Science as Inquiry
Prepared by:
Kirstin Marjie Catinoy
MBio student
Scientific Inquiry
Learning Science
by
Doing Science
Kendall Hunt
Publishing Company
Overview
• What is Inquiry?
• How did it originate?
• Why is it important?
• How does inquiry-based instruction
compare to traditional instruction?
• What does inquiry-based learning
look like in the classroom?
• Proof of Effectiveness
• By Design: A Journey of Excellence
Through Science
Inquiry Defined
• Inquiry is a dynamic approach to
learning that involves
– exploring the world,
– asking questions,
– making discoveries, and
– rigorously testing those discoveries
in the search for new understanding.
Designed With A
Purpose
• Curriculum designed under this
definition recognizes students’
drive to learn, engages students
in central concepts and
principles, leads students to in-
depth exploration of authentic
and important topics, uses
performance-based
assessments and encourages
collaboration.
Origins of Inquiry
• After the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union,
science instruction received renewed attention in
curriculum design.
• For Nearly 40 years, the literature in science
education has documented increased achievement
and improved retention of science concepts when
student are taught using curriculum materials that
have and inquiry approach.
• Unfortunately, our traditional educational system has
worked in a way that discourages the natural process
of inquiry. Students become less prone to ask
questions as they move through the grade levels. In
traditional schools, students learn not to ask too many
questions, instead to listen and repeat the expected
answers.
Importance of Inquiry
• Education is not about preparing students for
a world that is static and fixed.
• Education must prepare learners to cope with
changes that will increase in complexity
throughout their lives and many of which
cannot be foreseen at this time.
• Most learners will probably deal with several
job changes, move to several different
locations, be involved in complex social
changes, and other such issues. Education
cannot give learners all the information that
they need to know, but rather it must provide
the tools for continuing to learn.
So, What is the
Difference?
Traditional Science
Instruction vs.
Inquiry-Based
Instruction
Traditional Instruction
• Focuses on mastery of content, with less emphasis on
the development of skills and the nurturing of inquiring
attitudes
• Is teacher centered; teacher gives information about
"what is known"
• Assessment is focused on "one right answer."
• Concerned with preparation for the next grade level
and in-school success, not with helping a student
learn to learn through life
• Tends to be a closed system
• Resources limited to what is in class or school
building
• Focuses on learning technology rather than using
technology to enhance learning
Inquiry-Based Instruction
• More student centered, with the teacher as a facilitator
of learning
• Emphasis on "how we come to know" and less on "what
we know"
• Assessment is focused on determining the progress of
skills development in addition to content understanding
• Concerned with in-school success equally with
preparation for life-long learning
• Open systems
• Uses technology to connect students appropriately with
local and world communities which are rich sources
• Can be done in lectures that provoke students to think
and question as well as labs and group projects
• Focuses on the how instead of the what
What It Looks Like:
Traditional vs. Inquiry
Proof of Effectiveness
• Inquiry Instructional Models
(Bybee, 2006) The BSCS 5E instructional model: Origins,
effectiveness, and applications
• Formative Assessment
(Black and Wiliam, 1998) Assessment and classroom learning
• Reflective Practice
(NBPTS, 2000; Vandevoort, Amrein-Beardsley, & Berliner, 2004)
A Distinction that Matters; National Board Certified Teachers and Their
Students’ Achievement
By Design: A Journey To
Excellence Through Science
• Will help children understand the world
they live in and instill in them a willingness
to explore and make sense of the world
around them.
• Will provide all students with stimulating
experiences in the life, earth, physical
sciences and technology, and health while
simultaneously developing their critical-
thinking and problem-solving skills along
with strengthening their faith.
• By Design will give you the practical
framework of inquiry you and your
students need to be successful.
5 Teaching
Strategies:
1. Whip around
This strategy actively engages students and encourages
participation by all.
• How to Use:
1. Question
2. Whip Around
3. Discuss
• When to Use:
Use Whip Around to encourage responses from all students in
the class:
During Guided Practice to get students talking about the
material just covered
As a warm up activity to discuss highlights from yesterday’s
lesson
As a closing activity to summarize information covered in the
lesson
As a brainstorming activity
To help students uncover common themes
As an icebreaker to help establish a positive classroom
environment
2. Turn and Talk
This strategy permits all students to participate in
discussion, rather than only a few students participating
in a class-wide discussion.
• How to Use
1. Question
2. Turn
3. Talk
• When to Use
Use Turn and Talk at anytime during a lesson to encourage
accountable talk:
As a warm-up activity to discuss previous lesson or
homework assignment
After five to seven minutes of oral to written input, to help
student process what they have just heard or read
During class discussions as a way for students to
discuss ideas before sharing them with the class
As a closing activity so that students can review what
was learned in the lesson
As a clarification tool for a complex problem or new
guiding question posed by the teacher.
3. Tableau
In this activity, students create a still picture, without
talking, to capture and communicate the meaning of
a concept.
• How to Use
1. Prompt
2. Brainstorm
3. Present
• When to Use:
Use a Tableau as a way to check for
understanding. This is most commonly done at the
end of a lesson or unit.
Check student’s understanding of key concepts
See if students can evaluate information and
draw conclusions
See what new insights students have to gained
during a unit of study
4. S-I-T: Surprising, Interesting,
Troubling
This strategy provides a quick and straightforward way
for students to demonstrate their engagement with a
text, image, or video.
• How to Use
1. Choose a text, image, or video
2. Ask: One Surprising fact/idea, One
interesting fact/idea, One troubling
fact/idea,
3. Share
4. Collect
• When to Use
In this activity, students identify what they find surprising,
interesting and troubling about the material.
This activity gives students an opportunity to process and
articulate a short response, it’s especially useful when
students are encountering material they find shocking.
To help students prepare for a class discussion in which
you want everyone to have something to contribute.
This can also be an effective prompt at the end of a lesson
about an emotionally challenging historical topic.
as
5. Exit Ticket
Use this technique to show you what students are
thinking and what they have learned at the end of
a lesson.
• How to Use
1. Create
2. Collect
3. Clarify
• When to Use
Use Exit Tickets at the end of the class to:
Check student’s understanding by having
them summarize key points from the lesson
Verify that students can solve a problem or
answer a significant question based on the
lesson
Have students ask questions they still have
about the lesson
See if students can apply the content in a
new way
REFERENCES:
PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 1
By:
Brenda B. Corpuz, Ph.D.
Gloria G. Salandanan, Ph.D.
WIKEPEDIA
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