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Teaching Approaches/Inquiry: Difference between revisions
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=Inquiry and Science Teaching= | =Inquiry and Science Teaching= | ||
{{adaptedfrom|Fibonacci Project|Reference|The process of inquiry begins by trying to make sense of a phenomenon, or answer a question, about why something behaves in a certain way or takes the form it does. Initial exploration reveals features that recall previous ideas leading to possible explanations There might be several ideas from previous experience that could be relevant and through discussion one of these is chosen as giving the possible explanation or hypothesis to be tried. The test of the hypothesis is whether there is evidence to support a prediction based on it, for only if ideas have predictive power are they valid. To test the prediction new data about the phenomenon or problem are gathered, then analysed and the outcome used as evidence to compare with the predicted result. This is the ‘prediction –> plan and conduct investigation –> interpret data’ sequence in Figure 1. More than one prediction and test is desirable and so this sequence may be repeated several times. | |||
From these results a tentative conclusion can be drawn about the initial idea. If it gives a good explanation then the existing ideas is not only confirmed, but becomes more powerful – ‘bigger’ –because it then explains a wider range of phenomena. Even if it doesn’t ‘work’ and an alternative idea has to be tried (one of the alternative ideas in Figure 1), the experience has helped to refine the idea, so knowing that the existing idea does not fit is also useful. This is the process of building understanding through collecting evidence to test possible explanations and the ideas behind them in a scientific manner, which we describe as learning through scientific inquiry. | |||
[[Image:InquiryProcess.PNG]] | |||
=The use of ICT to support Inquiry= | =The use of ICT to support Inquiry= | ||
