TEACHING CHEMISTRY THROUGH INQUIRY 1

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LECTURE 3 TEACHING CHEMISTRY THROUGH INQUIRY
(1) Dr Lucille Lee
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Teachers Role
The provider of experiences and opportunities, of
the tools and circumstances which the learner
needs to internalize that knowledge. The tools
include not only laboratory apparatus and
equipment, but also more importantly, the ways of
thinking and the skills of doing i.e. the skills
of scientific inquiry and processes. Teacher
needs to employ a repertoire of methods to cater
to the wide range of students learning styles and
according to the nature of the concepts and
skills to be learnt.
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Teaching Approaches/Methods

• Inquiry and guided discovery approach
• Demonstration approach
• Constructivist approach
• Problem-solving approach
• Use of explanations
• Use of discrepant events
• Use of questioning techniques
• Use of analogies
• Use of particle model
• Use of concept maps
• Instructional Technology
• Use of concept analysis
• Role play. Fieldwork etc.

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What is Science Inquiry?
Science Inquiry involves all or most of the
following processes
1.Explaining and observing the environment and
the world around them 2. Identifying problems
by raising questions and hypotheses 3.
Designing investigations 4. Analysing and
interpreting data to construct meanings,
relationships and explanations (including
alternative explanations)
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What is Science Inquiry?
5. Discussing and communicating ideas, arguments
and conclusions and 6. Conducting reflection
on previous work and practices in order to raise
new questions and formulate new lines of thought
or inquiry.
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Inquiry Process
Explore
Ask
Reflect
Investigate
Communicate
Analyse
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What are the types and levels of science inquiry?
Science inquiry is a continuum, ranging from the
highest level (pure inquiry) to zero level.
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Types of Science Inquiry Approach
Pure Discovery Approach
Guided Discovery Approach
Inquiry Approach
Guided Discovery Inquiry Approach
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Pure Discovery Approach

• In the pure discovery approach the teacher
• does not always identify a specific
  investigation.
• provides students with directions for safety
  reasons.
• provides equipment.
• directs students to investigate.
• answer questions about safety regulations or
  directions, but does not answer information
  seeking questions.

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Pure Discovery Approach (contd)
What problem may this approach cause?
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Guided Discovery Approach

• In the guided discovery approach the teacher
• teaches student expectations and responsibilities
  for individual and group work.
• identifies investigations by asking questions.
• provides equipment and directions for using it to
  conduct the investigation or to answer the
  question.
• provides guidelines and safety rules for
  classroom procedures.

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Guided Discovery Approach (Contd)

• is a resource person who provides guidance,
  information and questions that help students
  solve problems and make discoveries.
• directs students to work individually or in
  groups, on the same problem or on different
  problems.
• monitors student work and behavior.
• manages the learning experiences to ensure that
  the required curriculum objectives are met, valid
  conclusions are reached, and a safe learning
  environment is maintained.

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Inquiry Approach

• A process of inquiry, questions the obvious
  phenomena and, by relying on investigation, e.g.
  experiment, puts authoritative answers to the
  test.
• Inquiry is not restricted to the laboratory, or
  to observation, nor is it success guaranteed.
• It is feasible for teachers to stress the Whys
  and the How do you knows.

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Inquiry Approach (contd)
Teachers can provide opportunities for practicing
how to phrase answerable questions, for isolating
problems, inventing workable hypotheses, and for
deriving from data the simplest possible
principles. The purpose of inquiry teaching is
to foster the students ability to think and
speak the language of science through cognition
of its structure.
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Guided Discovery Inquiry Approach
When the learning process of guided discovery
involves inquiry, we say the approach the guided
discovery inquiry approach.
This approach, if is carefully planned, can
enhance the inquiry skills of the students as
well as to ensure a general relevance of the
lesson to the curriculum.
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Guided Discovery Inquiry Approach (contd)
In guided discovery inquiry classes, the
teacher provides considerable structure for
students to perform experiments in a step-by-step
manner but no answers are given. Student
discover for themselves.
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Guided Discovery Inquiry Approach
Implementation

• The teacher may do this by
• raising thought provoking question
• suggesting lines of inquiry
• exploratory discussion
• allowing pupils to observe or manipulate
  materials and equipment
• providing guidelines and safety rules and
• using some audio-visual aids.