Inquiry

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Inquiry

• Dr. Dennis S. Kubasko, Jr.
• EDN 406

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Position Statement

• Teaching through Inquiry is but one process to
  engage our students
• A powerful tool!
• Question strategies
• Resources
• Different styles
• Experienced vs. Novice

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Inquiry
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Inquiry Chiappetta

• Inquiry-Based Science
• Asking questions, resolving discrepancies,
  figuring out patterns, representing ideas,
  discussing information, and solving problems
• Historical
• Late 50s and early 60s
• Post-Sputnik initiative
• 1990s reform minded recommendation
• AAAS, NRC, and DeBoer

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Inquiry Chiappetta

• Two Approaches to inquiry
• General inquiry teaching science by inquiry
• Finding out about anything and everything
• Models scientists
• Scientific inquiry teach science as inquiry
• Active student learning and the importance of
  understanding a scientific topic

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Inquiry Chiappetta

• Process rather than content
• Questions around student personal interests
• Students engage in authentic science process
  skills stimulate same thinking patterns
  scientists use
• Discrepant events puzzling students, causing
  then to wonder
• Inductive activities Experience before
  vocabulary
• Deductive activities vocabulary before
  experience
• Gathering information variety of resources
• Problem solving

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Inquiry Hackett

• Inquiry Both Means and Ends
• Inquiry as defined by the National Science
  Education Standards
• 1. Teaching Methods and Strategies
• 2. Content
• Problems with Science Educators
• Either / or
• Inquiry as a means, understanding subject matter
  an end
• Understanding subject matter as a means, Inquiry
  as an end

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Inquiry Hackett

• Inquiry as an outcome
• Attaining student outcomes in science subject
  matter understanding as an end
• Attaining student outcomes in inquiry-based
  skills and abilities as an end
• Full inquiry invokes both inquiry-based skills
  and abilities and science subject matter
  understanding as an end
• Achieving it all
• Science subject matter and scientific inquiry
• Guided and structured investigations
• Intellectual ownership
• Assessments

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Inquiry Martin-Hansen

• Defining inquiry
• National Research Council (2000) inquiry into
  authentic questions generated from student
  experiences is the central strategy for teaching
  science.
• Inquiry refers to the work scientists do when
  they study the natural world, proposing
  explanations that include evidence gathered from
  the world around them.
• Activities of students posing questions,
  planning investigations, and reviewing what
  experimental evidence is already known

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Inquiry Martin-Hansen

• Open or full inquiry
• Student-centered approach that begins with a
  students question, followed by a student
  designing and conducting an investigation or
  experiment and communicating results
• Implementation
• AP or Advanced classes
• Small class size
• Experienced teachers

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Inquiry Martin-Hansen

• Guided inquiry
• Teacher chooses the investigation for the student
  
• Teacher assists students develop the questions in
  class
• Implementation
• Can lead into full inquiry
• Introduce complex phenomenon
• All levels of students, smaller classes

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Inquiry Martin-Hansen

• Coupled inquiry
• Combines a guided inquiry investigation with an
  open-inquiry investigation
• 5 steps Invitation to inquiry, guided inquiry,
  open inquiry, inquiry resolution, assessment
• Implementation
• Upper levels of students Large classes
• Lower levels of students Small classes

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Inquiry Martin-Hansen

• Structured inquiry
• Directed inquiry by the teacher
• Cookbook lesson implementation
• Endpoint or product is known
• Limited student engagement
• Implementation
• All levels Large classes
• Teacher can take away components
• Beginning of the teacher evolution process

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Inquiry Koballa et al.

• The Spectrum of Scientific Literacy Koballa
• NSES defines scientific literacy as the
  knowledge and understanding of scientific
  concepts and processes required for personal
  decision making, participation in civic and
  cultural affairs and economic productivity.
• Educational goal? Something achievable by all
  students at the end of a period of instruction

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Inquiry Koballa et al.

• Three-dimensional framework
• 1. Level of scientific literacy
• Range of understanding and abilities that enable
  people to function to different degrees in our
  scientific orientated world
• Seven levels
• Figure 1 DNA
• Figure 2 General
• Expectations now? Levels IV or V on many science
  related topics
• Novice teacher verses experienced teacher
• Where should we expect our students to be?

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Inquiry Koballa et al.

• Multiple Domains
• Profile of teacher understanding
• Biology, Physics, EES, Chemistry
• Student profiles
• Scientific Literacy as a value
• Different degrees of value for scientific
  literacy
• Social-cultural issuedoes society have a need
  for scientific literacy?
• Cloning? Stem-cell research? Missile defense
  system? Global warming?
• Life-long objective