INQUIRY: TO TEACH
CONTENT AND
PROCESS
PRESENTATION GOALS
• Define “inquiry-based instructional
practices”
• Explain why they should be used to
teach STEM
• What are the roles of the teacher and
what are the roles of the students
CHALLENGE WITH INQUIRY
• The challenge with defining inquiry is the reality that
the same term can mean different things to people
(Chinn & Malholtra, 2002). For example, Abd-El-
Khalick and colleagues (2004) contend that many
interpret “inquiry” to be representative of good science
instruction and yet, inquiry can be more specifically
defined and identified as an approach to scientifically
investigating phenomena.
A RESEARCH BASED APPROACH
TO TEACHING
LEARNING
GOALS
RESEARC CURRICUL
ASSESSMEN
H UM
T
INSTRUCTI
ON
WHAT IS INQUIRY?
The National Research Council (1996) defines inquiry as:
The diverse ways in which scientists study the
natural world and propose explanations based
on the evidence derived from their work.
Scientific inquiry also refers to the activities
through which students develop knowledge and
understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an
understanding of how scientists study the
natural world.
IS INQUIRY EFFECTIVE FOR
LEARNING?
• In their review of literature reporting investigations
of middle school inquiry-based science from 1990
to 2008, Nadelson and Williams (Under Review)
found that there inquiry based learning leads to
increases in both science achievement and
knowledge of science processes – with the largest
gains reported for low-academic ability learners
DISCONNECT WITH TEACHING
INQUIRY
• We expect teachers to teach using inquiry practices
in STEM and yet very few teachers have had
authentic inquiry experiences upon which to base
their practice (Southerland, Nadelson, Sowell,
Under Review)
• However, guided or scaffolded higher levels of
inquiry may be very effectively used with novice
learners (Nadelson, 2009)
LEARNING – IN BRIEF…
• Learning involves the acquisition and
integration of new information and is based
on prior knowledge
• The goal of learning is becoming an “expert”
• Learning frequently requires correcting naïve
or false conceptions about a complex topic
• Learning is required to become a member of
a community of practice
LEARNER ROLES IN INQUIRY
INSTRUCTION
• Learners:
– engage in scientifically oriented questions – PRIOR
KNOWLEDGE.
– give priority to evidence, which allows them to evaluate
explanations that address scientific questions - REFLECTION.
– formulate explanations from evidence to address scientifically
oriented questions – APPLICATION.
– evaluate their explanations in light of alternative explanations,
particularly those reflecting scientific understanding –
EVALUATION.
– communicate and justify their proposed explanations –
ELABORATION.
AN INQUIRY ACTIVITY
• Paper helicopters
– Build the helicopter
– Does it work? How?
• Make at least TWO
variations to the design
– What happened?
– Why?
• Conclude and compare
results
LEARNER ROLES IN INQUIRY
INSTRUCTION
"Wow! If we learn from our mistakes, I ought to be a genius
by now."
EXPECTED BENEFITS OF
INQUIRY
• Students doing science
• Applying practiced techniques to new situations
• Understanding of “why”
• Student interest/motivation
• Students taking part in their learning
• Students learning they have valuable thoughts and
ideas
LEVELS OF INQUIRY
Inquiry Source of the Data Collection Interpretation of Evaluation for
Level Question Methods Results Merit and Validity
Not addressed or
Level 0 Given by teacher Given by teacher Given by teacher
given by teacher
Not addressed or
Level 1 Given by teacher Given by teacher Open to learner
given by teacher
Not addressed or
Level 2 Given by teacher Open to learner Open to learner
given by teacher
Not addressed or
Level 3 Open to learner Open to learner Open to learner
given by teacher
Level 4 Open to learner Open to learner Open to learner Open to learner
Adopted from: Schwab, J. J. (1962). The teaching of science as enquiry. In J. J. Schwab & P. Brandwein (Eds.), The
teaching of science. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
SCIENCE THE OLD-FASHIONED
WAY
• Students read aloud from texts.
• Students memorize long lists.
• Content presented in lectures.
• Tests require rote recall.
• Lab experiences merely confirm what students
have read or been told.
• Goal of assessment is to grade students.
SCIENCE THE OLD-FASHIONED
WAY
SCAFFOLDING INQUIRY
• There is a need to investigate the effectiveness of
different approaches of inquiry to determine if there are
more successful ways at increasing student learning of
science and understanding of scientific research.
• It seems intuitive that students should learn more about
science by doing science, but how they do science
requires attending to learner needs, experience, and
capabilities
Nadelson, L. S. (2009). How True Inquiry Can Happen in K-16 Science Education? The Science
Educator, 18 (1), 48-58.
INQUIRY: AN APPROACH TO
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Questions posed by the students OR teacher.
Student OR teacher provide methodology.
Students are given data OR collect and analyze
their own data.
Students use evidence to build an explanation (with
OR without guidance).
Students communicate explanations using their
own formats, OR formats and procedures that have
been given to them.
Students evaluated the credibility and validity of
outcomes.
LEVELS OF INQUIRY
Inquiry Source of the Data Collection Interpretation of Evaluation for
Level Question Methods Results Merit and Validity
Not addressed or
Level 0 Given by teacher Given by teacher Given by teacher
given by teacher
Not addressed or
Level 1 Given by teacher Given by teacher Open to learner
given by teacher
Not addressed or
Level 2 Given by teacher Open to learner Open to learner
given by teacher
Not addressed or
Level 3 Open to learner Open to learner Open to learner
given by teacher
Level 4 Open to learner Open to learner Open to learner Open to learner
Adopted from: Schwab, J. J. (1962). The teaching of science as enquiry. In J. J. Schwab & P. Brandwein (Eds.), The
teaching of science. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
RESEARCH SHOWS:
• In a recent research project examining
undergraduate laboratory texts that the publishers
purported contained inquiry based exercises that
over 90% were below classified below “Level 1
inquiry”
• Buck, L. B., Bretz, S. L. & Towns, M. H. (2008) Characterizing the level of inquiry in the
undergraduate laboratory. Journal of College Science Teaching, 38(1), 52-58.
INQUIRY LEARNING TAKES
TIME
• Provide opportunity for students to first grapple
with information relevant to a topic to create a
meaningful time for telling.
“. . . learning cannot be rushed; the complex cognitive
activity of information integration requires time.”
CRITERIA FOR CLASSROOM
INQUIRY
The curriculum includes:
involvement in hands-on activities or simulations
formulation of questions
making and checking predictions
designing/carrying out investigations
collecting, analyzing, and explaining data
manipulating variables
reporting results and comparing them with accepted facts
developing scientific reasoning skills
stimulating to increase engagement in learning
INQUIRY, PROBLEM BASE
LEARNING AND PROJECT BASED
LEARNING Conceptual
emphasis
Inquiry
Product
Project-Based emphasis
Process
Problem emphasis
Based
INQUIRY, PROBLEM BASE
LEARNING AND PROJECT BASED
LEARNING
INQUIRY STRUCTURE FOR
TEACHING
• Meaningful Activity
• Engage students in problems that are designed to be
realistic, intriguing, and relevant to the field of study.
• Provide context and stimulus for knowledge-building and
critical thinking.
• Situated Learning
• Creates an environment that permits students to work on
the kinds of problems that professionals encounter and to
use the perspectives, the knowledge, and the skills that
professionals use in attempting to solve them
• Changed Role of the Instructor
• Instructors act as metacognitive coaches throughout the
inquiry process.
• They coach - giving students guidance as needed, but
INQUIRY STRUCTURE FOR
•
TEACHING
Open-ended Generative Tasks
• Offer ill-structured, open-ended problem for which there
is no prescribed approach or solution.
• Promote intentional learning by requiring student to
generate their own questions, plans, and goals.
• Collaborative Decision-making and Problem-solving
• Require students to work together in their problem
solving and product development.
• Students collaborate with each other and with more
knowledgeable individuals who model expert behaviors
and lend assistance as students try out skills on their own.
INQUIRY STRUCTURE FOR
TEACHING
It increases the likelihood of TRANSFER, a
primary consideration in education.
The literature on transfer suggests that transferable
learning experiences occur in an environment
characterized by:
• Meaningful activity
• Expert guidance
• Knowledge-building collaboration
INQUIRY STRUCTURE FOR
TEACHING
WHY USE INQUIRY IN
LEARNING?
It is engaging and, therefore, motivating.
Berliner (1992) notes:
Intertwined with the cognitive components associated
with projects are the motivational components inherent
in projects. These include the fact that projects teach
students to be mastery-oriented, not ability-oriented;
they teach students to be learning-oriented rather than
performance-oriented; and they teach students to be
task-involved rather than ego-involved…When there is
some degree of choice for the students, project-based
methods motivate students more than any other
teaching method I know about.
INQUIRY LEARNING FOR LIFE
• Case-based learning making schooling relevant to
the workplace, careers and authentic research
activities
• Most effective transfer comes from a balance of
specific examples and general principles.
School should be less about preparation for life and
more like life itself.
- John Dewey
CLOSING THOUGHTS
– Inquiry and problem based learning is a great way to get
students to think about how science works and how to
think like a scientist – this must be taught explicitly and
reflectively if students are going to learn the concepts
and processes….
“The world is but a school of inquiry.”
- Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)
