to occur (Bybee, 1997).

A number of different instructional models have been developed that can help teachers organize and sequence inquiry-oriented learning experiences for their students. All can incorporate the essential features of inquiry. They

Table 2-7 . Common Components Shared by Instructional Models

seek to engage students in important scientific questions, give students opportunities to explore and create their own explanations, provide scientific explanations and help students connect these to their own ideas, and create opportunities for students to extend, apply, and evaluate what they have learned. Common components or phases that are shared by instructional models are shown in Table 2-7 .

Instructional models have helped teachers and those who support them — in particular, curriculum developers — to design instruction in ways that attend to how learning occurs and afford students opportunities to engage in scientific inquiry. The primary disadvantage of instructional models applies to models in general: by definition, they simplify the world. Teachers and others can be misled into thinking of them as lockstep, prescriptive devices — rather than as general guides for designing instruction that help learning to unfold through inquiry, which must always be adapted to the needs of particular learners, the specific learning goals, and the context for learning.

SOME MYTHS ABOUT INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING AND TEACHING

A number of myths about inquiry-based learning and teaching have at times been wrongly attributed to the National Science Education Standard s. These myths threaten to inhibit progress in science education reform either by characterizing inquiry as too difficult to achieve or by neglecting the essential features of inquiry-based learning. Listed below are responses to five of these mistaken beliefs.

Myth 1: All science subject matter should be taught through inquiry. Teaching science effectively requires a variety of approaches and strategies. It is not possible in practice to teach all science subject matter through inquiry, nor is it desirable to do so. Teaching all of science using only one method would be ineffective, and it would probably become boring for students.

Myth 2: True inquiry occurs only when students generate and pursue their own questions. For students to develop the ability to ask questions, they must “practice” asking questions. But if the desired outcome is learning science subject matter, the source of the question is less important that the nature of the question itself. It is important to note, however, that in today’s science classrooms students rarely have opportunities to ask and pursue their own questions. Students will need some of these opportunities to develop advanced inquiry abilities and to understand how scientific knowledge is pursued.

Myth 3: Inquiry teaching occurs easily through use of hands-on or kit-based instructional materials. These materials can increase the probability that students’ thinking will be focused on the right things and learning will occur in the right sequence. However, the use of even the best materials does not guarantee that students are engaged in rich inquiry, nor that they are learning as intended. A skilled teacher remains the key to effective instruction. He or she must pay careful attention to whether and how the materials incorporate the five essential features of inquiry. Using these five features to review materials as well as to assess classroom practice should enhance the kinds and depth of learning.

Myth 4: Student engagement in hands-on activities guarantees that inquiry teaching and learning are occurring. Although participation by students in activities is desirable, it is not sufficient to guarantee their mental engagement in any of the essential features of inquiry.

Myth 5: Inquiry can be taught without attention to subject matter. Some of the rhetoric of the 1960s was used to promote the idea that learning science processes should be the only meaningful outcome of science education. Today, there are educators who still maintain that if students learn the processes of science, they can learn any content they need by applying these processes. But as stated at the beginning of this chapter, student understanding of inquiry does not, and cannot, develop in isolation from science subject matter. Rather, students start from what they know and inquire into things they do not know. If, in some instances, a

teacher’s desired primary outcome is that students learn to conduct an inquiry, science subject matter serves as a means to that end. Scientific knowledge remains important. The abilities and understandings outlined in the Standards extend beyond the processes of science to engage students in a full complement of thinking and learning science.

This chapter has provided the definitions of inquiry and inquiry-based teaching that undergird the Standards. Chapter 3 will present a series of classroom vignettes that illustrate how elementary, middle, and high school teachers design different kinds of inquiries to achieve different learning outcomes. Chapter 4 will look at assessment: within the context of good instruction, how can the achievement of different learning outcomes best be assessed? Subsequent chapters then turn to how teachers can be prepared and supported to use these strategies in their classrooms.

Humans, especially children, are naturally curious. Yet, people often balk at the thought of learning science—the "eyes glazed over" syndrome. Teachers may find teaching science a major challenge in an era when science ranges from the hardly imaginable quark to the distant, blazing quasar.

Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards is the book that educators have been waiting for—a practical guide to teaching inquiry and teaching through inquiry, as recommended by the National Science Education Standards. This will be an important resource for educators who must help school boards, parents, and teachers understand "why we can't teach the way we used to."

"Inquiry" refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and in which students grasp science knowledge and the methods by which that knowledge is produced. This book explains and illustrates how inquiry helps students learn science content, master how to do science, and understand the nature of science.

This book explores the dimensions of teaching and learning science as inquiry for K-12 students across a range of science topics. Detailed examples help clarify when teachers should use the inquiry-based approach and how much structure, guidance, and coaching they should provide.

The book dispels myths that may have discouraged educators from the inquiry-based approach and illuminates the subtle interplay between concepts, processes, and science as it is experienced in the classroom. Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards shows how to bring the standards to life, with features such as classroom vignettes exploring different kinds of inquiries for elementary, middle, and high school and Frequently Asked Questions for teachers, responding to common concerns such as obtaining teaching supplies.

Turning to assessment, the committee discusses why assessment is important, looks at existing schemes and formats, and addresses how to involve students in assessing their own learning achievements. In addition, this book discusses administrative assistance, communication with parents, appropriate teacher evaluation, and other avenues to promoting and supporting this new teaching paradigm.

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Inquiry: A Fundamental Concept for Scientific Investigation

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This chapter provides a brief description of ‘inquiry’, a very important but rarely includes in the research methodology books. Initially, the chapter explains the conceptual definition of inquiry with the phases that develop ideas about inquiry. Then the chapter discusses the different characteristics of inquiry. Then, it provides a brief description of the theories and sources of inquiry in social research. The processes, steps, and methods of inquiry are explained with ‘20 questions’ inquiry process. Then the chapter includes a brief description of the position of inquiry in education learning. Finally, the chapter explains the importance of inquiry in social research.

• Inquiry and enquiry
• Question. Scientific process
• Education learning
• Social research

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Islam, M.R. (2022). Inquiry: A Fundamental Concept for Scientific Investigation. In: Islam, M.R., Khan, N.A., Baikady, R. (eds) Principles of Social Research Methodology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2_1

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Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Instruction for Educators

• Authority is Constructed and Contextual
• Information Creation as a Process
• Information Has Value
• Education Perspective
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• Examples of Learning Objectives and Activities
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Research as Inquiry

From the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (2015):

Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.

• ACRL Framework The full ACRL Framework and appendices

Teacher education students learn how to inquire, formulate research questions, and apply those skills to improve their teaching practice. As teachers, they work with colleagues to expand their knowledge of pedagogy, students, and teaching skills. With their students, PK-12 educators model intellectual humility to demonstrate how curiosity leads to questions, to research, and to the iterative nature of the search process. Teacher education students and PK-12 educators demonstrate their expertise in Research as Inquiry by developing questions to improve or change their pedagogical practice, determining the appropriate scope and research methods to answer the questions, verifying the sources they find, and organizing the information in these sources to implement changes in their practice.

The sites below can be searched for teaching activities related to Research as Inquiry:

• Education Activities - ACRL Framework for Information Literacy Sandbox
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For a curated annotated bibliography of scholarship that may be helpful to librarians, teacher education faculty, and teachers who are working with Research as Inquiry in the classroom, click here .

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Inquiry and the Research Process

Tips for ensuring that your students’ research fosters genuine inquiry.

Over the summer, I had a fascinating conversation with a group of educators. After spending several days discussing ways to encourage student inquiry, a technology specialist raised a pointed question: “What if the librarians already have a district-approved research process? Does what we’re doing conflict?” As I pondered her question, I realized a fundamental problem: inquiry and research had somehow morphed into synonyms.

Instead of answering her question, I posed another one: “Can students do research without inquiry, or inquiry without a formal research process?”

The Research Process and Active Learning

Over 10 years ago, our school librarian introduced me to the Kentucky Virtual Library research process . Using a gameboard as an interface, the process presents students with concrete steps to support their planning, searching, note taking, and writing. The clearly articulated steps, logical progression, and embedded strategies supported our students as they located, identified, and evaluated information. Though intended for elementary students, it provided a concrete pathway for our middle schoolers as well. We even printed out the main page of the website and gave the students stickers to mark off each task they completed.

While this research process helps students locate and evaluate information about any topic, it does not ensure that they have an opportunity to ask questions, investigate problems, or make connections to their own personal experience. By definition, inquiry requires students to engage in active learning by generating their own driving questions, seeking out answers, and exploring complex problems. Research, though often a component of inquiry, addresses the process of finding answers.

A teacher and I recently discussed this dichotomy. She explained that in her upcoming animal adaptation unit, the students would research a specific animal. They would locate facts about the animal’s appearance, habitat, etc., to fill in a provided outline.

Though the teacher provided excellent scaffolding of the research process so that her students could look up information from multiple sources, articulate their findings, and document their learning, inquiry would imply that the students asked the questions. We brainstormed what might happen if we asked students a driving question such as: “Why do some animals from around the world look the same and others look very different?” The students would still work through the research process, but they would also have to define same and then apply their definition.

When we asked our fourth graders this question during their study of animals in Africa, they drove the question around the world. Though they began their investigation by examining the similarities in physical characteristics between different animals in the same habitats, they quickly started asking questions on a global level. Besides physical characteristics, what traits do animals in the same habitat share? Do animals in the the same biome, but on a different continent, have similar traits? Why are some animals found on multiple continents while others are unique to just one location?

Another great example of scaffolded inquiry that I’ve seen recently comes from educators Anthony Egbers and Kerryn White of South Africa. They used Book Creator to make a workbook to guide their students in exploring the concept of the Cradle of Humankind . Unlike the Kentucky Virtual Library research process, theirs focuses as much on the questions that students ask as on the information that they find and evaluate.

Three Strategies to Encourage Inquiry

In the workshop that sparked this debate, we considered three strategies for encouraging student inquiry. First, we examined the use of visible thinking routines. These question sets—such as See Think Wonder and Think Puzzle Explore —scaffold students’ questioning and reflection so that they deeply consider both content and context. Sometimes, students need structure to begin asking questions.

Next, instead of focusing a research project on a topic or concept, we considered the power of an essential question. According to Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, essential questions do not lead to a single answer but instead serve as a catalyst for discussion, require higher-order thinking skills such as inference and evaluation, and spark more questions (that lead to even more inquiry).

Finally, inquiry should tap into student curiosity and wonder. In his book The Falconer , Grant Lichtman discusses the importance of “what if?” questions. As an example, he poses this question: “What if the sun rose in the West and set in the East?” While the immediate reaction may be to just state that it doesn’t, what if it did? What would that imply? What else might have to happen? By asking such questions, teachers remove all limitations to how students may respond. Similarly, world-renowned innovator Min Basadur suggests framing questions with “How might we _____?” He argues that question stems such as this spark more imaginative thinking and remove judgment from perceived answers.

This brings us back to that original question: Can there be research without inquiry and inquiry without research? Consider the power of a science lab. Students generate questions, formulate a hypothesis, investigate their theory, and then use their observations to develop an understanding of their discovery. Apps such as Desmos and Geogebra allow students to engage in inquiry with math. They can ask questions about mathematical concepts, explore simulations and scenarios, and manipulate formulas, as they explore complex phenomena that previously could not be addressed through active, hands-on learning.

While research can certainly exist as a stand-alone process, inquiry should ultimately drive students to view research as a means through which they can seek out new ideas, answer new questions, and wrestle with complex problems.