Inquiry Approaches

The National Science Education Standards mandate that science teachers "plan an inquiry-based program", "focus and support inquiries", and "encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry." Inquiry is an approach to teaching that involves a process of exploring the natural world, that leads to asking questions and making discoveries in the search of new understandings. Inquiry is a method of approaching problems that is used by professional scientists but is helpful to anyone who scientifically addresses matters encountered in everyday life. Inquiry is based on the formation of hypotheses and theories and on the collection of relevant evidence. There is no set order to the steps involved in inquiry, but children need to use logic to devise their research questions, analyze their data, and make predictions. When using the inquiry methods of investigation, children learn that authorities can be wrong and that any question is reasonable.

The most abstract component of inquiry is imagination. Both students and professional scientists have to be able to look at scientific information and data in a creative way. This unconventional vision allows them to see patterns that might not otherwise be obvious.

Teachers can incorporate inquiry approaches to learning, for example, by allowing small groups of students to explore a particular natural phenomenon that might exhibit certain trends or patterns. The children can then reconvene as a class, discuss their observations, and compile a list of several different hypotheses from this discussion. Each group can choose a hypothesis to investigate. Several groups might choose to replicate the same study to reduce the bias effects of any one group's techniques. Depending on their age, children might design their own experimental apparatus, use probes attached to computers, or employ sophisticated software to analyze data or create charts and graphs. Data based predictions can be the foundation for further investigation.

Inquiry-based learning need not always be a hands-on experience. In fact, doing hands-on science with step-by-step procedures can stifle students' own inquiry, distorts what science is all about, and may impede students' learning. Reading, discussion, and research can allow students to inquire into scientific questions. Teacher can facilitate inquiry in the classroom by:

• Acting as facilitators rather than directors of students' learning
• Providing a variety of materials and resources to facilitate students' investigations
• Modeling inquiry behaviors and skills
• Posing thoughtful, open-ended questions and helping students do the same
• Encouraging dialogue among students and with the teacher
• Keeping children's natural curiosity alive and as a teacher, remaining a curious, life-long learner

Hands-On
Many people might say, "Gee, those sound like buzzwords to me. Do they have any substance?" The answer is yes. If children are generating their own ideas in a student-centered classroom, they need the freedom to be physically active in their search for scientific knowledge. How can children begin to understand the nature of the world in which they live if they experience it vicariously? For this reason, the majority of the activities that students perform should be physical explorations. Physical explorations not only make the concepts more tangible but also appeal to children's diverse learning styles and take advantage of their multi-sensory strengths. If children are physically involved, they are more apt to be mentally engaged.

Children spontaneously try to explain things that they experience, and feeding their curiosity with the raw materials of potential scientific discoveries promotes this natural theory building. By itself, however, it does not lead to a mature understanding of scientific concepts. The authors of the National Science Education Standards maintain that hands-on activities can increase the probability that students will be engaged in rich inquiry, but do not guarantee that they are learning as intended. Similarly, teaching children abstract concepts without engaging their interest and facilitating their understanding via concrete, experiential examples leads to "shallow" knowledge (or, in many cases, no knowledge at all, as such lessons are quickly forgotten).

Scientific concept building is thus a two-way street. Highly abstract concepts are rarely developed spontaneously; such development requires instruction. Nor can in-depth understanding be gained without knowledge of concrete examples to fill out the skeleton of an abstract concept.

An inquiry-oriented, "hands on" approach to science instruction stimulates the natural curiosity and theory-building inclination of students while providing a solid conceptual framework for supporting the development of accurate concepts. Such experiences provide the raw material from which mature scientific theories are constructed. To increase a "minds-on" factor to a "hands-on" approach, teachers should decrease the "cookbook" nature of whatever labs they conduct and sequence the hand-s on activities before any readings or lectures so that students can explore topics before learning the terms. (See Learning Cycle for additional information.)