Guided Inquiry with Questions
In the Journal Guest Editorial, Larry Lowery, a professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, explains ways that teachers model questions for inquiries for students. The teacher must be able to genera... See More
In the Journal Guest Editorial, Larry Lowery, a professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, explains ways that teachers model questions for inquiries for students. The teacher must be able to generate the questions on his/her own in order to model the questions for the students. The process, called Guided Inquiry, stimulates the students to engage in an inquiry to discover the answer to the questions posed.
The author outlines two types of questions: 1. An open-ended question and 2. a hypothetical that suggests a way to design an inquiry. After the modeling by the teacher, the students learn how to phrase their own questions.
The author discusses the concept of Open Inquiry through which students are encouraged to formulate questions and carry out procedures to answer the question.
The author suggests providing materials to the students that will pique their curiosity. As the students interact with the materials, they become stimulated to ask additional questions.
Professor Lowery stresses the value of repeated inquiry experiences so that students develop the confidence to think and learn for themselves. The repeated direct inquiry experiences and the result of a student acquiring independence as an inquirer are among the most important goals of education.
Professor Lowery, as a professor of graduate students, offers a unique perspective for K- 12 teachers of science.
General Overview of Article
. Inquiry is asking questions. Experienced teachers listen to students’ questions to find ones that can be investigated. Experienced teachers know that investigable questions provide an oppo... See More
. Inquiry is asking questions. Experienced teachers listen to students’ questions to find ones that can be investigated. Experienced teachers know that investigable questions provide an opportunity for students to learn how to get answers for themselves.
In this article, Lowery discusses three forms of inquiry: guided inquiry, open inquiry, and students thinking for themselves. Guided inquiry is the teacher asking questions. The teacher formulates the question, and knows the answer, but the answer is unknown to students. Teachers can model questions the way a scientist would ask them. Open inquiry allows students to investigate their own question. They plan and carry out a procedure to find their answer. For thinking for themselves, students see that not all questions can or should be investigated. For these types of questions, students learn different ways that knowledge can be found. In my future classroom, I will practice all three types of inquiry because I believe they are all beneficial and important to know.