The Inquiry teaching/learning model puts students front and center. In a traditional classroom, the teacher is the disseminator of information and the students are passive learners. There tends to be a focus on memorization, quiet listening and extrinsic motivation (getting the right answer or getting a good grade on a test being the main reason for learning).
In contrast, inquiry starts with a phenomenon (picture, video or object) but no other information. Students discuss noticings and wonderings, and the teacher, as facilitator, pays close attention. This approach is inclusive of all learners, since every child is an expert at noticing and wondering. The wonderings help guide future instruction. Students become active participants in their learning, honing their thinking skills and independence. They become owners of their learning!
Here is a chart, courtesy of Carolina Biological, highlighting differences between the two approaches.
In contrast, inquiry starts with a phenomenon (picture, video or object) but no other information. Students discuss noticings and wonderings, and the teacher, as facilitator, pays close attention. This approach is inclusive of all learners, since every child is an expert at noticing and wondering. The wonderings help guide future instruction. Students become active participants in their learning, honing their thinking skills and independence. They become owners of their learning!
Here is a chart, courtesy of Carolina Biological, highlighting differences between the two approaches.
inquiry at middle gate
Here is one example of how we use inquiry at Middle Gate. In science lab this fall, third-graders sat down at tables to find an unknown tablet (alka-seltzer), a hand lens, a glass of water and a pipette. The only directions were to record noticings and wonderings in their journals. Students commented on the size, shape, color and texture of the tablet, and everyone wanted to know what would happen when they put water on it. Students naturally wanted to know what the tablet was, and in what ways it was used. |
Next, we performed a class experiment in which we mixed water and the tablet in a glass bottle topped with a balloon. Based on their earlier observations, the students correctly predicted the balloon would fill with the gas created by the mixing of water and tablet.
Then things got really interesting. Students were invited to choose one variable to change. Many chose sodas or other liquids. Some increased the amount of alka-seltzer. Some added soap or glue into the mix. They then wrote up their own investigation, including materials, procedure and a hypothesis. The exciting part for the students is that no one knew for sure what would happen. As students shared their results, everyone was fascinated by the many investigations and their different results. |
Students turned their noticings and wonderings into an investigation which they designed and implemented. They shared their results, and contrasted them with their classmates'. This is inquiry!