Inquiry-Oriented Science Instruction

"Science teaching has suffered because science has been so frequently presented just as so much ready-made knowledge, so much subject-matter of fact and law, rather than as the effective method of inquiry into any subject-matter."

John Dewey
Science, 1910

Student Performance Objectives:

• The teacher candidate will distinguish between different types of inquiry teaching and give examples:
  • discussion (characterized by Socratic questioning)
  • interactive demonstration (characterized by...)
  • inquiry lesson (characterized by directed inquiry with many sequential questions; not to be confused with cookbook labs)
  • inquiry lab (characterized by free inquiry; activity driven by a single student performance objective in question form)
  • hypothetical inquiry
• The teacher candidate will characterize resistance to inquiry-oriented instruction, and explain the importance of climate setting and classroom, school, and community atmosphere in overcoming it.
• The teacher candidate will explain the importance of setting clear goals, stating objectives, and achieving closure at the end of an inquiry lesson.
• The teacher candidate will provide a rationale for inquiry teaching, citing a number of benefits.
• The teacher candidate will summarize basic nature of resistance associated with inquiry teaching practice.
• The teacher candidate will contrast teaching by inquiry with teaching by exposition.

What is Inquiry?

Levels of Inquiry Practice (PowerPoint)

Levels of inquiry: Hierarchies of pedagogical practices and inquiry processes (PDF)

Stages of Experimental Inquiry (PowerPoint)

Why Inquiry?

Why Inquiry? (PowerPoint)

Resistance to Inquiry

Resistance to Inquiry (PowerPoint)

Supplemental Readings:

Implementing Inquiry

Minimizing resistance to inquiry-oriented science instruction: The importance of climate setting (PDF)

Inquiry Lesson/Laboratory Characteristics and Framework

Inquiry Lesson Scoring Rubric

A generic model for inquiry-oriented labs in post secondary introductory physics (PDF)

Socratic Dialogues and Inquiry

Whiteboarding and Socratic dialogues: Questions and answers (PDF)

Engaging students in conducting Socratic dialogues: Suggestions for science teachers (PDF)

Promoting Inquiry through Effective Questioning (addressed later in course)

 

Return to PHY 311 Course Outline

(page last updated 4/28/08)