What is Inquiry? To me, inquiry is the process of doing science through the lens of the natural “excitement, motivation, curiosity” that humans, and especially children, instinctively have to explore the world around them (Bresser and Fargason, 2013). I think the key to INQUIRy is (HINT) to inquire about the world around you – find what you are passionate, interested or curious about and begin to ask question. Through discovering, researching and experimenting, one can begin to find the answers to their inquiry. These answers, almost certainly, will lead to further questions and thus further discovery – creating a never ending cycle of internal motivation (well that’s the goal). I think a key to inquiry is also tapping into, and celebrating student’s existing prior knowledge.
Big Ideas:
Martin-Hansen, L. (2002). The key idea that I got from this reading was the “practices of doing science” - Observing, predicting, questioning, investigating, collaborating, communicating, interpreting. I thought it really broke down the steps and processes of inquiry, and subsequently the way real science operates. Particularly, I thought the idea that these steps are not necessarily done in any order – you could make an
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They argue is that inquiry is among the most beneficial way to teach children because it is the way that children learn about the world in their everyday life. Also, unique to this reading, was a discussion on scientific education for underrepresented children and English Language Learners. Often times, underrepresented students are given the most rudimentary and full of route memorization, which offers the worst learning experiences for students. Additionally, I appreciated that the authors took the time to discuss the implications of language on science