Learning Science Through Inquiry Frequently Asked Questions About Inquiry Workshop 1 | Workshop 2 | Workshop 3 | Workshop 4 | Workshop 5 Workshop 6 | Workshop 7 | Workshop 8 Contributing Authors: Christine Collier - principal of the Center for Inquiry, a K-8 magnet/option school in the Indianapolis Public School district Judith Johnson - associate professor of science education at the University of Central Florida; associate director of the Lockheed Martin/University of Central Florida Academy of Mathematics and Science Lisa Nyberg - assistant professor in the education department at California State University, Fresno Virginia Lockwood - staff developer and consultant, District 2 New York City 1. Inquiry teaching is allowing students’ questions and curiosities to drive curriculum. 2. In an inquiry-based classroom, students aren't waiting for the teacher or someone else to provide an answer — instead, they are actively seeking solutions, designing investigations, and asking new questions. 3. top 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Inquiry-based Learning: Explanation What are the benefits of inquiry-based learning? One of the important missing pieces in many modern schools is a coherent and simplified process for increasing knowledge of a subject from lower grades to upper grades. Students often have difficulty understanding how various activities within a particular subject relate to each other. Much more confusion results when the learner tries to interrelate the various subjects taught at school. Too little effort is devoted to defining important outcomes at the end of high school and planning backwards and across subjects. Specific content such as photosynthesis has much more relevance for the learner if set in a larger context of understanding the interrelationship of the sun, green plants, and the role of carbon dioxide and water. Within a conceptual framework, inquiry learning and active learner involvement can lead to important outcomes in the classroom.
Creating Classrooms We Need: 8 Ways Into Inquiry Learning If kids can access information from sources other than school, and if school is no longer the only place where information lives, what, then happens to the role of this institution? “Our whole reason for showing up for school has changed, but infrastructure has stayed behind,” said Diana Laufenberg, who taught history at the progressive public school Science Leadership Academy for many years. Laufenberg provided some insight into how she guided students to find their own learning paths at school, and enumerated some of these ideas at SXSWEdu last week. 1. Laufenberg recalled a group of tenacious students who continued to ask permission to focus their video project on the subject of drugs, despite her repeated objections. 2. Laufenberg’s answer: Get them curious enough in the subject to do research on their own. “Rather than saying, ‘We’re going to study immigration,’ I took them through a process where they become interested in it themselves,” she said. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Related
Design-Based Learning (DBL) to Innovate STEM Education | Stanford University School of Education IT Our earthquake curriculum project We developed an earthquake curriculum to conduct design-based pilot studies all over the globe from Ethiopia to California in 5th, 6th grade classes and a multi-grade classroom in El Salvador. Learning about earthquakes is urgent and propitious with the recent earthquake catastrophes in Haiti and Chile. It is crucial to raise awareness in our young learners that an earthquake in one continent can have ripple effect damages to other continents. In the future, we expect our future leaders to collaborate to understand the natural phenomena and embrace ourselves to prepare and respond together. Within the design challenge, students worked in teams of 4 members to design and build earthquake resistant structures using only index cards, tape, and paper clips through couple of iterations. Throughout our pilot studies, students were enthusiastic, focused, and actively collaborating with their peers. Sub Project
Investigating Animals: Using Nonfiction for Inquiry-based Research ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. More Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals. More Teacher Resources by Grade Your students can save their work with Student Interactives. More Home › Classroom Resources › Lesson Plans Lesson Plan Overview Featured Resources From Theory to Practice Young children are fascinated with the world around them, showing intense interest and curiosity about animals and their lives. back to top Animal Inquiry Interactive: Students can use this online to tool to help them focus and organize their research about animals. This lesson focuses on teaching primary students doing research with nonfiction, informational material how to document their discoveries. Further Reading
Fostering Inquiry-based Learning in Labs Using Google Spreadsheets Instructors in lab courses often find it difficult to simulate and discuss all phases of scientific inquiry during a single class period. For instance, individual lab groups may not be able to replicate experimental trials sufficiently in the time allotted, requiring instructors to compile data sets across lab groups before students can properly analyze and interpret results.Google Spreadsheets can circumvent this logistical barrier by allowing instructors to crowdsource the data aggregation and “cleaning” during class. For example, Chad Hershock and Rachel Niemer, CRLT, teach a short-course for postdocs on college teaching in science and engineering. During a unit on converting traditional, “cookbook” lab exercises into inquiry-based activities, postdocs work in pairs to complete a sample lab protocol. All the pairs then enter their data into a single Google Spreadsheet, so that the class compiles a robust class data set in real time, without any cutting and pasting across files.
Inquiry-Based Lesson Plans Inquiry Learning Student understanding is the central focus of inquiry learning. Students actively participate in inquiry learning experiences by developing questions and investigating to find solutions. Teachers guide student learning by selecting, designing and planning learning tasks, asking probing questions, observing students at work to identify misconceptions and planning follow up experiences. Though inquiry learning is a component of all areas of the curriculum, mathematics and science is the focus of the elementary inquiry lessons. Search for a Lesson Plan Return to Teach 21 Home
How to: Inquiry | YouthLearn Will you ever just walk into class and ask, "Okay, what do you want to study today?" Of course not. Inquiry-based learning is founded on students taking the lead in their own learning, but it still requires considerable planning on your part. Projects must fit into your larger program structure, goals and plans, but the students will be actively involved in planning the projects with you and asking the questions that launch their individual inquiries. The Importance of Planning It's impossible to project all the possible ways in which you can build inquiry into programs, projects and activities, but preparing for most projects involves three basic steps: Pre-planning: Before going to the kids, determine any preliminary factors or characteristics that must be true in order to achieve your larger goals or plans. Ask questions such as "Where could you find resources to answer your questions?" Step-by-Step Through the Techniques Step 1: Posing Real Questions Step 2: Finding Relevant Resources
Reading Comprehension and Considerate Text, Teaching Today, Glencoe Online Inquiry-Based Approaches to Learning Few things excite teachers more than when their students take over the role of grand inquisitor. When students begin formulating questions, risking answers, probing for relationships, we know they've entered the zone where learning occurs. Not surprisingly, few things excite students more than when they are actively engaged in learning so much so that they forget the clock. These experiences are the goal of inquiry-based learning, an active, student-centered, educational method whose roots go back to the educational philosopher John Dewey. The basis of the inquiry-based approach is to facilitate student-generated questions as the core part of the learning process. After students learn effective questioning techniques, they begin researching to pursue answers and will, consequently, make their own discoveries. What are the steps of inquiry-based learning? What makes inquiry-based education different? What are the advantages to inquiry-based learning?