Teaching scientific inquiry using as a process for learning science provides teachers with the opportunity to develop student abilities use critical thinking, along with deepening student understanding of science. As students focus on the experimental processes of doing science investigations they develop the ability to ask questions, investigate aspects of the natural world around them, and use the power of observations to construct reasonable explanations of experiment findings.
Inquiry based learning stresses science process skill development and nurtures the habits of mind necessary to think like a scientist. Scientific inquiry integration in a science curriculum is quite different from a traditional science curriculum, because it is student centered. Teaching science shifts from being the purveyor of knowledge to a facilitator of learning. An inquisitive classroom involves active learning and web-based technology integration.
Inquiry Learning: Benefits for Students
One of the benefits of inquiry learning is that students are fully involved in the active learning process. Students who are making observations, collecting data, analyzing data, synthesizing information, and drawing conclusions are developing useful problem-solving skills. These skills fully incorporate the basic and integrated science process skills, which are necessary in scientific inquiry.
A second benefit of inquiry learning is that students develop the lifelong skills critical to thinking creatively, as they learn how to solve problems using a logic and reasoning. These skills are essential for drawing sound conclusions from experimental findings.
Teaching Strategies: Guided and Student Initiated Scientific Inquiry
Using teaching strategies that involve scientific inquiry, allows students to assume all or partial responsibility for determining the procedure for the investigation.
Guided Inquiry – the teacher chooses the question to be investigated and assists students developing the science investigation. This serves as a transition from traditional science classroom of canned investigations which are teacher centered to student centered learning classroom. During this transition, students’ focus on different aspects of the scientific inquiry process with their teacher.
This includes learning how to develop investigations using the following seven steps of the scientific inquiry process.
- Problem Statement – identifies the problem and a central problem question
- Hypothesis – predicting the outcome of an investigation into a problem
- Experimental Design – designing how the investigation is conducted
- Data Collection – how observations and measurements are collected
- Analysis and Interpretation of Data – a summary of collected data using statements, data tables, and graphs
- Drawing Conclusions – making logical conclusions from investigation findings, along with answering questions developed from the problem statement
- Extension – posing new questions related to the original question that leads to new investigations
These teaching strategies provide opportunities for teachers to model and guide students using individual, small group, and whole class discussions to provide informal assessment of student understanding of the scientific inquiry process.
Student Initiated Inquiry – teaching strategies allow students to generate their own questions from a teacher selected topic. Students design their own investigation using the seven steps of the scientific query process. Student initiated inquiry provides opportunities for students to use critical thinking, logic, and reasoning like scientist to solve scientific problems. This process also helps students learn to develop scientific habits of mind as they learn to be critical, skeptical, and objective.
In this process, teachers support students by:
- framing investigations by defining learning goals and objectives.
- asking guiding questions with discretion, allowing students to recognize and solve most technical and conceptual problems with their investigation.
- providing materials, facilitating, and ensuring safety considerations are followed at all times.
Scientific Research: Appropriateness of Investigation
Investigation appropriateness is very important when coupled with students being asked to critically think about their scientific research. An important part of the inquiry learning process is that students need to ask themselves the following questions as they follow the seven steps of scientific inquiry.
- Is the investigation intelligible? – is the investigation based on prior scientific knowledge, experiences, and concepts.
- Is the investigation plausible? – can the investigation actually be conducted as designed within a classroom setting.
- Is the investigation useful? – will something new be learned or help explain the natural world.
- Is the investigation repeatable? – adds validity by someone else being able to replicate the investigation and obtain the same findings.
Once students have constructed a working concept of the scientific inquiry process, they are on the path to thinking and acting like scientist. Teaching science as inquiry learning encourages students to apply critical thinking and reasoning skills to gain new knowledge about the natural world. Scientific inquiry is completed within the context of understanding the appropriateness of an investigation to solve a specific problem or scientific phenomena.
David R. Wetzel - Dr. David Wetzel's experience includes more than 25 years in continuing, adult, and teacher education.
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