Inquiry teaching and learning
From WikEd
Contents |
[edit] Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms
Inquiry teaching involves process as well as dogma. Often compared to more traditional approaches such as lecture, this teaching involves the student in the activities associated with learning the concepts (Schwab).
[edit] Application in classrooms
[edit] Evidence of effectiveness
[edit] Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations
[edit] Signed “life experiences”, testimonies and stories
Since I teach high school science much of the reform in science education has been concerned with the use of inquiry in the science curriculum. This is not a new issue, but one that seems to receive a lot of the blame for our student's lack of interest in the sciences today and our low national test scores. Many researchers feel that science can not be taught as effectively to today's students using the more traditional methods of lecture and memorization of facts. Instead, our students must be given the opportunity to learn not just the facts but also the processes of science. Much of our scientific knowledge has been attained through experimentation and trial and error. Therefore inquiry, the asking of pertinent conceptual questions that allow students the freedom to explore the possible answers themselves, may provide for a higher and more coherent understanding of the relationships between scientific concepts. This better understanding will hopefully be translated into higher national test scores and more participation by our current student population in the sciences.
I teach at the elementary level, 3rd grade to be exact. I would have to say that I am definitely in favor of incorporating inquiry-based learning in my classroom. I am trying to use this approach more and more in my classroom, especially in the curricular areas of math and science. In math, my students were recently studying geometry. We have just adopted a new math series for next year, Everyday Math (aka Chicago Math), from which a coworker (piloting the series) had encouraged me to try the following lesson. Students were given unifix cubes and graph paper. They had to try and discover various ways of "wrapping" the sides of the cubes up, using different patterns from the graph paper. They certainly grasped the idea that a cube has 6 faces as they independently visualized and problem-solved for answers. This was certainly more captivating than looking at pictures in our math textbook. I am anxious to see greater inquiry-based learning from our new series in the future. When introducing multiplication as arrays (structures of rows and columns) recently, students had to design as many different arrays as candy boxes for a given number of candy (as adpated from Marilyn Burns' Math By All Means). Again, they used graph paper and quickly grasped the connection. My last example reflects on our first two science units this year, "Studying the Prairie" (via books, movies, reading information, a field trip) and then "Identifying Mystery Powders" (heightening sensory and observational experiences to identify these mysterious, unknown powders). Needless to say, the powder unit embraces inquiry , as did my students-they loved it!
-Heidi M. Savoca
Science is constantly evolving and expanding. Information that is pertinent today might seem "stone-age" ten to fifteen years later. I believe that learning the process of science and how to synthesize new ideas is most beneficial for students, rather than simply memorizing ideas that may someday become out dated. That is why I favor inquiry teaching over traditional teaching methods. I have found that students seem to be more receptive to inquiry teaching than traditional lectures, because they find it more interesting and fun. ~Mindy Waters
I teach 8th grade science. This entire year I used inquiry based science. It was a fantastic experience.My students loved it. Learning how to think differently was a good experience.We had a lot of fun and even started an afterschool science club.~Ann Harty
I am a mathematics instructor. About 5 years ago I attended a 2-3 day workshop that focused on teaching students using inquiry based lessons. At the time I was upset at having to be absent from my classroom, but by the end of the workshop I felt inspired to have some fresh new ideas to present to my students. I tried, at various times throughout that school year, to teach using some of those techniques. I found that, in theory, the lessons I presented were "reality-based" - things my students would use in "the real world." In contrast, the lessons did not have the wonderful finish that I was hoping for. The students had trouble connecting the ideas that they discovered to the topics that I just taught them in class. After this experience, I left inquiry-based learning behind for a while. In hindsight, I think that the problems I faced were my own, resulting from poor planning and sheer naive-ness. With that in mind, any teacher that is considering using this process needs to thoroughly research the entire process before beginning. Using this type of lesson planning takes more forethought than some of the more traditional lessons might. A teacher must consider every thought the children could have. What questions might they ask? Are my students likely to answer a question differently than I expect? If so, what might they state? This type of instruction leaves more to the imagination of the students. In summary, just be ultra-prepared! M Foshee
[edit] References and other links of interest
Excellent site on Inquiry-based learning with video clips: thirteen.org
Lechtanski, Valerie L.(2000).Inquiry-Based Experiments in Chemistry.New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
Schwab, Joseph J. (1962). The Teaching of Science as Inquiry. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
