| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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2. Inquiry as student learning—where students learn through an inquiry process mirroring the process of scientific inquiry.
3. Inquiry as pedagogy—where the teacher uses an inquiry approach for students to learn content objectives.
The NRC (2000) described five essential features of classroom inquiry to include when using inquiry pedagogy facilitating inquiry understandings and abilities in K–12 students. They are as follows:
1. Learners are engaged by scientifically oriented questions.
2. Learners give priority to evidence, which allows them to develop and evaluate explanations that address scientifically oriented questions.
3. Learners formulate explanations from evidence to address scientifically oriented questions.
4. Learners evaluate their explanations in light of alternative explanations, particularly those reflecting scientific understanding.
5. Learners communicate and justify their proposed explanations.
Wilson and Koran (1976) described inquiry as “one of the most popular, widely known teaching styles in education” (p. 479). They included several reasons as to why teachers should teach using inquiry methods: “It helped develop an appreciation for science needed to deal with the many advancements that influenced our twentieth and twenty-first century lifestyles,” inquiry increased “intellectual potency,” and the reward for learning switched from extrinsic to intrinsic (p. 479). Individualized instruction was a byproduct of inquiry investigations with the added benefit of reaching each student at his or her cognitive level.