MODULE V: Inquiry

READINGSInquiry Approach

Book: Dynamics of Effective TeachingAuthor: Richard KindsvatterThe Suchman Inquiry ModelTeaching Problem Solving through Discovery and QuestioningRemember when the world was full of questions to ask rather than answers to learn? Somewhere on the way to adulthood, children inevitably get the idea that becoming a grown-up means leaving the world of questioning for the world of knowing. Schools institutionalize the departure from questions to answer as success becomes putting the right answer into the blank circling the correct response, knowing positively what is true and what is false. Almost all questions in school have one right answer, and questions for which there are no answers do not often arise.True wisdom, however, might better be defined as the realization of how little one knows in contrast to how much one knows. The real excitement of learning is daring to challenge ignorance with unbridled curiosity. Homo sapiens, meaning quite literally "humankind who taste of knowledge", have aptly named themselves. If knowing how to learn is more important than knowing all the answers, then the greatest realization of a person's intellectual life must be that good questions are more important than right answers. Thus the quality of the questions one can ask rather than the correctness of the answers one can give shows one's wisdom. Inquiry learning is based on the premise that there is indeed a wilderness of mystery to be explored in all fields, that every school subject represents what can be called a discipline of inquiry, in which all students can participate. One inquiry model, developed by Richard Suchman, is based on the premise that intellectual strategies used by scientists to solve problems and inquire into the unknown can be taught to learners. The natural curiosity of the young can be trained and disciplined in the procedures of inquiry.This inquiry model is based on the belief that we learn best that which intrigues and puzzles us. When students ask why out of genuine interest, they are likely to gasp the information and retain it as their own understanding. They will also understand the value of working within a discipline, of participating in a way of knowing and thinking that is a part of every discipline.Page39 Any problem-solving process begins by recognizing that a problem exists and accepting the challenge of finding a satisfactory solution. Next, information must be gathered through questioning and research to form hypotheses and to test possible solutions. A final step is to posit a tentative solution that can be tested for applicability in a variety of contexts. Throughout the process, a combination of both individual and cooperative efforts will lead to the most satisfactory solution.

Summary of Steps in the Suchman Inquiry Model1. Select a problem and conduct research: Choose a puzzling situation or an event that will entice the students to discover the answer, and then research the problem for possible solutions.2. Introduce the process and present the problem: Carefully explain and post the rules that the students will follow for the inquiry. Present the puzzling situations to the students in writing, and provide them with a means for recording data.3. Gather data: Respond to questions posed by the students for the purpose of gathering and verifying data. Guide the students to ask questions more clearly and more completely, but avoid answering the questions for them. Encourage the students to call for a caucus when they need to talk with each other during the questioning periods. Reinforce the idea that this is a group process; the attention and participation of the entire class is needed.4. Develop a theory and verify: When a student poses a theory, stop the questioning and write the theory on the board. The class decides to accept or reject it. Emphasize that at this stage, the questioning is directed toward experimenting with one particular theory. If other theories are posed, write them on the board and tell the class that they will be explored later if the theory under examination does not prove adequate. Encourage the students to consider all possible types of questions. For example, if they are focusing on an event, encourage them to consider conditions that might cause it. Questions are valuable tools at this point in the model. Students may be encouraged to do further research or to experiment in the laboratory as they try to verify a particular theory5. State the rules and explain the theory: Once a theory or a theoretical answer has been verified by the group, lead them into an explanation and application of the theory. Discuss the rules or effects of the theory as well as the predictive value the theory may have for other events.6. Analyze the process: Finally, discuss the inquiry process with the class. Examine how they arrived at an acceptable theory to explain the problem and determine how the process could be improved. As the class gains confidence in the inquiry process, they may assume more responsibility for the process.7. Page40Evaluate: Test to determine if the students have understood the theory derived from the process and determine if they are able to generalize the rules to other situations. Also, encourage the students to look for other puzzling situations and to develop a habit of asking questions and looking for answers. Because this model is based on a scientific method, determine if the students are solving problems more effectively with this technique.

Book: Principles and Practices of TeachingAuthor: Jose F. Calderon, Ed.D.The Inquiry ApproachThere are several definitions of the inquiry approach but the most appropriate is probably the definition given by Klinkman. Klinkman says that the inquiry approach is the search for truth, information, or knowledge. It pertains to research and investigation and to seeking information by asking questions.From the definition it can be deduced that there are two types of inquiry. One is the inquiry utilized in research and investigation and the other is usually conducted in the classroom by means of the question and answer technique.

Article: Inquiry Model of TeachingAuthor: artofteachingscience.orgRetrieved from: http://artofteachingscience.org/mos/7.4.htmlWhat is Inquiry?J. Richard Suchman, the originator of an inquiry teaching program that was widely used throughout the United States once said that "inquiry is the way people learn when they're left alone." To Suchman, inquiry is a natural way that human beings learn about their environment. Think for moment about a very young child left in a play yard with objects free to explore. The child, without any coaxing will begin to explore the objects by throwing, touching, pulling, banging them, and trying to take them apart. The child learns about the objects, and how they interact by exploring them, by developing his or her own ideas about them---in short learning about them by inquiry. Many authors have discussed the nature of inquiry and have used words such as inductive thinking, creative thinking, discovery learning, the scientific method and the like.

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Article: Suchman Inquiry Write-upAuthor: Institute of Advanced Study in EducationRetrieved from: http://iasethrissur.edu.in/public/downloads/SuchmannInquirywriteup.pdfInquiry Training Model(The Suchman Inquiry Model)Background When children are young the world to them is full of questions to ask. Somewhere along the way, they get the idea that becoming an adult means leaving the world of questioning to enter the world of knowing the answers. Schools tend to encourage the movement from questions to answers since success becomes putting the right answer in the blank or marking the correct response. Questions in school tend to have one right answer and questions for which there are no answers are rare. It has been stated that true wisdom might best be defined as knowing how little one knows in contrast to how much one knows. Therefore, if knowing how to learn is more important than knowing all the answers, then one must realize that good questions are more important than right answers. Teaching students to question and ask quality questions is more important than the correctness of the answers they can give. Teaching science through inquiry requires that students ask questions and figure things out for themselves. It involves the attempt to answer questions and seek information. Inquiry can be conducted in a variety of ways: observing nature, predicting outcomes, manipulating variables, analyzing situations, and verifying assertions. It may involve discussing topics with others, reading, conducting field studies, surveys, and laboratory investigations, or all of these as one attempts to discover new knowledge and to figure things out. The inquiry model, developed by Richard Suchman, is based on the premise that the intellectual strategies used by scientists to solve problems and inquire into the unknown can be taught to students. Using the natural curiosity of students, they can be trained and disciplined in the procedures of inquiry. The model was developed from analyzing the methods used in creative research personnel. The elements of their inquiry process were identified and these were built into an instructional model called inquiry training.

Page42Inquiry training is designed to bring students directly into the scientific process through exercises that compress the scientific process into small periods of time. The training has resulted in an increased understanding of science, more creative thinking, and skills for obtaining and analyzing information as students establish facts, build concepts, and then generate and test explanations or theories. The students are active learners involved in exploration, questioning, problem solving, inductive reasoning, invention, labeling, and discovery. The inquiry process will help students: 1. approach future problems with confidence in their abilities to seek out the solution 2. to begin to consider success and failure as information rather than reward or punishment; 3. practice the process to develop the ability to sense the relevance of variables, make intuitive leaps, and put problems into forms with which they know how to work; and 4. improve their memory process because when they integrate material into their own cognitive structure, thus material is made more readily retrievable The inquiry training method requires active participation in scientific inquiry and capitalizes on the students natural curiosity. The general goals of inquiry training are to: 1. develop the intellectual discipline and skills necessary to raise questions and search out answers stemming from their natural curiosity; 2. acquire and process data logically and 3. develop intellectual strategies that they can use to find out why things are as they are. The Inquiry Training Model is based on Suchmans theory that: 1. students inquire naturally when they are puzzled; 2. they can become conscious of and learn to analyze their thinking strategies; 3. new strategies can be taught directly and added to the students existing ones; and 4. cooperative inquiry enriches thinking and helps students to learn about the tentative, emergent nature of knowledge and to appreciate alternative explanations. This model differs from other inquiry models in the way the data are presented. Students gather data in a simulated process through questioning rather than actual manipulation of data. Thus, the method is more process oriented as the primary goal is to improve students ability to relate data to the inferences they have formed.

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