DragonPhysics

Inquiry

Page history last edited by Gene Gordon 11 mos ago

Inquiry

There has been a lot written about inquiry teaching. I have read a lot about the topic and found most of it wanting. Either the writings are filled with a tremendous amount of eduspeak technobabble or it is woefully inadequate in describing how a teacher is supposed to do inquiry. Inquiry, easily said, is the way we learn. Any mother who watched her infant try to grab her finger or try to walk can tell you a simple truth – kids learn by attempting things, and more often than not, by failing. It is this act of trying which triggers many things in a learner’s brain. Feelings of interest and participation conflict with feelings fear and failure. Hundreds of “What if” questions flood your consciousness. Your palms get sweaty, your mouth dry. Excitement bubbles to the surface and just as you try your idea, the whole world hangs in a balance. For a moment you are neither right nor wrong – you just are.

Nothing can come close to this feeling, and for far too long people have been taking the risk of failure out of the hands of children. They do this as a way of making life “safe.” “Safety” has been accomplished, along with sterility. By putting inquiry back into education, you can put back the sense of accomplishment and excitement. It is this sense of excitement and that can take a boring chalkboard lesson on the Periodic Table and make into a loud, raucous interchange of ideas about how we should organize a bunch of materials which may or may not have a connection with each other. Which is more memorable? Try it and see…

I have been doing inquiry teaching for most of my career. In the beginning I never thought of it as inquiry. I thought of it as the way things should be done. During the time many educational philosophies and programs came and went. But when I looked at them, I kept thinking that I was doing all those things already – and I was. When you have an inquiry program in your classroom, you will be able to say that you do Madeline Hunter and Dewey and Multiple Intelligences and so on. You see, inquiry causes the students to do things the way they learn, not necessarily the way you teach.

This brings me to another point. Everyone calls it inquiry teaching – it isn’t. It’s Inquiry Learning. Inquiry teaching is the process of teaching inquiry. As a high school teacher, I have to do this since the students have never, more likely than not, performed inquiry during their twelve years of school. Inquiry learning, on the other hand, is the process where the students are empowered to teach themselves material. The teacher, more often than not, stands on the side and occasionally throws an idea out to the students. When a student asks a question, the teacher asks one back – while not necessarily answering the question. The teacher is not the omniscient god of the room anymore, but a companion in the process of discovery. Yes the teacher may know the answer and it will take time for the student to find the answer but that is what inquiry learning is all about – the student is in control of his/her learning.

I plan on using this page to promote inquiry. I give presentations on inquiry to schools and educational organizations. As I do these, I will put the things I learn on these pages and provide a place for teachers to come and get more ideas about inquiry. So if you are reading this and have links or other information on inquiry, please email me and I will include your links and info with proper credit given to you for providing it. The more information that I can gather the more people can benefit.